On Reliable Sources Sunday morning, right wing talking head Michael Smerconish revealed the mind of a Fox News producer when he was approached to go on the air with Neil Cavuto.
Fox News obviously is the worst, but this is something endemic to the entire industry. News is supposed to be news. Having two different points of views, no matter how myopic and slanted one of those sides might be, is the networks' idea of presenting "balance". All it really does is set up antagonistic debate as entertainment, which they then try to justify by claiming that it is news. Well, folks, that hurts the country.
KURTZ: Well, we'll try not to make this interview torture, even though you're tolerant of it. Let's talk about cable news and the way the booking process works. This was just fascinating to me. You have e-mails in this book from a producer who works for Neil Cavuto and his Fox News program. And let me put it up on the screen and share this with our viewers.
The first e-mail, this was last April, just about a year ago.
"Wanted to see if you're available today at 4:05 for Neil's show today. The topic is on Obama and his cockiness. We're looking for someone who will say, yes, he's cocky and his cockiness will hurt him."
And I love your rather brief response. You wrote back, "Thanks for the clarity. I am not your man." OK. Then you get a second e-mail from this same Fox producer. And it says, "What about a debate off the top on the show on whether or not Hillary is trustworthy? We have someone who says she is and we're looking for someone who says she isn't." Now, how common is that in cable news, that you only get to appear if you're willing to take a predetermined, precooked, prepackaged position?
SMERCONISH: Well, I think it's very common. It's exactly what I was just describing. I mean, it's this mentality that says that only good television is television which pits one individual against another and there's a fight that ensues. I just don't believe that.
I mean, what's wrong with a host taking a contrarian point of view in a respectful way? I think the viewers get all that they need. But you're right, in that circumstance -- and I raised it just as one clear example -- my invitation was predicated on my willingness to say that Barack Obama was cocky or that Hillary was untrustworthy. And I was unwilling in that circumstance to say either.
And then there's the pettiness of David Gregory:
CONISH: In that circumstance, I had appeared, as I continue to, on a variety of MSNBC programs. I've had a relationship with Chris Matthews for years, and I had been appearing both regularly on "Hardball" and on David's program. David let it be known that he had wished I had come forth on his program and not on "Hardball" to make clear how I viewed the presidential race.
KURTZ: And you were then canceled for an appearance on Gregory's program?
SMERCONISH: I didn't come back on that program until after David had given up the program and David Shuster was the host. And when David Shuster came back as the host, all of a sudden, my invitations were more forthcoming.
Gregory having a hissy fit is not surprising at all. It's how cable-TV works: Driven by egos.
Probably be bored to death.
I for one, would be willing to risk that.
interesting to see how those 26% got their news/talking points.
... I guess we'd have to settle for being effectively informed by news programing about THE NEWS - instead of entertained like the kids who crowd around a fistfight in a schoolyard shrieking "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" - which is what this 'ARENA of CONFLICT (flavored with Right Wing Worldviews!) ' bullshit programming is.
Local and National NEWS should be about journalism and efficient delivery of information - preferably prioritized by the editors in direct proportion to the likelyhood of that information having direct relevance to the audience members lives and reported with as much fidelity the objective facts of the matter as can skillfully be achieved.
World News should efficiently describe the major events occurring in places far away that can either affect security, stability, commerce, safety, and/or the welfare of large numbers of people.
Read People magazine and Weekly World News to find out what drug addled teen starlets/pop stars are dating Big Foot or whatever trivial noise the BIG NAMES in NEWS believe we have to be loudly smothered with in between fixed outcome propaganda food fights.
Or we could try to live in the real world and shut Fox (and other corporate noise machines) off.
Smerconish endorsed Barack Obama for President.
Not having ever listened to his show, seeing him only on Hardball, he strikes me as a fairly reasonable and intelligent person.
yes, he has triangulated his position quite well, and next to complete rightwing nutjobs (beck, medved) he seems fairly benign, but don't be fooled.
SMERCONISH: Pat, you -- you describe a -- a literal example of the so-called "ticking time bomb" hypothetical. The question that I always ask, because you're right, this is the torture debate. We may as well have it right now. And when folks say, "Well, we can't torture because that's beneath the standards of the United States," my response is always to say, "Why do the best and the brightest that we have to do interrogations wish to go in that direction?" In other words, if it didn't work, why would our guys want to at least explore some of those methods, like waterboarding, by way of example?
SMERCONISH: Congressman Roemer, preliminary reports suggest that these are individuals of Pakistani descent, perhaps British citizens, but Pakistanis. Is this going to finally cause the administration and the Department of Homeland Security to say, "We're at war with radical Islam, and that fact should be taken into account when we're trying to protect our borders and our airports?" And I guess that I am, sir, referring to that dreaded "p" word: "profiling."
SMERCONISH: A militant Islamic website claims the new leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq personally carried out the killings of two soldiers found dead in Baghdad last night. Those bodies showed signs of torture. They were killed in a, quote, "barbaric way," and American troops had to literally fight their way to the bodies, which were booby-trapped with explosives.
It's a horrific story, and as I watch it unfold, I have to ask myself, where are all the people who worked themselves into a lather about the naked pyramid pictures at Abu Ghraib or those who wanted [war-crimes] trials at the Hague [in the Netherlands] because we played Christina Aguilera music a bit too loud for the detainees down at Gitmo [Guantánamo Bay]. Tonight in America, some are no doubt sitting in Barcaloungers kvetching over which American soldiers will next be put on trial for alleged war atrocities, and meanwhile, these dirtbags -- they're thinking about whose head they want to chop off next.
Thanks Samson.
I thought I heard Kurtz make a reference at the top of the interview:
KURTZ: Well, we'll try not to make this interview torture, even though you're tolerant of it.
I think that was Kurtz being a bity snarky
Where the hell is everybody?
I read all the time that commerical interests control the message on corporate media. Isn't cable news based on selling men drugs to increase cockiness?
"I mean Romney is the most conservative on illegal immigration and I don't think Ronald Reagan could get elected in California today."
Ann "Clipped" Coulter
What up bud?
my cockiness.
"I mean Romney is the most conservative on illegal immigration and I don't think Ronald Reagan could get elected in California today."
Ann "Clipped" Coulter
and you'll be a walking pharmacy.
eliminated or raise the co-pay for tap water.
"I mean Romney is the most conservative on illegal immigration and I don't think Ronald Reagan could get elected in California today."
Ann "Clipped" Coulter
in this country.
feature footed bathtubs in their ads. The symbol is to allay fears among reluctant swimmers.
"I mean Romney is the most conservative on illegal immigration and I don't think Ronald Reagan could get elected in California today."
Ann "Clipped" Coulter
are diabolical. Right out of the twilight zone. Pop this pill for happiness and wellbeing. If you die please call your doctor immediately. Side effects include insanity, total internal organ breakdown etc.
I'm feeling a little cocky, right now. But then that could be because of the hole in my pocket.
the hole I mean.
"I mean Romney is the most conservative on illegal immigration and I don't think Ronald Reagan could get elected in California today."
Ann "Clipped" Coulter
Good advice, I been losing a lot of change lately.
to keep paying child support to the troll we are feeding on the other thread.
"I mean Romney is the most conservative on illegal immigration and I don't think Ronald Reagan could get elected in California today."
Ann "Clipped" Coulter
..Paxil tablets. I was a user but no longer and I won't throw them in the toilet. I'm waiting to build a fire so I can properly retire a Flag I found that someone threw out with the garbage and then I'll burn them too.
Mickey: "It was an epiphany. Do you know what an epipany is?"
Keoni: "NOT NOW MICKEY!"
You should always sit on a flat surface.
Is the new uppity. It didn't seem to bother the jerks at FOX when they were gushing over their "Rebel in Chief".
gun.
so hard to get these people.
________________
common sense matters as much as truth
Badah bum
Every once in awhile, you'll see media people inch very close to the point, then miss it completely.
It's not just that the cable "news" is about setting up little food fights-- it's the fact that these food fights are always constructed on corporate/GOP frames.
"Is Hillary Clinton a lying bitch??"
"Is Barack Obama arrogant (ie, uppity)??"
It's a way of pushing an agenda. I'd bet most of these people are so close to it that they can't even see it.
know what they are doing. That's why viewers don't recognize whats being done to them.
And with Ailes a former employee of GOP candidates, well, anyone can see Faux Noise is merely a GOP propaganda machine. Not sure anyone is too close to see that; it's pretty obvious. But fortunately Shep Smith occasionally speaks truth to power.
Thanks to John A. for posting this. I'll have to remember to play the video for a certain Faux-loving relative of mine.
And appreciate Smerconish for his candor.
I'm thinking Morning Michael for MSNBC....
Say it ain't so!
They could replace Joe S. with an Aardvark and no one would notice.
I apologize to all the Aardvark's out there.
Mickey: "It was an epiphany. Do you know what an epipany is?"
Keoni: "NOT NOW MICKEY!"
Morning anything rather than Joe. When he leaves he can take Mika with him.
If I remember correctly, Smerconish had that time slot on msnbc back when they were trying to decide who to give it to. I think he had it one of the try-out weeks.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
I don't have cable, so my only exposure to CNN, MSNBC or Faux is through this site--I simply can't stomach Faux, so I don't even watch the clips.
NBC has lost me, though. I can't watch Gregory. His idea of "balanced" is exactly what this guy (Smerconish?) is talking about--an argument between two polarized positions, followed by a little dose of his conventional wisdom.
He was a horrible choice for a program like "Press the Meat," which should, ideally, be about educating the public and getting behind WHY things are happening as they are in our government. Instead, it's an unmoderated wrestling match with bullshit positions that go unquestioned by someone with the access to know what he's hearing is an bald-faced lie.
I've just taken to turning off the teevee altogether.
By the way, boycotting Faux Sports ain't a bad idea, either. There's only so much of Tim McCarver's flag-waving one northwesterner can stand. Crawl back into NASCAR's oil can, Timmy.
it doesn't require much in the way of brainpower period.
someone else will. That's where Fox comes in.
Drugs are becoming a great great problem in our country
You in the unUnited States?
Do you happen to use drugs?
how, exactly?
is it the drugs, or the "war" on the drugs?
Gregory is a hack who for some reason has risen quickly on MSNBC and now NBC. He has neither he looks or personality to carry a show on his own. Still can't figure out how he got this far.
Smerconish can be reasonable at times but make no mistake, he is a conservative.
That's how.
what happened to Gregory, besides the obvious
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqqoM1iyo04
What is next telling me there is no Santa Claus?
Tyler. Motherliness abounds here.
"I mean Romney is the most conservative on illegal immigration and I don't think Ronald Reagan could get elected in California today."
Ann "Clipped" Coulter
these media/t.v. channels do like the division. if fox has a opposing guest they get shorted on time,interrupted and/or they are a dweeb. life is NOT black and white and many (r) that i talk with NOT all
are black and white in discussion. that's the fox program edited/quick talking points rarely any deepth. there audience is NOT wired for that. personally i watch some pbs,cnbc,bloomberg,worldfocus and i listen to some npr to cross reference. it's gotten worse NOW it's reality news. i tried to watch fox so i could hear the other side it was ridiculous.
Honestly I'm not familiar with Michael Smerconish (talk radio in central IL consists only of hard-right Beck, Hannity, etc.) but I gotta agree 100% with this. Cable news is a joke that everyone is in on except for those who work in cable news. Thats why I try to stay up with BBC World and News Hour w/ Lehrer. No sensationalist 'news', just NEWS.
It's not too hard.
that faux vets its guests in this way. For the same reason, it's probably a good idea to check a guests credentials before taking him or her seriously. (Bubba don't do it, but YOU should!) How many "law enforcement experts" have been gleaned from faux's own parking garage, I wonder. How many clerks at Costco have appeared as "market specialists"?
Boy - that says a boatload.
*
I'm a news junky who can't watch many news programs. They're just one anemic spitting contest after another. Sometimes, I despair.
Well, that was a new approach. Advertising a new radio show as if it were news.
I never heard of the guy.
My day is already full of enough radio with Mike Malloy and Bob Kincaid.
I also listen to Hartmann.
covered Yellowbird
http://newstalgia.crooksandliars.com/gordonsk...
what now?
What possible new information did this infomertial bring to the table? Readers of C&L alreay knew this. We have been saying this since the 90's.
Faux is bullshit, plain and simple.
"Let's talk dirty to the animals"
It's impossible to paint Faux noise any worse partisan than it is already to any intellignent, openminded American.
Seems weird to label him 'right wing talking head Michael Smerconish' when he's not exactly that at all. He's no lefty, but after he endorsed and supported Obama and seems no longer willing to identify with the Republican Party, it just doesn't seem fitting to call him that anymore.
Smerconish is the only guy on the station in Philly that he is on that you can listen to without wanting to throw up.
I actually don't mind Smerconish. He's someone I can stomach. I'm glad he doesn't do Faux noise. I always thought David Gregory was a bit of a prima donna.
I didn't like Schuster for the longest time, but I changed my mind on him.
People can slam MSNBC all they want. I don't care. It's still got some of the best news. The Ed Show, Countdown and Rachel Maddow are great. I also watch Rick Sanchez in the afternoons, too.
/all cable news is biased for one side or the other. Can't trust any of them. But most of us knew that already
That take a critical look at the media and hold them to certain standards.
If the FCC isn't going to do it, at least someone can pull open the curtain to let people see there's a man there pulling the levers.
Maybe we're sophisticated enough to understand this, but most Americans aren't.
he's as wingnutty as anyone gets
an argument hatched that morning in the executive office, the associate producer scrambles to get guests, and then they are being taped live at 2pm? is this news for the stay-at-home masses? the gossip set? the viewers of maury povich?
If it weren't for the last few remaining unbiased reporters like Glenn Beck, Lou Dobbs (CNN), Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly, the world would be even MORE scary than it already is!
At least these men have the balls to say it the way it IS, not how the rest of the Rupert Murdoch-censored mainstream media SAYS it is while they are in collusion with the "New World Order" to coerce you into believing that everything will be alright if you just "obey your elected idiots"!
WHAT HAPPENED TO COMMON SENSE AND PATRIOTISM? America needs to WAKE UP because all of the sheep out there without the mind to think and process logic for themselves (due to overexposure to video games, blackberries, computer chat rooms and Jerry Springer), are being led down a perilous path from which there is no return.
BE INTELLIGENT ENOUGH TO DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH-DON'T RELY ON THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH-USE YOUR HEAD!!!
Liberalsim in America is a classic case of giving a dog too much rope-the outcome is the same, except AMERICA is hanging!!!!!
Now I'm REALLY scared.
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