Shep Smith Lets Loose A Little Honesty While Billo Fights A War In His Mind
Heather sent this clip from Thursday's O'Reilly Factor for the uncharacteristically honest aside Shepard Smith makes about Sean Hannity being in the business of electing Republicans. Frankly, anyone who has spent any time watching Fox News and listening to Fox Radio can glean that in about 1.35 seconds. Hannity makes no bones about his bias, although he will occasionally weasel out of his crossing journalistic ethical lines (like he even knows what journalistic ethics are) by alternately claiming to be a commentator rather than a journalist. Between you and me, let's just call him a propagandist and be done with it.
But what struck me as I was writing up the transcripts is Bill O'Reilly's state of mind. More specifically, Bill is apparently in a war within his own mind that bears little to do with the actual conversation he was having with Shep. He evokes this bravado of wanting to physically harm Barney Frank as a way to show empathy for Shepard Smith's recent calling out of Joe the Plumber and Ralph Nader, which is more than a little disturbing. He then launches into a strangely dissonant and (I guess in his mind) facetious slam that "the media" launches against Fox News after Smith says he was trying to champion the truth. I'm not sure who this "media" is for Billo, unless suddenly the liberal blogosphere has been elevated in his mind from guttersnipes to the mainstream media. But watch Billo in this clip...he never lets Smith finish a sentence and it's all about a conflict that exists nowhere but in his mind.
O’REILLY: Okay, but you work for the Fox News Channel, which is the most unfair channel, always trying to get the Republicans elected. So you can’t be doing this stuff, you can’t be challenging Joe the Plumber and Ralph Nader…
SMITH: Well, as you know, and thank you for the softball, that’s silly. That’s Sean …
O’REILLY: [laughs] It was a little facetious here…
SMITH: That’s Sean Hannity’s job. Sean Hannity…
O’REILLY: Well, Sean Hannity is a Republican…
SMITH: That’s what I said and the bottom…
O’REILLY: So what’s the beef?
SMITH: The beef…I have absolutely no beef …
O’REILLY: I have no beef with him. Calls him a Communist…
SMITH: Absolutely. But the bottom…But that’s labeled like an op-ed page opinion. Mine is labled news.
O’REILLY: But the media attacks on Fox News just fall apart when you watch Hume’s broadcast, you watch The Factor, we have just as many liberals as conservatives on here, but the media doesn’t really care, do they?
Maybe it's me, but I think Billo is right there on the abyss of a breakdown.
Transcripts below the fold:
O’REILLY: Okay, when you see something like that that personally annoys you, you can’t be like me, because I can show my annoyance. I can,you know, yell at Barney Frank, you know slap—if he was here I’d probably slap him. I wouldn’t really, but I wanted it to, because he hurt so many people. And I think that “Uncle Tom” comment hurt people too. I agree with you, I think it was totally inappropriate. But you can’t go to that line. Where’s the line in your mind that you can go up to?
SMITH: I feel like what I can do is ask him if he’d like to phrase it in another way. And I think that’s what you do when you’re trying to be fair.
O’REILLY: But he called you a bully though.
SMITH: That was an attempt to get me riled up and make me look like the bad guy…
O’REILLY: No, no, no…you said he was irrelevant, he didn’t like that.
SMITH: He was irrelevant in this contest. In the past, he has played spoiler and in some ways affected the outcome of elections, and in this case, he wasn’t able to do that.
O’REILLY: Now you grilled “Joe the Plumber” a couple of weeks ago over his Israel comments. You know, when you said what do you know about Israel? And why would Israel be punished if Barack Obama…
SMITH: Actually, what he said was a vote for Barack Obama is a vote for the death of Israel. Actually, someone in the crowd said it, he said I agree with you not once but twice. I didn’t think it was important, so much, what Joe the Plumber said, about the death to Israel or Barack Obama’s connection thereto, I thought what was important was that he was on a GOP bus, on a GOP-funded tour, called the “Joe the Plumber Tour” and when he said something like that, as a apparently spokesperson of the GOP at the time--John McCain said he was going to take him to Washington—I felt that it was important for our audience to know from where that information comes. Why he came to that decision, and his answer was, “Well, your listeners, as he put it, go out and figure out why it was…
O’REILLY: He didn’t know; he couldn’t articulate it…
SMITH: He didn’t know why he did, and the truth is Barack Obama had made the statement repeatedly and demonstrated repeatedly that Israel would always be a friend to America. And I think some of this disinformation, some of the lies that show up on the internet are dangerous and those of us who hold truth dear , it’s our job to set the record straight and that’s what I wanted to do…
O’REILLY: Okay, but you work for the Fox News Channel, which is the most unfair channel, always trying to get the Republicans elected. So you can’t be doing this stuff, you can’t be challenging Joe the Plumber and Ralph Nader…
SMITH: Well, as you know, and thank you for the softball, that’s silly. That’s Sean …
O’REILLY: [laughs] It was a little facetious here…
SMITH: That’s Sean Hannity’s job. Sean Hannity…
O’REILLY: Well, Sean Hannity is a Republican…
SMITH: That’s what I said and the bottom…
O’REILLY: So what’s the beef?
SMITH: The beef…I have absolutely no beef …
O’REILLY: I have no beef with him. Calls him a Communist…
SMITH: Absolutely. But the bottom…But that’s labeled like an op-ed page opinion. Mine is labled news.
O’REILLY: But the media attacks on Fox News just fall apart when you watch Hume’s broadcast, you watch The Factor, we have just as many liberals as conservatives on here, but the media doesn’t really care, do they?
SMITH: Well, there’s a game going on that’s not about me. And I know what I do, I do the news. I’ve done it for a long time. And I feel like when people say things that are patently false…
O’REILLY: But you get that all the time, don’t you?
SMITH: Of course…
O’REILLY: Fox News is this or that or the other thing…
SMITH: Of course, I do. I’m like, ‘are you only watching that O’Reilly cat?’
O’REILLY: From now, I want you to carry pictures of a bloodied Joe the Plumber, right…
SMITH: He wasn’t bloodied…I feel like….
O’REILLY: And Ralph Nader calling you a bully.
SMITH: He was used. Joe the Plumber was used by the campaign and it didn’t work out for him.
O’REILLY: No, but he wasn’t used in a way that was negative…
SMITH: I didn’t mean that.
O’REILLY: Joe the Plumber wanted to be…
SMITH: There’s no doubt…
O’REILLY: …right on that bus, doing right what he did…
SMITH: Yes, he did.
O’REILLY: He’s an American, he has a right to do that. And you had the right to ask him the question.
SMITH: And when a campaign puts him in a position to answer questions like that, on behalf of the GOP…
O’REILLY: He’s got to be held accountable…
SMITH: Then they get what they get.
Maybe it's me, but I think Billo is right there on the abyss of a breakdown.
Personally, I don't think so, Nicole. I think O'Really? knows exactly what he's doing.
The whole purpose of FUX News is to shift the political spectrum itself to the right. It seeks to redefine right and left so that what is actually right wing is seen as dead center. That way, extremists on the right, are just principled right wingers, while people on the center-left are radicals, and liberals are extremely dangerous.
Smith seems to have a modicum of objectivity sorely lacking from most of FUX News' broadcasts. O'Really? is seizing upon it in order to make the argument that FUX is, in general, objective, fair and balanced.
Of course, he's not going to let him finish a sentence. If he did, Smith would start saying things with which most of the O'Really? addicts would disagree. O'Really? is just trying his best to maintain the illusion of balance and objectivity that is the cornerstone of FUX News.
Everyone is equally entitled to the pursuit of happiness. Wasn't that once self evident?
I agree with what you're saying about o'Rielly's motivation in how he was answering and editing Smith. He clearly was not interested in giving Smith a mouthpiece to spout unfiltered truth on his program.
But I think what we might have also been witnessing a confrontation between the two parts of the newly fissured Republican party. The new faction, represented here by Smith, are those who took seriously the electorate's obvious desire for change. These Republicans are trying to become intellectually honest (which, despite the evidence from the last 8 years, is possible). To be Republicans who support ideals which, though we may disagree, have merit. Colin Powell is a good example of what these types of Republicans would sound like.
The other side would be the nearly fascistic Republicans who twist the truth in order to trick the non-wealthy masses into voting for a system of government that exploits them. A prime example of these guys, of course, would be O'Reilly who derives all his power from the existence and continuation of that Republican party.
I think it will be an interesting time for the Fox news channel as it deals with these two ideals. And we might start to see O'Reilly start to crack a bit under the strain as he defends it.
phopper:
My continued condemnation of Colin Powell notwithstanding, the confrontation between O'Really? and Smith could indeed be a part of the Republicans' current identity crisis. May the forces of objectivity win on FUX News, even if embraced only out of prudence and survival.
Everyone is equally entitled to the pursuit of happiness. Wasn't that once self evident?
I deleted Fux News from my cabel years ago! It was the best thing I have ever done (t.v. wise that is).
Now, with Beck on Fux, I can skip the entire lot of corporo-fascist propaganda idiot shows without having to see their faces as I surf.
Rush Limbaugh is what a smart person thinks a stupid bigot sounds like.
I've always been kind of apathetic about Shep Smith. Didn't really like him or dislike him. (Of course, I despise the network he works for!) But, after hearing him spar with O'Reilly in this clip, I think he comes across very level-headed and fair.
Could he really be "fair and balanced" ... AND work for FOX?
What is the world coming to?
He made a comment on election night that really surprised me. He said:
"These political operatives and campaigners from the McCain camp were saying that he's a communist, pals around with terrorists ect. in an attempt to make people afraid of Obama the candidate. Now I know those politicos don't really believe that and it was just a tactic. Now that the campaign is over they just go on with there lives. But there are poeple out there in middle america who are truly afraid of Barak Obama and that doesn't just go away. I get letters from these people that you wouldn't believe. The fear tactic is not a bell you can just unring after the election."
I thought that was very candid and considered. Not what I expected from a Faux News reader. I wouldn't be surprised if he jumped the O'Liely sinking ship soon. :0
Have had several conversations with friends and my students who are actually TERRIFIED of the Obama administration and what they believe is going to happen to this country. One of my neighbors and I had a long conversation this weekend - I calmly explained Obama's policies and positions to him, to which I observed, he did appear a bit relieved. Then as he left he turned towards me and said "still, I think McCain is a better American." Good grief.
I watched it...I read it...personally...I don't know what either of them is talking and I honestly don't think that they do either.
To me...this IS the exploding heads moment we've waited for.
"Anyone that makes less than $150K in this country, has no business voting Republican."
Don't tell me you missed this?
*
"Maybe it's me, but I think Billo is right there on the abyss of a breakdown."
There's always hope ...
Too much fun . . . .
*
Trying to deconstruct what these petty, mean-spirited, deluded and, in some cases, bone-fide schizoids is a waste of time. A team of Freudian psychoanalysts (now there's a group to steer clear of), of Rogerian therapists (they only ask questions) and of Jungian mystics (secularized theology) couldn't shed even a tincture of light into the cesspool of O'Reilly's intermittently firing synapses so why should any sane primate who has better ways to spend his or her time even be mildly interested in the whys and wherefores. Hmmm . . . now that I think about it, time to go!!
"Secular humanism -- a fearless, realistic world view replete with doubt and scepticism that attempts to attain an unachievable state of equilibrium between and among the human qualities of reason, intuition, imagination, memory, ethics and common sense.
I don't think that's a very constructive way of looking at things.
O'Lielly is certainly on the defensive. I wouldn't expect to see that considering that brand-spanking new contract he has. But their reality certainly is their own. Maybe the nosedive his ratings took on election night have him nervous - not likely - but maybe.
*
I'm not getting the imminent breakdown either. Seemed to me Billo was snarking a little, the way I do when I ask my wife, after she says something "liberal", why she hates America so much. It's the spoken equivalent of putting s ";)" after some comment.
If he's gonna have a breakdown, I wanna see popping veins and blotchy red skin!
"If he's gonna have a breakdown, I wanna see popping veins and blotchy red skin!"
Wait, isn't that the way he is most times already?
To me...an exploding head is the moment of befuddled thought and convoluted statements that come out when you realize that you don't know who you are anymore.
O'Reilly is there.
"Anyone that makes less than $150K in this country, has no business voting Republican."
Shepard Smith wants to be careful about revealing the truth like that. It can cost you your job at Fox.
As to O'Rielly having a breakdown, how could you tell? He always seems delusional and psychotic.
He needs to be sedated and thrown from a plane about 25 miles at sea. Replace him with a mild-mannered orangutan on the Factor and the show's crashing ratings may stabilize. It would certainly be a lot more intelligent.
Shepherd Smith seems like a decent guy, politics aside. He shouldn't be at Fox. I don't care what your specific job is, if you're on that network, you're part of a GOP propaganda machine and it's going to sully your reputation.
..and Colmes is a "Communist".
Oh and barney Frank single handedly brought down the economy.
Bill is such a deep thinker...
"To me, truth is not some vague, foggy notion. Truth is real. And,
at the same time, unreal. Fiction and fact and everything in between,
plus some things I can't remember, all rolled into one big "thing."
This is truth, to me. "
-Jack Handy
Not really one of Billo's strongest suits. Thinking.
What is your conceptual, continuity?
"So anyway I'd be rubbing your big boobs and getting your nipples really hard, kinda' kissing your neck from behind...and then I would take the other hand with the falafel thing and I'd just put it on your p***y but you'd have to do it really light, just kind of a tease business..."
"To me, truth is not some vague, foggy notion. Truth is real. And,
at the same time, unreal. Fiction and fact and everything in between,
plus some things I can't remember, all rolled into one big "thing."
This is truth, to me. "
-Jack Handy
There is a great falafel place near my job where the cook (who looks like Huey Morgan) upgrades my medium deluxe falafel to a XL because me and my friend are cute. I'll never be able to eat a falafel again. Thanks :(
NB:I heard about the falafel thing, but I never actually heard or read it. Goodbye pickled turnips. Goodbye grilled egglant. Goodbye Falafel King.
I could have gone a lifetime without a replay of that.
and actually get away with it.
O'Reilly makes the mistake most homophobic macho men make - that they whip a gay guy's ass with no problem.
How many of them come back with grudging respect when they get a can of whip-ass broken on them by a gay man?
My money's on Barney Frank for whipping O'Reilly's ass - not the other way around.
I actually wonder if faux news isn't just establishment based and this is the beginning of the shift to be the voicebox of our next leader.
When you think about ratings it's not an impossibility, is it?
sheperd smith has had his moments while on the FAUX news channel. one was when he reported from new orleans after katrina, thougth he did a good job and actually brought so humanity to faux news. his joe the dumbass interview was another. i don't watch Faux news and shep smith isnt enough to get me to but i do enjoy C&L reporting some of the good things that he does on the channel. One man isnt going to change that channels image very much, but its a start.
PS, O'Really can still kiss my ass
PSS, O'Really calling Colmes a Commie was a little over the top also.
I haven't watched enough of that station to be able to give an accurate assessment.
But from what I've seen( very little) Sheppard Smith seems to be the only one with anything that resembles honesty.
I'm not saying he's guilt free.
I'm just saying he's more honest that the rest of them.
Colmes? Yeah, whatever. He's a disappointment.He try's
Bless his Heart.
What is your conceptual, continuity?
Watching Billo try to come to the middle.
He just plays which ever side is on top.
He's going to have a helluva time doing that now.
Way too much video of him for him to flip flop.
Besides, who would want his lying skanky ass?
What is your conceptual, continuity?
It doesn't matter how many non-Repubs FOX News has on their station, when the newscasters scream over them so they can't answer any questions or get their point across.
i will happily applaud and cheer when
billo is pulled kicking and screaming
off his daily program when the mental
break occurs. the world will be relieved
when he is gone as they are bush is going.
How often does that O'REALLY guy have intelligent guests with smart things to say? Do I have to start watching him now??? because the truth is that I haven't been able to tolerate the CYCLONE inside his "No Spin Zone..." for a long long time. It sucks the air right out of you!
They actually agreed that the GOP should be held responsible for things said BY BONA-FIDE GOP SURRAGATES...
Bet you don't hear THAT again on FOX for another beezillion years.
I guess once you interview smart it's hard to go back. Mind you with Billo it might take a while.
Divine Right of Kings (1600's); Divine Right of Corporations (2011)
eom
Divine Right of Kings (1600's); Divine Right of Corporations (2011)
O'Raly is a drunk. check him out.
What is your conceptual, continuity?
I wonder if O'Rally will mention Al Frankens iminent Senate win after the recount is done?
Maybe he will have the U.S. Senator-elect on his show for an interview. They can discuss old times - like when the judge laughed O'Rally's (and Fux Noises) libel case out of court.
Rush Limbaugh is what a smart person thinks a stupid bigot sounds like.
Maybe billo could review Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
In the recount would make O'Reilly's head explode for sure.
Better yet, make the recount a tie and have a coin toss that Franken wins.
Ha!!!
"The US has an army of 90,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and is spending $100bn a year, but has still been unable to defeat 20,000-25,000 Taliban who receive no pay at all." - Patrick Cockburn
This interview is almost certainly staged with questions and answers pre-prepared to maximize their marketing value.
Now that Fox is losing ratings ground to a growing leftward leaning America, it is now trying to promote and feature itself as more centrist, so it has O'Reilly / Fox News interview a Fox News talking head in an attempt to re-brand its image closer to the center.
It's a three way cable political campaign between CNN, Fox, and MSNBC
and a few balanced interviews doesnt change the facts of faux news channel or loofa boy
"i have as many liberals on as conservatives"
when these asshats label pat caddell as a lib, the answer is...no you dont
barney frank hurt people?
faux was willing to hide the facts about a vp candidate till after the election
dont they think that putting a full retard a heartbeat away from the presidency would hurt people?
their cheerleading for the war, and labelling those that spoke out against it as being unpatriotic....killed people
btw...nicole, when are you gonna post the vid of reid saying that all is forgiven in regards holy joe?
if reid and pelosi remain in the leadership, the dems will be facing a wipeout in 2010
Shep Smith, to me, is the most honest person on FOX News. I agree with Katrina's post earlier concerning his coverage on the effects of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans. It was evident that the lack of assistance by the federal government and the suffering that that non-action caused had visibly affected Mr. Smith. I also remember the "re-educating" of Sheppard Smith on air by Sean Hannity by trying to lay the blame on democratic politicians, namely Nagin, Blanco and Landrieu. There have been other instances in which Sheppard Smith has violated the "omerta" code of FOX News and I won't be surprised to see him jump ship with our new administration. Giving him a prime slot on FOX may have been enough in his early career but I can see integrity and ambition beating out loyalty. Perhaps CNN will be that network after seeing Hemmer leave CNN to join FOX.
I am sure every Nazi who worked for Goering wanted to be known as 'honest'. Anyone who works there knows it has one goal, to turn the US into a theocratic dystopia so corrupt that Murdoch can buy most all the media outlets, crank up the advertising rates and leave his sons dynastic wealth.
I think there is an error in the transcript...it says "Calls him a communist" when Bill actually said "Colmes is a communist"
I think that was a comment that should not have been let alone.
As for the unraveling of O'Reilly, he just said a few weeks ago that he fears that the media has been giving a free pass to Obama, and that he fears that once Obama is the president, he will have only talk radio showing some dissent to his words, along with Bill O'Reilly who "plays it down the middle"
I don't think that comment should have been let go either.
Having said that, Bill O'Reilly can be made to look sensible once in a while by nuts like Hannity. What say?
...is when I'm at the barber shop. The barber's name is Fox, so he thinks its amusing to have the Fox channel on. I try to time my visits for when Shep's show is on, so I won't be inundated with inanity. I think if FNC really wants to soften its image now that a majority of Americans voted for a Democrat and MSNBC is making headway in the ratings war, they'll need to have a pundit show with an actual liberal in top billing in addition to the blithering blatherers like Hannity and O'Reilly.
so much as it is him turning into a cranky old man. I think he's on the verge of yelling at the kids to get of the lawn, maybe from having spewed the invective so long that he doesn't know how to behave in a civil fashion. well, that, or wet brain.
The tactic does not belong just to BillO but is utilized by almost all interviewers Fox employs. The trick is to ask a loaded question, then if the "victim" in their first 10 words doesn't go in the direction you want, simply interrupt and shout them down.
It's simple rudeness. Such behavior in children wouldn't be tolerated, but on Fox, it's the way to do business.
Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
Shepard Smith is the only reasonable guy on that network. I know he's had a 'FOX moment' or two as well, but on the whole, he is the sole personality on that network I can sit and watch. And even if Shep defends the network when Bill 'O mocks the idea that FOX is in the tank for Republicans, you have to remember than even Alan "Communist" Colmes has said many times that the idea that FOX favors Republicans is just not true. In short, you can't believe anyone on the FOX payroll.
Ok, I don't know what to think about Shep Smith. He comes across like he is pretty fair. Maybe he is. Let's say he is. If so he must hate it at Fox. Soooooo let's trade Tucker for Shep. By the way, did you notice that there was no Tucker on the biggest night of the year as far a politics is concerned?
O'riely is guttless, Fow news is untrustworthy. I don't care who they get to report news, unless they are 100% honest, 100% of the time - I still see them as moronic Junk.
Billo, I'm gonna call you boy, OK.
You better be very careful, boy!, so easily could you be charged with high crimes and misdemeanors, BOY, traitor, turn coat, fascist, punk. :P
O’Reilly’ ratings have been declining steadily since the summer at the expense of MSNBC’s Olbermann and now Rachel Maddow. Fox is very much the odd man out in the new political paradigm, so it will be hard to retain the smug arrogance of the last 8 years, particularly when they’ve got zero inside sources. (I agree with the comments that O’Reilly seems like he’s about to go around the friggin’ pipe, by the way. All that talk about the Justice Department investing the Neilsen people when his ratings began heading south was definitely loony).
Enter the cherubic Shepard Smith, the picture of fairness and balance. Scourge of Joe the Plumbers everywhere! Bitch-slapper of Ralph the “Uncle Tom-callin” Nader! (and doesn’t Nader look more and more like Montgomery Burns from the Simpsons every time we see `him?) But what were his objections to these two miscreants? Joe was on the Joe the Plumber Tour riding a GOP bus and surely had to be taken to task for associating Obama with forces who want to destroy Israel when on a GOP financed trip. It would be bad reporting to do anything else) And Ralph Nader has the right to say anything he likes but Shepard Smith simply wants to alert Ralph to the fact that that there might a way of making his point that doesn’t involve a racial slur that’s been around for 150 years. In both cases, Shep has been the antithesis of the Fox News prototype. Not only fair and balanced but able to articulate the rationale for his positions on Joe and Ralph in a manner that any liberal (and any former constitutional law professor) can appreciate.
The Fox is running scared. They know it’s payback time and if they can’t come up with something that looks like a real news network with real news, they probably won’t make any real money, in which case Rupert (who’s already hurting) may pull the plug.
"... on the abyss of a breakdown."
What are you using that word to mean?
"Edge"?
BORe must be snapping - he's admitting that Fox isn't media, as in news media. Or maybe you're right, he's saying the blogosphere is now the media and Faux is noise. The media are picking on the media doesn't make much sense.
I gotta admit, Smith seems pretty good. I loved his comment about how sometimes it just gets frightening over the 'Obama means death to Israel' kite they tried to fly during the campaign.
Maybe they can see the writing on the wall or maybe they're as scared by the fringe (their audience) as the rest of us are.
Who knows, it's funny as hell, let's hope it continues!
I'm loving this 'interview'.
Smith put O'Reilly down so many times...
Maybe it's just because the only O'rally I get is here at C&L but he does seem to have a bit of a fixation on Barney Frank lately. Seems a little...well...odd.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
I guess.
Lately Shep has honed a more journalistic persona.
FOX knows their in conservtive thinning viewerships for the future.
So is Shep on BillO to project a more fair and balanced reporting of News?
Draw more of a distinction between shep's news and Hannity's mouthing off. ?
The why does FOX place the "FOX News" Icon ( Not just FOX mind you), The FOX News icon on screen during Billo's show and others as well?
Coould it be they are willing to entice viewers into thinking such as BillO is NEWS when it is opinion.?
I think so.
My dad's wife thinks that BORe's show is 'news'. I've tried to explain why it isn't multiple ways with no success. She watches Fox all the time and was arguing a couple of years ago that Bush is the best president in the history of the US.
The thing is, she's not a racist, a snob, has a college education, but still buys into the garbage.
Scary.
One of the interesting things I've seen lately is Fox News not being so unfair. I can't really give examples, but I remember seeing a couple of things recently and being struck by how Fox News wasn't really that bad. And I've been thinking -- maybe it's not. We've got Bill O'Reilly, Hannity, and EVERY FUCKING IDIOT IN whatever program Steve Doocy's in -- I forgot the name. But then there's Shep Smith, Carl Cameron, Chris Wallace, who are right-leaning but respectable. The news they choose to show on the network, the way they present it, is definitely right-wing in intent and appearance -- we all remember the terrorist fist jab, and that's not the worst of it -- but in the end, I get the feeling that some of these people really are journalists, even if they're not very good ones. Again, this doesn't apply to Bill O'Reilly and company.
Not that anyone should ever watch FNC. Democrats still need to think twice about setting foot in that slime pit. But at least some of its reporters are actual journalists, even if slanted ones with an agenda.
Couldn't agree with these observations more. Here's what I don't do:WATCH. Never have, never will........they simply don't qualify as a "news" program.
I hit reply to another post, NOT this one. I have a differing opinion on what constitutes journalism......starting with telling the truth all the time, not just when you NEED to.
Hey Shep, what happened to your accent? C'mon - let your north Missippy flag fly!
P.S. "Colmes is a Communist," not "calls him a Communist."
If Bill O'Reilly and Fox News are currently experiencing something of an identity crisis, it's because the Republican Party has the same problem. Until the GOP sorts itself out and one faction or the other gains the upper hand, Fox doesn't know what the talking point of the day is.
I was on vacation recently and my hotel room only had Fox News, which sucked. I got to see Shep Smith a lot and I think he's pretty fair and serious about finding the truth. He's like an oasis in a desert of idiots. Too bad he's on fox and not a channel that's more serious.
Shep Smith and Chris Wallace are the only two people I can stomach on fox news , that Hannity guy, steve doochey, Billo and the rest can go to hell for all i care
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