Holy Conflict of Interest Batman!
- Posted by Lord Bitememan on March 18th, 2009 filed in Journalism Fox News
You know, I know Fox is propaganda. I watch it because I prefer propaganda I like to propaganda I hate (cough cough nightly news). But sometimes I don’t think they’re even trying. You’ve all probably heard that Meghan McCain is in a big imbroglio with Ann Coulter and Laura Ingraham. Well, it just so happens that Laura Ingraham has a regular guest host spot on Fox News’ “O’Reilly Factor.” For those of you who just can’t sink low enough, the first five minutes of the show are dedicated to a segment called the “Talking Points Memo” where Bill goes on for about five minutes on some topic that’s got his goat today. Guess what Laura’s five minute rant was about. Now, didn’t anybody at Fox see the potential for a conflict of interest here when Laura’s turn on the chair came up? Didn’t any exec stop and say “hey, could you not drag your personal drama with McCain’s daughter onto a guest host segment?” I know that “fair and balanced” is just a gimmick, but couldn’t somebody over at Fox just try for a change?
Beth says:
O’Reilly’s show is an opinion show - not news. So yeah, there’s an agenda, but it’s not like it needs to be fair & balanced. (And hey, I like that show!) So…conflict of interest? Nah. Self-indulgent vanity piece? Yep.
…[Edited to make this overlong comment a post so I can say I actually contributed to my own blog for a change. hahahaha]…
Fuck Laura Ingraham.
Beth says:
Whoa. That was long enough for a post! Hey, I posted on my blog! LOL
Laura Ingraham’s rant on the O’Reilly Factor about Meghan McCain | MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy says:
[...] her, but I wanted to see what the cupid stunt had to say for herself. I was screaming at the teevee last night when she was ranting about how she was “channeling” Meghan McCain talking about her weight. [...]
Lord Bitememan says:
Personally, I still say conflict of interest specifically because they gave a forum to a principle actor in the dispute. Had O’Reilly run the same bit I would not have been this heated about it. Had they simply interviewed her, I wouldn’t have been this heated. They let her use her guest host slot in the show to rant about her side of the dispute. That’s staking out way too much of a side in the dispute for the network to take.
Don’t get me wrong, Fox is better than the nightly news at the major networks, but lately I’ve gotten a bitter taste in my mouth from a lot of the changes that have been made. I really don’t like the choice to go with Glenn Beck in what used to be Niel Cavuto’s spot, and the decision not to replace Colmes and make the show just “Hannity” also left me feeling like Fox is going more towards naked propaganda than just news with a conservative tilt. I’m especially miffed about the Hannity show, since there would have been plenty of qualified liberals who could have served as a suitable replacement. Why not Kirsten Powers, for example? Who can argue that she wouldn’t have been a welcome replacement to the hideous Alan Colmes? And then Megyn Kelly could sub for Hannity some day. . . I’m sorry, I just got distracted for a second. . . something about pillows. What was I commenting about? ;)
Greg says:
Here’s a serious question in the spirit of the candor of your post and comments regarding Fox/O’Reilly/Hannity etc.
I will concede upfront that MSNBC is the Anti-Fox, and Olberman is just as over the top as O’Reilly.
So, my question is this, what do you think of Rachel Maddow?
Lord Bitememan says:
Who? I guess that’s as much an opinion as a question.
Beth says:
I can’t stand Hannity’s show either. Colmes was a dipshit, but not the worst lib - and the show was MUCH more interesting then. I agree, they could have found any number of replacements who would be fine in that slot. Hannity’s show is self-indulgent, mindess cheerleading. And that Hate Hannity Hotline is about the stupidest thing on TV - as is the “Liberal Translation” thing he does with the hokey circus-sounding music. Blech.
Of course, I’ve never been a big fan of his anyway - the dude can’t debate worth a shit. When I’d see him arguing with Colmes or some other lib, I was always yelling at the tv because he just can’t argue at all. He leaves out pertinent facts, makes stupid or irrelevant points, and doesn’t really get to the heart of any issue, even when it’s a slam-dunk. He’s a fluffy teevee guy with good hair, that’s it. Meh.
I like Glenn Beck’s show a lot (dude needs to quit being so fucking emotional all the time though, FFS!), but yeah…I always liked watching Neil Cavuto more than any of the other show. They should have just put Glenn Beck in Hannity’s time slot and put Hannity on after Red Eye. LOL Or better yet, send him packing.
/dodges incoming grenades