Keith Olbermann: Crazy Like a Fox?

[babylonsister]

Keith Olbermann: Crazy Like a Fox?
Media
by Sherwood Ross | July 28, 2008 - 10:49am

snip//

The difference between cable news and network news is the difference between a newspaper's editorial page and its regular news columns. Cable is remarkable, though, in that its news commentators today enjoy the kind of unlimited freedom of expression Baltimore Sun columnist H.L. Mencken would have relished when he took Germany's side in World War I -- only to have the publisher suspend his column.

Fox's decision to dump Olbermann was fateful, especially for Fox star O'Reilly because "Countdown" is a show he may wish he had never heard of. Olbermann comes over as simply brighter (if you compare the questions the two men ask news sources) than O'Reilly. Plus, Olbermann has assembled a supporting cast that make his show more intrguing than its Fox competitor.

Among them Air America Radio's Rachel Maddow, obviously headed for a great future on video; Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson, and Newsweek's Chief Political Correspondent Howard Fineman.

MSNBC is a 24-hour cable offspring of staid NBC news, where reporters are careful to preserve their objectivity. NBC may do "interpretive reporting" to explain the meaning behind breaking news events but its journalistic code requires its reporters to keep their personal opinions strictly to themselves. CBS-TV and ABC-TV reporters follow a like policy.

But the world of cable news is far different and Olbermann, crazy or not, has a lot to do with shaping why it is different. None of the cable news shows displays the objectivity of the traditional network news broadcasts.

However, Fox TV's claim that its reportage is "fair and balanced" is ludicrous. Fox gives scant air time, for example, to news out of Iraq that reflects poorly on the Bush administration, whose wars are supported enthusiastically by owner Murdoch. Fox also found reasons to run the remarks of Obama's pastor Jeremiah Wright long after the other news media discarded the story as old news.

"Countdown" doesn't call itself "fair and balanced" probably because it can't. Night after night Olbermann flagellates the more contradictory comments of Senator McCain better than any handout from the Democratic National Committee. Let a Republican member of Congress make some dumb remark and it'll be featured in Olbermann's "Worst Person In The World" segment. Let a Fox headline writer misspell "education" and it will get promptly ridiculed. Olbermann made the most of former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan's disclosure that the White House sent Fox broadcasters "talking points," literally using Fox as its private press conduit. And his sidekick Maddow added: "(Government) propaganda is supposed to be illegal."

more...

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/16128

[cliffordu]

1. Thanks for posting this, Babylonsister K&R!!

[calimary]

2. Love it! Great fun to read!

And it makes some terrific points. I think Olbermann is shaping a new milieu. And I like the way it, and its internally-referenced New Yorker article by Peter Boyer, openly state that MOST encouraging fact: that MSNBC may indeed be "onto something." Because they are. The article recognizes the increase in audience among people YEARNING for somebody to speak truth to power about the bushies. YEARNING for it. It's nice to see some TV programmers have recognized that, too.

Notice also the paragraph toward the bottom where the MSNBC brass talks about how they've been hearing that same validation from their own audience - grateful that SOMEBODY is FINALLY speaking truth to power about the bushies.

You know what that means, don't you?

They've heard our phone calls and messages.

They've read our emails.

They've noted our feelings and our preferences.





AND THEY'RE RESPONDING ACCORDINGLY!

I tell ya - it all goes back to this one undeniable fact that I think we've all seen in action (maybe not as powerfully or effectively as we'd like, but it's a big job we've got and probably will take YEARS to complete):

If they think we don't care, THEY WON'T, EITHER!!!

And they've obviously noticed that WE DO CARE, IN THE EXTREME.

[RNdaSilva]

3. I can't argue with that...

[Disturbed]

6. TV Media is 99.99% RWing.

In spite of that, many Americans are not enthusiastic with the RWing.

[samsingh]

4. Olbermann to O'shithead'Reilly is like a man to a single celled bacteria

[samsingh]

5. it would be difficult to be stupider than o'reilly

whoops i forget about coulter or rush