Fox News and Radical Centrism Although Fox News is not Radical Centrist in outlook, of all TV networks it comes the closest to exactly this. This is not meant to say that Fox is unproblematic. Far from it. Speaking personally, several of Fox's "stars" strike me as basically out-to-lunch, such as Republican party hack, Sean Hannity, and Democratic party hack, Alan Colmes, but even here we can see something of RC at play. Originally Hannity and Colmes were a twosome on a program that was virtually Radical Centrist by design, a conservative voice and a liberal voice on the same show, hashing out political issues of the day, letting viewers make up their minds about what to think. As things turned out, Hannity had more to offer Fox's audience, he does have a "nose for news," he has broken a number of headline stories like the Jeremiah Wright controversy in 2008, and so Colmes, who has little to contribute except Left wing commonplaces, was relegated to guest appearances on other Fox shows. Hence Hannity has his own show, which attracts a number of high powered guests who benefit from viewership ratings but who, in the process, must put up with the host's GOP cheerleading, lack of political objectivity, and simplistic approach to just about everything. Regardless. the idea for the original L vs R show was as Radical Centrist as anything gets. We can gloss problems that Fox has in common with other networks, like --not counting its respectable business show with Neil Cavuto-- uninspired daytime news, even while noting that the network's motto, "Fair and Balanced," does mean that there is real effort to offer air time to Democrats, not just Republicans. Still, afternoon on Fox News is not for me.When I need an afternoon news fix, I usually turn to Wolf Blitzer or John King at CNN. About which a separate critique would be a good idea since some of the regulars at that network make me curse at the screen, but that is a subject for another day. Here the focus in Fox. About another star at Fox, Glenn Beck, as much as I sometimes think poorly of him, in darker moments muttering under my breath about that blowhard, Muslim sympathizer, know-it-all-who-knows-far-less-than-he-likes-to-give-himself-credit-for, he also provides an example of at least Radical Centrist intent. Beck is a libertarian. And it is axiomatic to RC that relevant "other" political views deserve to be heard. Some of Fox's regular "outside guests" are also we known for working in semi-RC contexts, with special reference to Monica Crowley, best known for her appearances on another L vs R talk show, the McLaughlin group. Then there is Special Report and its weekend look-alike, Fox News Sunday Granted Fox's tilt to the Right, still, it is difficult to imagine a more Radical Centrist television program (s). The feature of these shows is a panel discussion which always includes a mix of Democrats and Republicans, with an occasional "other." And in all the shows I have seen over the years, whether discussing Brit Hume or Bret Baier, Mike Wallace or Shannon Breem, the moderator has gone to lengths to be fair to each political point of view and be generally objective. You can't ask for more. It was in this context that Juan Williams, who is black and a liberal Democrat, was a regular on Special Report, made his mark at the network. As did Mara Liaison, another reporter at National Public Radio, and another liberal Democrat. The firing of Williams from NPR tells us all we need to know about that network. The plethora of stories about this incident make everything clear. NPR, with some of its reporters like Nina Totenberg, Leftist shills, with Terri Gross so far over the edge that she gets most of her information from the Daily Worker ( by way of metaphor to make a point ), utterly HATES the concept of Radical Centrism. Which I say with regret as a one time fan of the network. So now, with a new $ 2 million 3-year contract, Juan Williams has a new home at Fox. Terms of the agreement have not been made public, but a good guess is that his new show will add to the RC character which the network often broadcasts to is viewers. I will probably continue to disagree with Williams's opinions half the time, but NPR's loss is not only Fox's gain, it is a real plus for Radical Centrism. Billy R
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