On Thu, May 20, 2010 at 10:01 AM, Kevin M. <[email protected]> wrote:
> > What gets my proverbial goat are those in the media who insist on > including the extreme pundits and politicians, ostensibly for the sake > of balance. There is a clear distinction between offering balance and > catering to the lunatic fringe. Based on the sheer number of > supporters, homosexual conservatives should have a bigger voice in the > media (and in politics) than the teabaggers, but because the > teabaggers can always be counted on for a newsworthy soundbite, they > get included. And right now, the easiest way to get work as a TV > commentator is to have a name like Mohammed al Bindar, because despite > the small percentage of Muslims in America, news directors feel more > comfortable covering issues like terrorism if someone with darker skin > and facial hair is on the panel of experts. And even though the nation > still appears to be something like 70% Christian, we seem forced to > endure nobody other than Al Sharpton on the left and Pat Robertson on > the right as de facto spokepeople for the whole of Christendom. > But - Mahr's point (which I take as axiomatic) is that this tendency is in no way parallel. Even in your example, as obnoxious as Al Sharpton is (and I have long been a strident critic of his) he is in no way as equally extreme on the left as Pat Robertson is on the right. There are people as wildly, irrationally leftist as Robertson is rightist, but Sharpton is not one of them, and you never seen them on television. Roughly speaking, I would put someone like Mike Huckabee as occupying the space to the right of political center that Sharpton occupies on the left (though of course Huckabee is a much more likable person). -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
