n Mon, Jun 27, 2011 at 8:55 PM, Kevin M. <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Mon, Jun 27, 2011 at 11:39 AM, Michael <[email protected]> wrote: > > The lunatic fringe moves towards the mainstream, and is enabled by the > > pundits/puppets and their masters. It would be pathetic if it wasn't > > so creepy and unsettling. > > We have a debate often about the cable news channels, but I have > noticed a not-too-subtle difference: Liberals still pay lip service to > FoxNews. The teabaggers don't pay any mind to MSNBC or CNN, and they > openly mock "wherever the hell Keith wandered off to." By contrast, > the left still watches and participates in FoxNews. They still appear > on the programs to be chided by the whack-job hosts. Say what you will > about the right-wing, but by refusing to participate in the > mainstream, they have forced the game to change. > > At the turn of the millennium, Rush Limbaugh had ceased to be a power > player, in large part due to the fact that following his drug > addiction, the left simply began ignoring him. Some of my conservative > friends would marvel at the patently offensive utterances he made > during those years that nobody picked up on. But by 2005 or so, > liberals started commenting on his crap again, and the ditto-heads > made a comeback. > > I have found that by and large, the liberals active in politics won't > shut up about FoxNews. They insist on stating and restating the > obvious issues with the channel, and -- whenever they do -- it merely > serves to feed the fire. FoxNews uses that vitriol to encourage its > fan base ("See what those guys on the left say about us?"). It doesn't > matter that the criticisms are all true. Truth no longer matters in > the world of overpoliticized journalism. > > I'd like to conduct a social experiment and see what would happen if > the left would ignore FoxNews for six months. No liberals appear as > guests, no panel discussions on other channels reacting to strange > outbursts by "Fox & Friends," no feeling the need to constantly decry > the latest teabagger talking points, and no humorous reairings of any > FoxNews segments by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Imagine if > between now and Christmas the liberals would just shut it all down -- > refuse to enter into the non-debate. It is a decidedly Republican > tactic, but I think it might work. And even if it doesn't, imagine how > refreshing it might be to see MSNBC and CNN opting to cover other > things -- of course they still won't cover actual issues or engage in > substantive debate, but it has to be better than the FoxNews stalking > they regularly feel compelled to engage in. > -- > Kevin M. (RPCV) > Obama tried this early in the administration. This did not work. Fox complained of being shut out, and played the victim as expected. However, CNN and most of the other media came out on the side of Fox in this (the notable exception being MSNBC prime). The thing is, the mainstream media pretty much accepts (maybe grudgingly) Fox News as their own. Or maybe they worry if Fox News is frozen out by liberals, conservatives will freeze them out. Anyway, while Fox plays lip service to being "Fair and Balanced", the other organizations (yes, even MSNBC) do want to try to cover both sides -- no matter how comically they do it. Now, does the media *really* criticize the things said on Fox and Friends or is it just Jon Stewart, and Bill Maher? With Keith Olbermann's departure, Fox and Friends references plummeted on MSNBC. -- Wesley McGee http://www.ambivi.com http://drawing-a-blank.tumblr.com -- 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
