CNN president JonKlein is out–replaced byKen Jautz, who was theboss at Headline News. He is, among other things, the guy who brought Glenn Beck to television:
CNN‘s Headline News has hired radio talkshow host Glenn Beck to host a one-hour primetime show, according to a Daily Variety report (1/17/06). Variety quotes CNN Headline News president Ken Jautz’s description of Beck: “Glenn’s style is self-deprecating, cordial; he says he’d like to be able to disagree with guests and part as friends. It’s conversational, not confrontational.”
As Klein leaves,I can’t help but rememberthat back in 2005 he explained to Charlie Rosethat there couldn’t be a left-liberal answer to Fox News because those people “don’t get too worked up about anything.” As FAIR noted back then:
When Rose asked if there could ever be a successful progressive version of Fox News Channel, Klein thought not. He explained that while Fox was tapping into a brand of “mostly angry white men” conservatism,
a quote/unquote, “progressive” or liberal network probably couldn’t reach the same sort of an audience, because liberals tend to like to sample a lot of opinions. They pride themselves on that. And you know, they don’t get too worked up about anything. And they’re pretty morally relativistic. And so, you know, they allow for a lot of that stuff.
Now you can argue that MSNBC doesn’t really do the same thing as Fox. (Who could, really?) But it’s pretty clear that someone in management over there decided–once it was safe to do so–that youcould play to the left. And you know what happened? Most of the time, they wind upgetting more prime-time viewers thanCNN.
“(L)iberals tend to like to sample a lot of opinions. They pride themselves on that. And you know, they don’t get too worked up about anything. And they’re pretty morally relativistic.”
I guess I must not be a “liberal”, “progressive”, “on the left”, or whatever, then.
I don’t care about “sampl(ing) a lot of opinions”. I do care about getting a lot of honest facts so I can have my own informed opinion.
I do get “worked up” about a lot of things – war, hate, greed, lies.
And unless that whole “Do unto others” thing is “morally relativistic”, I don’t think I qualify in that category, either.
Now, I fall down on the job too damn often, but I do try. A hair-trigger guilt reflex doesn’t hurt.
(Well, it *does* hurt, but you know what I mean … )
So I guess that’s why I don’t give a rodent’s rear about MSNBC’s brand of “progressive” programming.
It’s not some sort of game to me. It’s not about “eggheads and dittoheads”.
It’s about life and death, and what the hell each of us is going to do about it.
If you can’t get worked up about that …
He’s right.
Much current psychological research is discovering that right-wingers get off watching their opponents’ weakest arguments be ridiculed and refuted, while left-wingers are not so easily amused, and don’t get much enjoyment from watching their opponents’ weakest arguments refuted or ridiculed. They really only enjoy watching the more laborious and difficult task of refuting their opponents’ strongest arguments (it’s a short and easily exhausted list) — no ridiculing necessary.
Add that difference to the obvious observation that right-wingers are stoked on hate and fear, while left-wingers are stoked on love and acceptance, and you begin to see that the dynamic that supports serial liars like Rushbo and Glenn Beck simply doesn’t have a mirror-image counterpart.
He’s got a point. We don’t let our anger rule us. We’re stoics. Doesn’t make interesting TV. It makes interesting books and articles.
I think he’s definitely got a point. I’m not interested in listening to something like Air America because someone frothing at the mouth about stuff I already know is pointless.
Most people I’ve talked to who like Glenn Beck (shudder) think that he tells them things they didn’t know; that he’s a “journalist” who brings them the stories the liberal MSM won’t talk about. Really. They believe that.
Wow….what ridiculous comments articles like this get. “we liberals are stoic” “We only like to refute our opponents strongest arguments” “research shows” lol what research. That’s like a monkey pointing out research that doesn’t exist to lend credibility to his idiotic opinions.
Oh yeah…’strongest arguments’…clearly that’s what the colbert report and daily show are all about…taking factual strong arguments and mocking them…oh wait no…they take 20% of someon’s comment, twist it sideways and make stupid jokes out of them to pander to liberal morons with no sense of the real world.
classic
Kind of like bashing arizona’s immigration law for having the audacity to enforce the EXACT same law as the federal law as racist…which no one has a problem with the federal law (how ironic). yeah liberals aren’t idiots. “you want your laws enforced? zomg you racist!”
it should be noted that for during the same period that cnn tried pandering to the right, the percentage of republicans watching the network dropped…talk about bad business modeling..
the sad truth is that there is very little interest among americans for hard news in prime time[as the ratings prove]…the older whiter crowd that tunes in wants opinion…
I wouldn’t want a liberal version of Fox News. Since I want news, not partisan backed blather of lies and paid for commercials masquerading as news items. That would be wrong. We don’t have an ultra rich liberal aristocracy (oligarchy) to cater to either under the mislabeled hope of becoming just like them. Nor would I like that. Nor should any of you.
MSNBC is doing some good things but it is still limited. PBS is notorious for keeping liberal views off its corporate supported airs. (See FAIR on that.) Bill Buckley is on for 33 years, but is there an equivalent for us?
Air America’s problem is that they didn’t have a media conglomerate to operate 100’s of stations across the nation and purchase advertisers. There was little “foam-at-the-Mouth” on there, but thoughtful commentary and questioning of guests. Asking Q & A not found on most CMSM. That is what we lack.
Nightgaunt….it has nothing ..nothing to do with backers or anything else.Look at how much the Dems raise next to the Rs.Always a mile ahead.Liberal ideas simply dont fly .That is why everything is smoke and mirrors.Legislation passed in the dead of night.In the arena of ideas you are the little league.Remember air America?it all fails not because americans dont get it…but because they do.The only competition you can offer is jokesters like John Stewart.Id wine if i were you too
Hey Alex M, what’s a “zomg?” Seriously. About the “ZOMG!!!!!!,” as m.e. might say. Not about the witless boilerplate and crazy shit that preceded it. I await your reply.
TimN ZOMG is obviously the federal law Arizona felt it necessary to emulate.
just trivia but ZOMG is defined as an emphatic (intentional) use of the acronym OMG meaning “Oh My God”. The “z” was originally a mistake while attempting to hit the shift key with the left hand, and type “OMG” it’s generally used in a sarcastic manner…as alexm is doing above
The radical right propaganda machine can get angry violent men worked up enough to walk into churches and start shooting people who they disagree with politically or morally. You never hear about a anyone from the left, after listening to an hour of Amy Goodman, murdering, let’s say, an evangelical anti-choice activist. I guess a liberal just can’t get “worked up” enough to have that same violent response because we’re just so damned “morally relativistic.” God bless our progressive martyrs.
Mississippi chicken .Remember Dr Tiller the baby killer?Specialist in late term abortions?By his own count more than 60 thousand children terminated?Please never believe you have to get “worked up to kill”.He was quite calm…….probably right up until his life was terminated at 500 plus months.
I have been to many rallies on both sides. Believe me the violence happens on the left much more than at the right leaning rallies .Angry as cat piss even in victory I like to say.I don’t know about Amy Goodman but callipso Louie…..Farakan……the new black panthers….. aint slinging songs of peace. Plenty of nuts to go around on every side.God bless men of peaceful intent on all sides.Progressives??????What is it you feel a progressive believes?That name has become like a secret club.Never explained,though all one has to do is look at the history of the progressive party to see the danger they pose.Glen Beck exposes them each and every day to good effect.Soon the progressives will change their name to something else.Old lib trick.New song….same as the old song.
RE: michael e
I live where your “less violent” right-leaning rallies swarm, like the pestilence they are. That would be WICHITA. Where Tiller was killed, and previously, bombed. Tell us all about how the left is more violent than the right. You lie, or don’t live here’ or don’t know, or watch too much FOX, or all of the above.
Just look at these posts and note who is expressing antipathy to both people and verifiable facts, and who is not.
The Right Wing’s motto ought to be: “Always wrong; never in doubt.”
I’ll make the same offer here that I’ve made in person to lots of Libertarians, Tea Partiers, and Right Wingers: You back up your statements with verifiable facts, and I’ll back up my statements with verifiable facts, and let’s see whose ideas stand up to scrutiny.
Even the “sharpest” thinkers on the Right are unable to offer verifiable facts or logical analyses in support of their ideas. Debating people from the Right is easy, because they can’t support what they believe, but frustrating, because they can’t hear anything that contradicts what they already believe.
Any takers?