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Fox News fires liberal commentator for being too liberal

October 17, 2009 8:42 am ET by Eric Boehlert

So much for that experiment.

In August, I gave Bill O'Reilly credit for having the guts (since almost nobody else at FNC will) to put an smart, persuasive, articulate liberal on his show. At the time he invited Fox News contributor, and Columbia University professor, Marc Lamont Hill to discuss the right-wing's unhinged response to Obama's presidency. Hill, as the old saying goes, made mince meat out of O'Reilly.

Well, no more awkward moments for the over-matched O'Reilly, because Hill, one of Fox News' few liberal contributors, has been fired for his political views. Apparently, right-wing purifiers were calling for his head, so Roger Ailes showed Hill the door.

More conservative political correctness run amok. (Quick, somebody alert Rush Limbaugh!)

P.S. Why on earth would Mediaite.com think Fox News' decision to fire Hill was "surprising"? Because Fox News is such a bastion of diversity? Please, the move is utterly predictable as the RNC's cable outlet continues to narrow its sanctioned talking point between far-right and really far-right.

Should we start the Geraldo countdown now?

UPDATED: News Hounds nicely captures the stench of hypocrisy that surrounds Hill's firing:

Despite repeated whining on Fox News that Rush Limbaugh was punished for his political views, the "fair and balanced" network seems to have done the same thing to one of its own.

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    • Author by all your eyes (October 17, 2009 9:29 am ET)
      4  
      Mr. Hill was the perfect antidote to the "Democratic strategists" typically featured on Fox News when the make an attempt at window-dressing. I always found it fascinating how fast the man had to talk to get his point across, because he knew he was seconds away from being cut off at any time.
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      • Author by SMTDL (October 17, 2009 11:19 am ET)
        3  
        Yes ..I saw it the same way..he truly challenged the right wing drivel and lies..unlike the tepid so caled "liberals " they mostly have on!!Where do they find them?..they let too many lies ,distortions etc.. go unchallenged or allow themselves to be talked over and never actually rebut all that much.In all fairness they are often outnumbered and cut off (as you mentioned) so its the usual Unfair and Unbalanced Fox coverage!!!
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    • Author by isabellakate (October 17, 2009 10:25 am ET)
        5
      Sorry, I don't agree with your analysis. I have no idea why Fox fired Hill but it wasn't because he made "mincemeat" out of O'Reilly. Sometimes Hill made good points. My impression was that O'Reilly acknowledged them. Other times,Hill ran arguments that beggared belief,taking extreme,politically correct positions when they were so far-fetched it was embarrassing. He seems like a nice young man but I found it hard to believe he was a professor of law at Colombia. I don't know if you must pass the NY Bar to teach law, but he would not cut it as a practicing lawyer based on his television presentation. On the other hand I find it hard to believe anyone would "call for his head"! I would have suggested Fox give him some training to help him to speak more calmly and less defensively. You might not like it, but O'Reilly is a formidable debater. I have never caught him out in a lie. Hill's only hope was to be rational and right and say so in measured terms. Gerry Rivera meets O'Reilly as an equal and their debates draw out both sides of the argument, although Rivera, a lawyer, has become a one-issue supporter of illegal immigration, which doesn't win friends among people whose home values and neighborhoods have been destroyed by crime, drunkenness, drug dealing and the other things that follow when large numbers of scofflaws enter America without scrutiny.
      Report Abuse
      • Author by eb (October 17, 2009 7:28 pm ET)
        2 1
        O'Reilly is a formidable bully. He always controls the mike and the thus the exchange. O'reilly's analysis is often pretty shallow because it panders to the "common man" sensibilities rather than actually exploring real causes and relationships. The point is to make the viewer feel good about O'Reilly and his well positioned populism. Digging deeper might be upsetting or contradict his already established feel good points.
        Report Abuse
        • Author by isabellakate (October 18, 2009 12:13 am ET)
            1
          "Pandering to common man sensibilities as opposed to exploring real causes and relationships". Like Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann,complete with rolled eyes and sneers,you mean?

          Why do you think ordinary Americans are incapable of working out where their interests lie and so must be susceptible to O'Reilly's influence? Americans don't need to be told what to think. They watch television presenters who agree with their view of the world and apparently O'Reilly is one of them. The self-styled intellectual elite of journalists, academics, moviemakers and highly paid bureaucrats are removed from the reality of the lives of working Americans and think ordinary people who don't vote as they do must be stupid. The false consciousness is all their own.
          It makes me uneasy when Americans talk about "common man" sensibilities. All Americans are common men and women, including those who indulge in class-conscious self deception.

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      • Author by WildcatProgressive (October 17, 2009 8:15 pm ET)
        5  
        You've never caught him out in a lie? Really? Have you ever tried? This past summer, O'Reilly complained that there was not a fly-over at the God and Country festival and said "no specific" religion was at play. News to the organizers, who said it was "about as Christian as you can get". If you're willing to go back farther, he claimed President Bush never opposed the 9/11 commission (he did),claimed he'd only called for one boycott (I remember three off the top of my head), claimed his France boycott had caused $1 billion in economic damage (citing a non-existant journal as a source), claimed Crate and Barrel employees were prohibited from saying "Merry Christmas" (they are simply not forced TO say it, but they are free to). That's five without trying. If you've never caught him out in a lie, you simply are too gullible, cause apparently you assume everything he says is true.
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      • Author by all your eyes (October 17, 2009 9:02 pm ET)
        3  
        Rivera levels with O'Reilly because they're both veterans of tabloid journalism. They understand each other. They're both ridiculous.

        No honest, intellectual debater would put up with O'Reilly's game, unless he or she were either on the payroll, or looking to get shouted down.

        Mr. Hill probably thought he was doing something positive with his once-in-a-while contributions, but taking a paycheck from Fox News is bad news...
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    • Author by John Paradox (October 17, 2009 11:25 am ET)
      2  
      Fair and balanced

      [http://wwwdelivery.superstock.com/WI/223/1598/PreviewComp/SuperStock_1598R-154025.jpg]
      Report Abuse
    • Author by paul8616 (October 17, 2009 7:32 pm ET)
      3  
      News Hounds doesn't capture the stench of hypocrisy very clearly. Edit this way:

      "Despite repeated whining on Fox News that Rush Limbaugh was punished for his political views, the "fair and balanced" network seems to have done JUST THAT to one of its own."

      It wasn't 'the same thing.' Limbaugh didn't get fired from a job he had held for a while. Limbaugh was simply turned down as a prospect. Hill, however, is being actively ejected despite doing his job well.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by Sks1 (October 18, 2009 12:19 am ET)
         
      so much for fair and balanced,,,fox wants its primetime lineup as well as its morning/afternoon news programming be devoted to nothing but 24/7 Obama bashing until he is out of office ,,it was very transparent to see this coming,,,what a joke why do they even pretend to be a news organization?
      Report Abuse
    • Author by StewartIII (October 18, 2009 9:39 pm ET)
        1
      "And then there's Media Matters scribe Eric Boehlert, who has accumulated an [enviable] [record] of [lying about Fox]. He chimed in with a variant on Brodsky's misrepresentation:"

      http://homepage.mac.com/mkoldys/blog/psk260911843.html
      http://homepage.mac.com/mkoldys/blog/vmc263674487.html
      http://homepage.mac.com/mkoldys/iblog/C1049953760/E949821163/index.html
      -
      'Fox News fires liberal commentator for being too liberal...One of Fox News' few liberal contributors has been fired for his political views.'
      -
      "To support this claim Boehlert relies on: post hoc ergo propter hoc! Evidence? Schmevidence! (We looked up Media Matters's post commending Fox for hiring Dr Hill, and came up empty.) Then Eric tosses in this little gem:"
      -
      'I gave Bill O'Reilly credit for having the guts (since almost nobody else at FNC will) to put an smart, persuasive, articulate liberal on his show...'
      -
      "Almost no one else on Fox would put Marc Lamont Hill on the air? Puh-leeze! Examples:"

      Fox & Friends
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee3XhmytF2g
      On the Record
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bghYI_Ai9ZM
      Laura Ingraham hosting The Factor
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElLrhv0lRH8
      America's Newsroom
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfKuTSSKFdg
      America's Nightly Scoreboard on FBN
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpD78w8D0J0
      Geraldo at Large
      http://homepage.mac.com/mkoldys/blog/vtj275108291.html
      Monica Crowley hosting The Factor
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLOhDphor_o
      Happy Hour on FBN
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gUeqYMxLJ8
      Hannity & Colmes
      http://www.clipser.com/watch_video/256142
      And a ton of appearances on Red Eye
      http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=%22fox+news%22&num=100&so=1&start=0#q=%22marc+lamont+hill%22+%22red+eye%22&emb=0&so=1

      "And these are just shows where we could find video clips. We could also mention the [dozens of appearances] on FNC's Cost of Freedom business block. Eric's misinformation comes as no surprise. We're used to these supersized servings of Boehlert's Boehlony."

      http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=en&num=100&newwindow=1&q=site%3Afoxnews.com+recap+%22cost+of+freedom%22+%22marc+lamont+hill%22&aq=f&oq=&aqi=
      ***
      Fox Haters Week in Review: Part One
      http://homepage.mac.com/mkoldys/blog/sre277596936.html
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