False equivalence of the day
October 20, 2009 10:00 am ET by Jamison Foser
Courtesy of the Washington Post's Ruth Marcus:
Imagine the outcry if the Bush administration had pulled a similar hissy fit with MSNBC. "Opinion journalism masquerading as news," White House communications director Anita Dunn declared of Fox. Certainly Fox tends to report its news with a conservative slant -- but has anyone at the White House clicked over to MSNBC recently? Or is the only problem opinion journalism that doesn't match its opinion?
Has Marcus "clicked over" to MSNBC lately? Or is she just mindlessly parroting the right-wing talking point that MSNBC and Fox are equivalent?
If she Marcus did watch MSNBC, she'd see former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough hosting three agenda-setting hours each morning. She'd see Mika Brzezinski, JoeSco's ostensibly "liberal" sidekick, spouting off about how conservative Sarah Palin fans are the "real Americans."
She'd see former Nixon and Reagan aide and three-time Republican presidential candidate Pat Buchanan -- the nation's most famous bigot.
She'd see Chris Matthews, whose has for years displayed open contempt for liberals, overt misogyny, and an archaic belief that minorities are not "regular" people.
She'd Michelle Bernard take a moment away from sending lie-filled anti-health care reform attack-emails to host an MSNBC special dealing with, among other things, health care.
She'd see a steady stream of conservative misinformation all day from Andrea Mitchell and Norah O'Donnell and others.
And then maybe she would remember that MSNBC is the channel that brought us Michael Savage, Ann Coulter, and Don Imus. The channel that fired Phil Donahue despite strong ratings simply because Donahue opposed the Iraq war. The channel that specializes more than any other in apologies for employees' offensive on-air statements.
Any journalist who says MSNBC is in any way the liberal equivalent to Fox News lacks either judgment or honesty -- and, either way, should not be taken seriously -- about anything.
Media Matters: The Palin chronicles
The Friday Rush: A series of conflicts
Contrary to media hype, Sarah Palin is very unpopular
Well said and honestly said.
Fox is seeing a White House response because there's a lot of factual inaccuracy (i.e., lying) going on there.
I think that MMFA is making the point here that when one compares apples to apples, even the so-called liberal commentators on MSNBC aren't reliably leftwing and aren't constantly free from passing on any conservative misinformation or showing any bias.
More thinking... less watching/listening.
Well, let's see.
Considering that "conservatives" don't really meet the true definition of what a conservative is, and "liberals" are accused of many traits that having nothing to do with liberalism the answer is somewhere around the fact that "people" (I will leave that definition up to you) want to fit everyone into different groups, so that they are easier to identify and understand. (dumb down) e.g. He is only for the public option because he is liberal.
Sorry that I changed democrat to liberal, I thought it made more sense.
As far as the entertainers, I will continue to support their right to free speech. Just because I don't believe in the stuff they spout doesn't mean that they don't have a right to their opinion. However; I will also not stop pointing out obvious disinformation and will continue to try to educate others to not blindly suck down the poison. Now matter who is yelling at you on T.V. Take the time, reseach what they say, and then make an informed decision. (that would go for everyone regardless of party affiliation)
MSNBC employs Pat Buchanan, fercryinoutloud. Please, someone tell me who his equivalent is over at FNC.