Looking back: Why Mark Halperin’s quip is really par for the course

It would be nice to think that the rapidity of the official reaction had to do with legitimate disapproval. Actually, it is a reflex quickened by practice because what cable news now calls political journalism is set up to produce just this kind of ‘television moment’ and its attendant swirl of attention-getting faux controversy.
L.A. Times columnist Tim Rutten • Offering a room-clearing take on the whole situation with Mark Halperin and “Morning Joe.” To put it simply, he doesn’t think it’s actually any sort of controversy of the real kind, but instead an opportunity to create a conversation-of-the-day moment. (Which Halperin’s quip successfully did, by the way.) It’s an idea that started with Fox News but has kinda expanded from there. There’s even a site dedicated to this idea. And well, you know, he’s right. But it makes good TV, and that’s all that matters, right? source

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three number of candidates Keith Olbermann donated to, which led to his recent two-day suspension
eight number of candidates Joe Scarborough donated to; he’ll also get suspended for two days source

» Standards and stuff: It’s probably good to note that this double-standard between MSNBC and Fox remains bizarre. Fox News hosts (most notably Sarah Palin, who regularly endorses candidates and runs her own political action committee) don’t get treated this way. Honestly, we think that MSNBC has to loosen their standards for their political commentators. This is going to eventually come to a head in a more public way than either of these incidents. Know why we know this? Because Joe Scarborough is considering running on a presidential ticket with Michael Bloomberg in 2012. You think this crosses a line? What if that happens, guys?

Posted by Ernie Smith • 3 Comments • Permalink

After Bush speechwriter Marc Thiessen made a point about terror that MSNBC analyst Lawrence O’Donnell didn’t like on Friday’s “Morning Joe,” O’Donnell went into this fit of rage that surprisingly didn’t turn him green and muscular. OK, O’Donnell made a good point. So did Thiessen. No reason to get angry, dude. Unless you’re trying to make good TV. source

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03 Jul 2011 12:42