More FOX "News" Unfair and Unbalanced

I got into a little tiff with radio host Nancy Skinner right here on the blog a couple of days ago. My only real problem with her as a media personality is her FOX "News" connection. First, I do not consider FOX "News" to be a legitimate news organization (hence the quotation marks). For all the hand-wringing over MSNBC's liberal shift in its prime-time opinion shows, they have nothing on FOX for full-time, full-on partisan bias.

Bizarrely, fans of FOX will vehemently protest any accusation that the network is tilted extremely to the right, like a teeter-totter with a 220-lb. weight on one end. Forget that anyone with eyes, ears and a brain can plainly see the bias. The fact that nearly every FOX defender is a right-winger ought to be enough. Yet, they will deny it (perhaps with an acknowledgement of a slight bias), and insist that it only applies to the "commentary" shows like The O'Reilly Factor (allegedly libertarian or independent) and Hannity. All the rest is straight news, don't you know?

To buy this theory, you'd have to ignore FOX's in-house advertising of practically anything, not the least of which their aggressive push for the non-partisan (ha!) "tea parties." You'd also have to ignore the practice of two-, three- and four-on-one ratios of conservatives to liberals on panel discussions. This is Nancy Skinner's claim to fame, as the "token" liberal in a sea of conservatives. I do not know her level of success in this milieu, having no distinct memory of her on television. But often--in my experience--the token liberal is not only outnumbered, but fairly moderate, and not terribly forceful.

Today, out of curiosity (and because of my discussion with Skinner), I decided to check out a stretch of FOX "News." I watched a program that is designated in the listings as news, not opinion. The program was Live Desk with Trace Gallagher. I found the program to be as skewed, and as obvious about it as anything on Hannity.

The ongoing "torture memos" controversy was always framed as "interrogation." Popularity polls of the President were picked apart into the minutia to prove Obama is really not that popular. And the three-on-one conservatives vs. liberal was in evidence, if you count the FOX "Newsbot" female host (and I do). Token Bob Beckel gave it a game try, explaining what was so important in this "interrogation" controversy. But he was outgunned by sheer numbers. On FOX "News," not only is it unsettled whether or not water boarding is torture, apparently it doesn't matter. Torture keeps us safe! OK. . .

Randi Rhodes to Return to Radio on May 11!

It looks like my earlier plea to liberal radio star, Randi Rhodes, to please give us some information on her future has been heeded. Actually, though I have recently been visited by a radio host, I doubt that Randi knows I even exist. But the timing is kind of cool.

I've already written many times of my fandom for Randi Rhodes, so I shall not bore you with it. Instead, let's get right to the good news, shall we? [Excerpt]

Talk-Radio Host Randi Rhodes Joins Premiere

Randi Rhodes, the liberal talk-radio host perhaps best known for her stint on the Air America radio network, is joining Clear Channel Inc.'s Premiere Radio Networks, home to Rush Limbaugh and many of the nation's most conservative voices. . .

Read more at: The Wall Street Journal

UPDATE: The WSJ link seems to now require a subscription, so try this one at Green960: RANDI RHODES RETURNS!

Who Do We Want? Randi Rhodes! When Do We Want Her? Now!

Photo from Lawyers.com

It can't be heartening to Nancy Skinner, the liberal talker who took Randi Rhodes' time slot, that KTLK-AM is airing commercials with this headline. The clear message is, Nancy, we'll air your show, but the second Randi Rhodes comes back on the air, you're either out of here, or relegated to a time-shifted, wee hours time slot.

Randi Rhodes' radio show left the air back in February, either as the result of--or the cause of--Nova M Radio's dissolution. News has been sparse, practically non-existent. We all get that Nova M is gone. But nobody knows the details, or at least they are not being public about it.

I've been a listener of Randi Rhodes since mid-2004, when I was looking for The Al Franken Show. It took me a while to cotton to her New York honk, but once I got past that, I was an unabashed fan. Randi was always the highlight of my listening day. But she's been gone for months now, with no real explanation.

I'm a little pissed off that there has been no official word about her disappearance. All we have is rampant speculation, and hearsay. But the funny thing is, even though I'm irritated that nobody from Randi's camp letting us know what's going on, if she came back tomorrow, I'd be there. Back to #1 fan status. Don't believe the crap you might hear from detractors. Randi's the real deal, and is the best progressive/liberal talk-show host there is.

Rachel Maddow is terrific, and I'm glad she got her TV show. I'm no fan of Ed Shultz, but I'm glad he got a TV forum too. But neither can take the place of Randi Rhodes. I'm frankly surprised we haven't gotten some sort of trickle of information, even a hint, from Stephanie Miller, or from anywhere else. How long will stations like KTLK wait? Nancy Skinner is surely not burning up the airwaves. She's--at least lately--barely listenable*. But, Randi, please give us some indication of what's going on!

*UPDATE: As Nancy Skinner herself has actually commented on this blog (under a different blog post), I find it necessary to point out that I have nothing personal against her, I just took issue with her style this week. I'm quite sure she's a nice lady. It is easy to forget when writing a blog like this that I'm talking about actual people. I will try to frame my critiques in slightly less personal terms going forward. . .

Bush Era Torture: Too Risky to Politically to Pursue?

Right-wing noise machine, from American Insurgency

Now that the hows and whys of the Bush Administration's torture policies are becoming more apparent, the new Obama Administration is sort of getting backed into a corner on what to do about it. On the surface, it would seem that President Obama just wants it to go away. As someone who voted for him, I'm hopeful that there's a little more to it than that, some sort of "master plan" for dealing with the issue in a way that doesn't let war crimes go unpunished.

Politics is tricky business, I know. Timing is very important. Not irritating your own party is important. Dealing with the right-wing noise machine, and making sure that it doesn't drive public sentiment is important. But you know what else is important? Rule of law. Torture is a federal and international crime. Despite the innumerable protestations by George W. Bush, Dana Perino and others, the United States did torture. As policy.

The Republicans (and their apologists) are having a little bit of trouble with this issue too. They can't--most of them--outright endorse torture. They have to downplay the torture that did happen as "not torture." Which is getting more and more implausible the more that we learn. So to muddy the issue, they've got to paint this as a liberal vendetta. A way to get even for years out of power. A way to even the score for Clinton's impeachment. Look for the bulk of conservative outrage on this to focus on that, rather than to take apart the actual issues.

Obama has one big advantage here, and that is the President isn't really the guy to pursue this anyway. It's the Justice Department's and Congress' job to investigate, and if Obama wants, he can pretty much leave it in their hands. Still, many of us peons probably don't know or see the divisions there, so it will be difficult for Obama to steer completely clear.

Nancy Skinner, the radio talk show host who took Randi Rhodes' place when Nova M Radio folded, is of the Peggy Noonan "walk away" crowd on the issue. Skinner is ostensibly a liberal/progressive, but of the token FOX "News" variety. There is too much to do, Skinner argues, from global climate change, to the economy, to health care. The torture issue would be a distraction, and would derail the rest of Obama's agenda.*

Maybe. And that would be unfortunate. But anti-torture laws are laws. There simply isn't a legal argument to not investigate them. As pretty as "looking forward and not back" might sound, it is terrible reasoning. All crimes happened in the past. You don't just decide to be magnanimous about theft, murder, or other crimes because they happened in the past. This might be sticky politics, but it is necessary.

We know how the right-wing noise machine works now. We can guess what they're going to squawk about before they even get revved up. It is incumbent upon the Obama Administration and its supporters to fight the screaming with facts, as fast as they lob a "poutrage" outburst. It's a big task, but it's an important fight.

*UPDATE: Nancy Skinner herself has a response to my opinion of her opinion. I don't ever intentionally misrepresent the facts or try to mislead, but I'm completely capable of being wrong. So read Nancy's comment below, and make up your own mind. Thanks!

Another Liberal Talk Radio Network Bites the Dust?

Photo from source, Phoenix New Times

Damn. I wasn't a fan of On Second Thought radio, not that I had the time to become one. The only program I listened to on the network, The Nancy Skinner Show, was just filler for me in the middle of my listening day (I listen at work via KTLK-AM via my computer). After my favorite program, The Randi Rhodes Show was unceremoniously pulled from the air--under still murky circumstances--the network that ran her show, Nova M Radio, went bust.

It was replaced by On Second Thought, which has only been in existence for a couple of weeks. But yesterday's Nancy Skinner was a re-run, which was very odd given that she's only been around since early February. Now, if the story below is accurate, we know why.

I have to say, my attention to the format has been waning. Not because of lack of interest, but because of lack of talent. I still love The Stephanie Miller Show, but only have the opportunity to hear the last hour or so. Thom Hartmann is great, but his show was always just a whistle-whetter for Randi for me. With the gaping hole in my listening day, I've kind of tuned out, at least figuratively.

While the story below calls the misfortune of liberal talk radio "the curse of Randi Rhodes," I think she might be the only thing that can save the format. After all, it would seem that Nova M and On Second Thought couldn't survive without her. Maybe she and Air America Radio can bury the hatchet, and bring her back. Stranger things have happened in radio.

[Excerpt]

The Curse of Randi Rhodes: Nova M's Successor "On Second Thought" Padlocked in Phoenix

I'd been tipped off that KNUV 1190 AM, formerly the flagship station of the liberal Nova M radio network, and briefly, the home of Nova M's successor network, On Second Thought, had been padlocked. So I had to see for myself, as On Second Thought's driving force, Mike Newcomb, was apparently doing his afternoon show today as usual. At least, that's the way it sounded to someone who's not a regular listener of Newcomb's show. . .

Read more at: Phoenix New Times