Monday Cable News Links and Open Thread
Friday's numbers: Bill-Beck-Baier 1-2-3.
Coop is Outside. Twitter silence: day 47.
Willis to FBN. Amanpour to ABC? CNBC spat.
CNN's Kurtz: Beck dividing FNC? Analysis: TCG, Mediaite.
Pew 2010 cable news: Fox tops profits. CNN HD: Spring.
Updated through the day. Use our valuable bandwidth to post your cable news comments in today's open thread. Standard rules apply. fox news cable news
Grandpa D
CNN's Kurtz: Beck dividing FNC?
Looks like Kurtz is trying to "divide and conquer".
March 15, 2010, 8:59:08 AM EDT – Like – Reply
alindc
Kurtz would not be working for the Washington Post if he was doing things like writing a biased piece on Fox just for kicks. That other blog doing "analysis" on this story can attack the messenger if they like, but the fact is.. clearly Beck is a problem at Fox, especially for the news division. One of Fox's VPs is quoted on the record for this story - is Fox really going to arrange that interview for Kurtz if he wasn't a serious journalist, and was in the business of slanting his stories to benefit another network? They routinely turn down interviews and have spokespeople make snide comments about articles they don't like, and that didn't happen in this case.
March 15, 2010, 11:57:13 AM EDT – Like – Reply
Cecelia
I could go along with you to the point that I agree that The Cable Gamer may be ignoring some of the obvious elements of Beck's behavior.
It's when you start saying things like "...the fact is" (or as someone else said "patently false"), that you lose me.
The fact TRULY is that this is all based upon anonymous sources.
Is the story plausible. Yes, it's plausible. Is that and Kurtz make it factual? Far from it.
March 15, 2010, 12:32:06 PM EDT – Like – Reply
ramjet
al,
Your "...like writing a biased piece on Fox just for kicks," is spot on. Kurtz does it for a hefty salary AND to suggest trouble is brewing at his cable news employer's prime kick butt competition.
Just what did that FNC VP (Bill Shine, senior VP) say, "on the record" that substantiated any claim made by Kurtz in his "news" article? Did anyone other than you suggest Kurtz was not "a serious journalist," or that a company would not want to have input, when requested for a response to a slanted story that, on face value, benifits Kurtz's employer to the detriment of Fox News? All we need now is the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion and we'll have a famous trio not from Nairobi.
I love it when someone uses redundancy ("doubling down" for those in DC) to argue a weak point, i.e., "but the fact is.. clearly Beck is a problem at Fox..."
I'm rarely swayed by Howard Kurtz and his penchant for unnamed, unspecified, unqualified and ununambiguous phraseology and sourcedoms : "often seemed," "some," "many," "unusual even for." "despite," "even while," and so forth, and so on, and on and on....
March 15, 2010, 1:39:52 PM EDT – Like – Reply
johnny dollar
Strike two for Patsy:
Steve Krakauer says:March 15, 2010 at 11:44 am
Alright it’s time to ban MarkBovineKoldys. Sorry it took so long everyone.
March 15, 2010, 2:16:33 PM EDT – Like – Reply
ImNotBlue
It took long enough. "Inside sources" say that a certain poster emailed Mr. Krakauer a week ago asking why Mediaite was allowing that particular poster to keep on keeping on. After all, Mediaite had banned a few other posters for similar (if not less so) offenses... yet, they seemed to take their time reprimanding "Bovine."
Interesting... but a happy ending for all, I suppose.
March 15, 2010, 5:53:38 PM EDT – Like – Reply
alindc
The link to the Cable Gamer blog goes to a post that accuses Kurtz of using his column to somehow help CNN. That is certainly a serious accusation that goes to his credibility as a journalist. He wouldn't have a job if it were true, nor any good sources. I don't like anonymous sourcing either but.. I don't understand why the response by some has been to attack the messenger and disregard the point of the article. Because Fox journalists have a real concern. I didn't say anything about Shine's comments other than that he was quoted. If Kurtz were known to be manufacturing controversy where there is none, to benefit other media outlets, I don't expect anyone at Fox would talk to him on or off the record.
March 15, 2010, 3:13:14 PM EDT – Like – Reply
Cecelia
Al, that's only an appeal to authority.
You've done the mirror image of what you've accused The Cable Gamer of doing. You've appealed to Kurtz' position in order to bolster a story based entirely upon anonymous tips, while The Cable Gamer has used Kurtz' position means of minimizing the story as being cable news machinations.
In her case that's the more valid action because it's Kurtz who is putting himself out there with the accusation.
March 15, 2010, 3:38:47 PM EDT – Like – Reply
ImNotBlue
RE: The Beck article. Part of me hopes that Kurtz's assertion is true. But only for the future of FNC... I'll explain.
When FNC said it was going create another network, I was disappointed to learn that it was going to be a business network. Limited market, limited audience... it all hardly seems worthwhile if you ask me. HOWEVER, FNC would greatly increase its market share if it formed another network for their straight news folks... a "Headlines News" for FNC.
If Kurtz is to be believed, this might be the first step in such a split. Keep FNC as the "opinion" place, and allow the hard news folks (Bret Baier, Sheppard, Wallace, etc.) to anchor (in every sense of the word) the "hard-news" network, while the FNC-brand can continue with the opinion side.
I believe doing this would further increase FNC's brand... and before long the ratings race would be FNC and FNC2 at gold and silver... with everyone else fighting for the bronze.
March 15, 2010, 6:00:01 PM EDT – Like – Reply
Fox Fan
HLN is the snoozefest of cable news.
I think News Corp would be better off creating an all-opinion/analysis channel and leaving FNC to be the moderate source that it is.
Bring Beck. Bring Maddow. Bring Hannity. Bring Olby.
Let'em all have it out at Fox Analytical News (FAN)- the only place for politics.
March 15, 2010, 7:55:25 PM EDT – Like – Reply
Julie Driscoll
THAT would be a hell of a show.
March 15, 2010, 11:57:54 PM EDT – Like – Reply
ImNotBlue
Well, that's kinda what I was talking about. Have one station increase the opinion, and have the other be less-opinion.
HLN is a snoozer... but I bet they could FOX-ify it and make it more interesting.
March 16, 2010, 12:51:35 PM EDT – Like – Reply
Julie Driscoll
Grandpa D: I cover Bill O'Reilly for News Hounds (yes, I do comment here, with, I believe, Dollar's blessing) and I've noticed something over time: O'Reilly, in his interviews with Beck, treats him like a clown, doesn't appear to take him seriously, and attempts to distance himself some from Beck's antics. I noticed this long before Kurtz' article, and believe that the "dividing and conquering" behind the scnes at Fox was going on long before Kurtz took note.
March 15, 2010, 10:15:20 PM EDT – Like – Reply
ImNotBlue
But isn't it true that Beck also identifies himself as a "clown?"
Follow-up... how does O'Reilly's treatment of Beck differ (if at all) from his treatment of Dennis Miller? Doesn't that show that just because he's more light-hearted with someone, that he can still take them seriously?
March 15, 2010, 10:58:49 PM EDT – Like – Reply
Julie Driscoll
Yes, it's true Beck identifies himself as a "rodeo clown," but I notice subtle differences between the way O'Reilly interacts with Dennis Miller and Glenn Beck. He appears to me to be laughing WITH Dennis Miller, who I believe he does take seriously, but AT Glenn Beck, and with Beck, O'Reilly pushes the put-downs, some not so subtle.
March 15, 2010, 11:11:10 PM EDT – Like – Reply
Fox Fan
I agree. I think O'Reilly likes to toy with Beck, but doesn't take him seriously. This coming from a Beck and O'Reilly fan.
March 15, 2010, 11:16:18 PM EDT – Like – Reply
Julie Driscoll
Correction: "behind the scenes"
March 15, 2010, 10:16:03 PM EDT – Like – Reply
Julie Driscoll
Fox Fan, the term "toy with" describes it perfectly. O'Reilly is very clever about it, but makes it clear -- I'm convinced deliberately, because he's a savvy guy -- that he's the king and Beck's the serf.
March 15, 2010, 11:22:48 PM EDT – Like – Reply
Cecelia
I thought that was called "male bonding".
March 15, 2010, 11:35:14 PM EDT – Like – Reply
Julie Driscoll
Lol, you may be right about that . . . .
March 15, 2010, 11:49:58 PM EDT – Like – Reply
Chris
I don't take Beck or Hannity seriously
March 16, 2010, 11:06:20 AM EDT – Like – Reply
Puck30
RE: CNN Kurtz
Wow Howie! And if anybody should know it's you! I mean they do such a great job over at CNN.
March 16, 2010, 11:25:42 AM EDT – Like – Reply
