What I learned as a liberal talking head on Fox News

[B_J 2,752]

In the fall of 2013, I gave a TED talk on what I learned as a progressive, on-air talking head at Fox News, where I worked for two years before leaving and joining my current home, CNN. After all, one of the most frequent questions I was asked during my time at Fox was how I did it, how I was a fox in the henhouse – or a hen in the Fox house, if you will.

The questions came mostly from fellow liberals who had not watched much Fox News but had seen the most outlandish clips of Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity that had made it to "The Daily Show" or YouTube. They perhaps imagined that walking down the hallway outside makeup, Mr. O'Reilly might yell then, too, instead of just saying hello. That's a funny notion, but it couldn't be further from the truth.

My time at Fox News was marked by meeting and working with some of the kindest, smartest, and most talented people I've had the pleasure of meeting in life. As I said in my TED talk, Sean Hannity is one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet – and even now that I've parted ways with Fox, he remains a good friend and mentor.

For a radical progressive who once harbored negative stereotypes about folks on the right, it was a turning point for me to meet people such as Mr. Hannity, Karl Rove, Monica Crowley, Sarah Palin, and so many others, and see that – though we certainly disagree profoundly on political issues – they're personable and kind and human. Just like me.

It's strange to suggest that a seemingly simple realization such as that is in fact a profound revelation, but in our hyperpartisan era, when we often vilify the other side as being less-than-human, it is.

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http://news.yahoo.com/learned-liberal-talking-head-fox-news-143013301--politics.html

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Uh, what? So being "nice on the inside" is an excuse for what they do? Blech.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

They're all entertainers. Their gig is to rile up people whichever way they can. That's what they do. And now they want to complain about people being riled up? Awesome!

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

I like the strawman argument where they say that anyone against Fox must dehumanize the people on the air! "I mean, come on guys, you would like them if you just realized they were human."

[Peikko 1,575]

Junk journalism gets worse and worse. I do not dislike television news because of he personalities of the people who present the news, but because the news is not news, it's opinion and hyperbole.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Junk journalism gets worse and worse. I do not dislike television news because of he personalities of the people who present the news, but because the news is not news, it's opinion and hyperbole.

I thought they surely must have hit rock bottom back in the late 90s. Man, was I wrong. Now I don't even want to speculate what rock bottom would actually look like.

[LibCampFireClub 635]

Everybody knows liberals have found the secret path to life and for that reason they have the right to silence, ridicule, denigrate, pontificate, and defecate upon anything or anyone who doesn't agree with them. It's time to surrender all opposition to them and give in. They are right. There is only one way to live life. Their way, or no way.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Edited April 16, 2014 by Mr. Big Dog

[Danno 1,228]

Everybody knows liberals have found the secret path to life and for that reason they have the right to silence, ridicule, denigrate, pontificate, and defecate upon anything or anyone who doesn't agree with them. It's time to surrender all opposition to them and give in. They are right. There is only one way to live life. Their way, or no way.

Nailed it.

[Peikko 1,575]

Everybody knows liberals have found the secret path to life and for that reason they have the right to silence, ridicule, denigrate, pontificate, and defecate upon anything or anyone who doesn't agree with them. It's time to surrender all opposition to them and give in. They are right. There is only one way to live life. Their way, or no way.

Go for it, if that's what you think is being said. Surrender to the liberal. I personally have absolutely no idea what you think you are saying. Certainly no one has said that television news should be silenced; but it is #######, whatever way you slice it.

Edited April 16, 2014 by The Truth™

[B_J 2,752]

Summary of the story: A person works with people who have opposite political views. They realize that having different opinions does not mean someone is an evil person. The person finds that treating all people with dignity and respect is better than demonizing everybody who is different than you.

And then I read the responses here.

[Danno 1,228]

Summary of the story: A person works with people who have opposite political views. They realize that having different opinions does not mean someone is an evil person. The person finds that treating all people with dignity and respect is better than demonizing everybody who is different than you.

And then I read the responses here.

As the middle disappears the hate and angst grows.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Summary of the story: A person works with people who have opposite political views. They realize that having different opinions does not mean someone is an evil person. The person finds that treating all people with dignity and respect is better than demonizing everybody who is different than you.

And then I read the responses here.

No. You are being tricked.

The story suggests that people who do not like Fox news are not seeing the commentator's humanity, as a fact. It suggests that people who don't like Fox are "demonizing" the newscasters. It is creating a false portrayal of their opponent's views so that they can tear them down easily.

Then it offers the "simple realization" that people see them as human. Who wouldn't like that?

See, the problem is that I certainly always saw them as human, and my dislike for the network and what they do has nothing to do with their humanity or status as grandpa and child baseball coach. My dislike for the network has to do with the biased content, riling up of the elderly, uninformative and unintelligent "news."

The article is creating a fake ad hominem attack that was never there in the first place.

Furthermore, Fox news peddles in the opposite of dignity and respect, so I find it pretty rich that this dude thinks that this "realization" is worthy of a story.

This story is a strawman argument. Just like what Fox news does.

[Novembro 1,763]

I thought the world agreed that Sarah Palin is definitely a robot.

[B_J 2,752]

No. You are being tricked.

The story suggests that people who do not like Fox news are not seeing the commentator's humanity, as a fact. It suggests that people who don't like Fox are "demonizing" the newscasters. It is creating a false portrayal of their opponent's views so that they can tear them down easily.

Then it offers the "simple realization" that people see them as human. Who wouldn't like that?

See, the problem is that I certainly always saw them as human, and my dislike for the network and what they do has nothing to do with their humanity or status as grandpa and child baseball coach. My dislike for the network has to do with the biased content, riling up of the elderly, uninformative and unintelligent "news."

The article is creating a fake ad hominem attack that was never there in the first place.

Furthermore, Fox news peddles in the opposite of dignity and respect, so I find it pretty rich that this dude thinks that this "realization" is worthy of a story.

This story is a strawman argument. Just like what Fox news does.

No, I am not being tricked. The story was simply about what I said.

I've been in the VJ CEHST pool long enough to see a lot of what was described in the article. People who act like there is something wrong with anybody who thinks differently than them. You see it when discussing either political or religious beliefs. If that's not you, then fine. But there are a lot here who fit that description perfectly.