TV Newser reports that reader reaction to the Playboy magazine interview in which MSNBC star Keith Olbermann wackily claimed that Fox News was more dangerous than al-Qaeda was so bad, Playboy went looking to recruit a positive letter-writer for balance.
[A]n anonymous emailer directed TVNewser to BloggingOlbermann.com, a fan site of Olbermann's. Becky, who runs the site, tells the story of how Playboy editor Chip Rowe contacted her looking for a positive letter in support of Olbermann to offset the slew of negative letters Playboy received...
More from an industry insider: "The more glaring issue here is that Olbermann's Al Qaeda comment was so over the top that Playboy had to resort to asking one of his rabid fans to find one person to say something positive about him."
But there's more. Keith-loving blogger Becky was allowed to use a phony surname in her letter:
The hitch was that they insist on publishing a full name, city and state for all letters. For personal reasons, I prefer not to use my real name online, and even though this wasn’t online, it did identify me as the person who runs this site. With Mr. Rowe’s permission, I gave him a pseudonym - Becky Liebowitz (after Jon Stewart) of Chicago. If you happen to be a genuine Becky Leibowitz residing in the city by the lake, my apologies.
The spirit of Keith even extends to that blog's commenters, who cheer on Becky's fake name, since it ought to throw off Bill O'Reilly's "secret police squad" off the scent:
So glad that they did not make you use your real name, as my hair stood on end when I thought that you had.(And is the Bill-O secret police squad on its way, even as I type this, to the home of an innocent and unprepared real Becky Leibowitz?)
Reading all of those nasty letters I can see that they wanted at least one that was not negative, leading me to the perhaps unjustified belief that nutty conservatives buy Playboy more than wild eyed liberals because they aren’t getting any and have to fantasize.
Social conservatives should not be buying or subscribing to Playboy, but that still leaves plenty of tax cut-loving libertarians to write the nudie mag and suggest that Olbermann is the male Rosie O'Donnell.
—Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
blind lust
January 15, 2008 - 00:01 ET by acumenA plant eh? Well if it's good enough for the dems CIC hopeful...
"....nutty conservatives buy Playboy more than wild eyed liberals because they aren’t getting any and have to fantasize."
Or..... is it possible that "wild eyed liberals" (more accurately illiterate leftists) can't seem to get past the pics to actually read the articles?
DU has a screen shot of the
January 15, 2008 - 07:57 ET by motherbeltDU has a screen shot of the "letters" page. (My favorite is the one that calls KO a "male Rosie O'Donnel." I love "pithy." GMTA, Tim!!) I saw it the other day and nearly spewed when I saw that one flowery letter in the midst of the rest.....she actually referred to his "pointed, elegant rhetoric"....I'm assuming she's referring to those histrionic soliloquies known as "Special Comments." I guess she just loves all those "YOU, SIR's"
Now I find out it's that Becky's letter! ROFL!!
Well at least in the interest of "full disclosure" they have included a note about her website under the letter. They don't, however, admit that they solicited said letter.
nom de plume
January 15, 2008 - 12:28 ET by kg"Keith-loving blogger Becky was allowed to use a phony surname in her letter"
Phony surname = nom de plume: for those who write with deception and lies.
Well, I just had to leave a
January 15, 2008 - 00:15 ET by RESTLESS 1Well, I just had to leave a little message of my own (on the site the link is to). I'm sure it will raise their hackles some. ;>)
VRWC
January 15, 2008 - 00:25 ET by Jerry MackIt is obvious that this magaine is part of the VRWC.
Playboy has articles?
January 15, 2008 - 00:40 ET by OneZeroPlayboy has articles? Can't say I've ever "read" that magazine.
There are 10 types of people. Those who understand binary and those who don't.
BATH-TUB-BOY...
January 15, 2008 - 00:43 ET by danybhoyOne of the funny things about this story is that we find out that some people DO READ PLAYBOY FOR THE "JOURNALISM"(acrticles/interviews). Who knew?
The other thing is that EVEN BathTubBoy can offend people going through a porn mag, say what you want, THAT takes talent. The comparison of BathTubBoy to Tokyo Rosie is a very good one, & I believe he will become as toxic & radioactive as she is. I just hope we get to see how BathTubBoy deals with stress, we all saw Rosie hanging upside down like a fruit bat. I want to know what the sportscaster does to relieve stress.
"Some of us are wise, some of us are otherwise" Mark Levin
Danybhoy....that's funny
January 15, 2008 - 11:40 ET by JayTee"EVEN BathTubBoy can offend people going through a porn mag, say what you want, THAT takes talent."
LOL That's funny....
"Barack Obama is a Powerful Speaker—And so is My Bose Bass Amp" Doug Giles
Wonder if Playboy will interview this person?
January 15, 2008 - 00:47 ET by R D HelmWonder if Playboy will interview this person?
http://www.nypost.co...
Probably not.
None are so hopelessly enslaved as those who falsely believe they are free. -J.W. von Goethe
Playboy
January 15, 2008 - 00:59 ET by Lame CherryI noted on Newsbusters quite a lengthy analysis of Hugh Hefner in noting he was at one time more Conservative than Reagan almost.
Hef has always been pro business, pro gun and leaning to American issues the way Conservatives think. His audience is not "nutty Conservatives" nor sticky keyboard liberals, but is instead LIBERTARIANS.
Playboy's market is upscale business and people in a rather 50 grand plus year salary.
Hillary Clinton, Al Gore and company would not get any more of a positive response than Olberman.........do remember that it was the Vietnam vets who made Playboy centerfolds a success. Those gals always supported the troops and still do as much as Hugh does when he is not acting like an old dork.
Yes there are huge problems with Playboy, especially since the kiddo took over operations and made it XXX video porn to compete with the internet, but Conservatives have to be reminded to not make the mistake that Ed Meese did in not working a compromise with Hugh Hefner over porn as that is what swung Playboy as an ally of the left.
The readers and yes they do read the articles in Playboy are Libertarian and an asset to America. Sure they are caught in the sex trap, but most people grow out of that.
So don't knock the readership of Playboy as them turning up the heat on Olberman sends a huge message to the "editors" in having to tailor their content.
As Lincoln said, you have to be elected to govern.........the GOP needs the Libertarian voters whether one agrees with them on all issues or not.
I for one would really like Newsbusters to interview Hefner here and finally discuss with him and Christy the issues and get them back on the Conservative side promoting issues.
This is government........Jesus when He comes back can sort it out to His lone rule.........but for now we have to as Americans compromise not our morality, but stop hammering the people who can be of value to us.
Ron Paul does that ring a chord with you and your current attack mob chasing people. This ain't a dictatorship yet so get along.
*HIC IACET ARTORIVS REX QVONDAM REXQVE FVTVRVS
This is just wrong.
January 15, 2008 - 01:28 ET by timotheCall me naive but aren't letters to the editor supposed to be letters in which the readers react to the content of the magazine? Doesn't it just seem completely wrong for an editor to solicit a "letter to the editor" for the sake of balance? I don't care if it's Playboy. This is the worst example of hack journalism I've ever seen.
I bet they disregarded
January 15, 2008 - 12:31 ET by kgI bet they disregarded those letters from his ex one-night-stands. They
wouldn't have been favorable either.
Hmmm..
January 15, 2008 - 02:48 ET by Sua Sponte 75Hatred of clown trumps nekkid babes....sad, sad day...
"You're either part of the solution or part of the problem"
It is a miracle that this
January 15, 2008 - 10:29 ET by AlgerHissIt is a miracle that this magazine is still around: Who would actually pay money for it?
Hugh Hefner is still such a wimpy, simpy non-guy... still laying around in silk pajamas and having his pubis waxed.
Rochester, Minnesota: A Fem_Leftist City!
PLAYBOY...
January 15, 2008 - 14:51 ET by danybhoyI don't believe it will long before Playboy & other print porn mags are gone. The future of porn mags will the same as newspapers, it will go online, if it has'nt already.
BTW, where will Bill Maher go for entertainment when this happens? I mean, how long can Hefner keep the Playboy Mansion open if the magizine no longer exists in it's print form? Will people really subscribe to Playboy online? I doubt it. Like it or not, Playboy is a historic institution in this nation, & just like the NYT, Time, & Mad, I believe that these types of operations may not be around in 10-20 years.
"Some of us are wise, some of us are otherwise" Mark Levin