ABC, NBC Play Moral Midgets for Access to Charlie Sheen
The saddest media bias on display this week was the desperate hunger and thirst for that slice of Ratings Heaven known as Charlie Sheen's Continuing Moral Collapse. He's been All Access Charlie, granting high Nielsens wherever he goes, speaking of how he is High on Himself and "bi-winning" with his two "goddesses" camped at his abode. Network interviewers have tried not to alienate their guest with tough questions. Washington Post TV writer Lisa de Moraes ably brought her trademark snark to this amoral parade. First there was ABC's 20/20 with Andrea Canning on Tuesday night:
"It's no secret that you have an affinity for porn stars," Canning told Sheen.
"Well, I mean, wow, listen to that statement," Sheen joshed back.
"Why?" Canning asked, speaking for us all.
"Well, look at what they do - look at what I do. Duh...They're the best at what they do and I'm the best at what I do and together it's like, it's on! Sorry, Middle America, yeah, I said it."
"Is it the same for prostitutes - is it that it's good sex?" Canning continued.
"Who wants to deal with all the small talk and nonsense? You're paying for something that eliminates that. It makes sense to me," Sheen explained.
The Post writer then added that on Wednesday, when Sheen went live on "Today" with a very agreeable Jeff Rossen, "the sex goddesses had been transformed into Mary Poppins." (Notice that NBC didn't even put "goddesses" in quotes on screen.) After underlining how Sheen (that regular Ward Cleaver) was somehow shocked or traumatized that his toddler twins were removed from the Goddess House after their mother pressed to have them returned to her, Rossen simply wanted to know how Sheen's dreamy life worked:
"We run errands, we eat, we play with the kids. We watch movies - I watch a lot of 'Two and a Half Men'," Goddess No. 1 told NBC newsman Rossen.
Rossen began to grill the girls:
"Do you love his kids?"
"Are you kidding? I was just up with them right now, " gushed Goddess No. 2. "I didn't want to put him down."
"Is this pretty normal? I mean there are pictures of the kids on the fridge!" Rossen persisted.
"Aside from the days when we sit with the gold palm fronds and fan him -- ," Goddess No. 1 began.
"Hey! Don't run with that! Do not run with that!" Sheen joked -- but ominously, we thought.
Goddess No. 1 turned to the camera:
"I'm joking," she said, raising her right hand.
Yup, it seems there's virtually no role Sheen can't throw himself into.. And the media laps up and cries for more.
"That was amazing!" media analyst Steve Adubato raved of Sheen's Frantic Father performance, after it was over, to "Today" Den Mom, Meredith Vieira.
"I was prepared to come in and say 'out of control, ridiculous, get him off the air - I also wonder about us when we put him on the air," Adubato confided.
"I got to tell you, I just saw a father in pain...It seemed very clear that his children...are his priority."
Can a skull get any thicker? Adubato also advertises himself as "Steve Adubato, Ph. D.," but he flunked this test.This only underlines that "Media Analyst Steve Adubato" is a moral blank slate who will say absolutely anything to get on the Today show, even if it desperately calls for a laugh track.
- Tim Graham's blog
- Login to post comments
Comments
Moral Voids Admiring Moral Voids
Submitted by Tenebrous on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 8:23am.
Why are we surprised that the empty soulless shells admire a guy who can do what they've always wanted to do? Although I'm sure someone will show up and say how this is completely different from whatever sin problem they have, and so that's why Sheen is screwed up and they're ok.
Visions and Principles blog
"I got to tell you, I
Submitted by motherbelt on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 8:39am.
I got to tell you, I just saw a father in pain...It seemed very clear that his children...are his priority.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the epic howler in a piece teeming with them.
I'm Trying to Figure Out the Outrage
Submitted by astonrickenbach on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 8:46am.
I am trying to figure out the outrage in this article.
Is anyone surprised a large company will sell its soul to make money? Is anyone surprised someone who works in the porn industry might not have a moral compass when it comes to parenting? Is anyone surprised a person who has fought drug addiction for th past 25 years and whose brain has suffered the ravaging effects might not make any sense when you talk to him?
The reason the media drinks this all up is because it sells and this is big business.
If nobody cared they wouldn't show it.
Sarah Palin "sells" too, and
Submitted by Smartypants on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 11:19am.
Sarah Palin "sells" too, and yet much of the media disdains her. She would never receive such fawning covering from the likes of ABC or NBC.
the real danger
Submitted by spepper on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 8:52am.
As messed up as Charlie Sheen is portrayed in the media these days, I must say that Neal Boortz got it right: Charlie is like a car stalled on the side of the road, engine smoking etc. but everyone appears OK, but also distracting everyone that's driving past, so that the real danger is not noticed around the bend: the bridge ahead of all of us on that road is caving in-- big government eroding our freedoms, corrupt entanglement of big govt/big banking destroying the free enterprise economy, etc.
Let's see what has gone on
Submitted by ricklail on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 9:16am.
Let's see what has gone on this week that has been over shadowed my this idiot:
AFT runnning guns into Mexico
Terrorist attack on the Air Forc e in Germany
Going to cost 7.5 million to repair the capitol building in Madison
Mayor Bloomers hiring journalist at 500K a year to writer columns favorable to his gun grabbing efforts.
ricklail,
Submitted by Agnostic on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 9:29am.
Over shadowed or buried?
That word might be better
Submitted by ricklail on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 10:09am.
That word might be better when it comes to the MSM CBS did report the gun running.
reporting gun running
Submitted by Agnostic on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 10:30am.
By why is Charlie Sheen such a story now. He basically has been saying the same thing for 20 years when asked why he spent so much time with prostitutes and port stars. Charlie Sheen is not forcing this coverage, he didn't invite the cameras in to his home other than the fact that he didn't turn them away. The media chose what to push and they chose Charlie Sheen over one of the most pivotal event in recent world events including the gulf war, over the truth of the events in Madison, over Muslim attacks on Christians, over Muslim pirates (didn't rich white people getting killed led news for weeks just a few years ago) and over attempts at religious cleansing in several nations around the world.
Charlie Sheen gets to make his own decisions and live with the consequences but it is the media that is ignoring the rest of the world for their own purposes.
I don't care about the
Submitted by Thoreau on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 9:29am.
I don't care about the downward spiral of yet another leftist ahole. Sorry.
Gee.
Submitted by Newsbubba on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 10:19am.
I've watched Two and a Half Men for years, and continue to watch the reruns because it is a funny, well written show.
I've always considered Charlie Sheen to be a great actor because of his portrayal of Uncle Charlie, the no talent, drunken, gambling, drugged up, woman chasing whore monger (and an occasional man whore), bum with way too much time and money for so little work; and now I find out he ain't acting! He really IS Uncle Charlie!
Maybe they should just adjust the show slightly, and make it a reality show. That should send the ratings through the roof.
Never fear. Charlie is just helping Hollywood lower the moral standards of this country to the point where, when you call someone a bastard you have better than a 50-50 chance of being correct. It's probably already reached the point that if you call a girl over the age of 15 a slutty little whore, you are in the 85-15 range of being correct.
Meltdown
Submitted by DTA140 on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 10:23am.
They all just want to be the first show to catch a huge, crack induced meltdown.
Too bad he is such a Jerk
Submitted by shawn. on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 10:37am.
Why can't a nice guy be given the opportunity to be filithy rich and live with two beautiful women that are at his beck and call? Charlie just does not appreciate how good life has been to him and is way way too angry.
Charlie Sheen is a nice
Submitted by motherbelt on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 11:30am.
Charlie Sheen is a nice guy???
Your standards are very interesting, to say the least.
ummm MB?
Submitted by shawn. on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 11:33am.
Did you miss my subject line? I meant that Charlie Sheen does not deserve all the good things that he has and why can't a nice guy be given his luxuries.
Oh, I see. You just think
Submitted by motherbelt on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 11:38am.
Oh, I see. You just think the money and the two live-in whores should go to someone "nicer."
Excuse me a minute...
<sound of duct tape ripping off roll>
OK, now you were saying..........?
Now you got it
Submitted by shawn. on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 11:41am.
Yes that is what I am saying. They are not whores, they are beautiful women and it would be nice to rich.
Glad we got that cleared up.
Submitted by motherbelt on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 11:44am.
<insert hysterical laughter>
Kudos to Newsbubba
Submitted by Metsie62 on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 10:45am.
I have been making the same arguement that newsbubba has made and when Two and A Half Men returns to the air they should just incorporate the real life componenets into the show....Charlie's national fame at his ridiculous comments
Considering the complete "going off the rails show" by the brother Alan and his ponzi scheme anything would have been a relief
PS Maybe they will really release an album of "Charlie Pancakes" and the silly Childrens songs too
Sad
Submitted by IrateNate on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 11:07am.
Very sad.
It'll Continue--Good
Submitted by iveseenitall on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 11:41am.
Let the media keep this thing going. The people get it. They know what's going on. In fact, their watching it can be quite beneficial. I've spoken with numbers of young people recently and they all seem to know that Sheen is a drugged-out, worthless turd ( to use his word). And they don't want to be like him. So, in a strange way, he and the rest of the lefties in the media are providing a service, an example of what his life-style can do and where you can end up if you choose to be like him. Moreover , it is up to us , the ordinary folks, to point out Sheen and the immature lefty media to our kids as examples of how not to live your life.
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal" (progressive)
It's a media train wreck
Submitted by Blonde on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 11:21am.
That the media is trying to betray Sheen's little "twosome of porn stars" domestic situation as somehow being normal is just twisted.
Sheen has been charged with domestic violence against both his wives, he has no business having custody of these children, nor unsupervised visits with him and his "godesses". Someday in the future, when he's been dead for quite a while due to his drugging, his children will be extremely embarassed by his callous behavior. But it will be too late. I saw a bit of an interview with Martin Sheen and Emelio Estevez yesterday, they both looked so sad and helpless. I can't imagine how I'd feel if an adult child or a sibling of mine was out of control like that in such a public way.
And the media just keeps feeding the beast. Pathetic.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
and yet shawn thinks Sheen is
Submitted by motherbelt on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 11:33am.
and yet shawn thinks Sheen is a "nice guy" and should just shut up and enjoy his good fortune.
Apparently his only fault is that he runs his mouth in public.
He's a selfish, self-centered ****** [insert your own word]
Submitted by Blonde on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 11:39am.
I feel for his kids and his siblings.
He has no idea what he is doing to his own family now, and what this will do to them in the future when his children understand he was a self-absorbed jerk who didn't care about their well being.
He ought to be yanked up short, but apparently even his father isn't capable of doing that, which is sad. I am certainly no Martin Sheen fan, but I feel for the man as a father and a human being.
Charlie Sheen is truly a dead man walking. I wish he'd get it over with and spare us the media fascination with his slow motion trainwreck.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
I was just "updating" my previous reply but was too late.
Submitted by motherbelt on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 11:43am.
UPDATE: Oops! Have to backtrack. shawn clarified his comment.
He's upset that Sheen doesn't realize his good fortune.
Too bad his father and his brother can't be happy for him too. \sarc
Thanks
Submitted by shawn. on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 11:45am.
Its always nice to have clarification :-)
seriously MB?
Submitted by shawn. on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 11:43am.
First you mistakenly tell me I say he is a nice guy, now your telling others. Yeesh.
See my reply to Blonde. I
Submitted by motherbelt on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 11:47am.
See my reply to Blonde.
I also tried to edit my comment to you with "Please tell me you're being sarcastic" but I was too late.
Sorry for the confusion. I guess my brain isn't cranking on all cylinders yet this AM.
OK...looks like we're caught up.
Surprised?
Submitted by blazermaniac on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 11:23am.
Theis shouldn't surprise anyone. They do the same thing for Barack Obama.
More MSM navel-gazing
Submitted by Galvanic on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 12:26pm.
Charlie Sheen is the icon for the entertainment industry's opulent self-indulgence. He is a media creation -- their Frankenstein.
And now that he is screwing up the production of one of their high-ratings, low-brow TV shows, they are blanketing the newscasts with interviews and updates on this human train derailment.
Sheen is eating it up. The coverage just reinforces his self-image as the biggest name in the game.
Why should average Americans care?
Let him self-destruct, and let's get on with the world.
Here's some more important stuff the media overlooked
Submitted by Mary Louise Turner on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 2:11pm.
While the nutworks fuss and fret over who should get the "exclusive" interview with has-been Charlie Sheen, let's see a sample of some important stuff that has been overlooked:
I could name still more examples but it could take all day. You get the idea...