Tim Rutten of LA Times Blames Halperin Ban on...Roger Ailes and Fox News
By Tim Graham | July 04, 2011 | 11:40
Is someone really going to blame the Mark Halperin remark-and-suspension on....Roger Ailes and Fox News? Yes, Los Angeles Times media reporter Tim Rutten did on Saturday:
Ever since Roger Ailes created Fox News as a low-budget, ideologically conservative televised version of right-wing talk radio — and swept the ratings table in the process — CNN and MSNBC have been consciously counter-programming their successful rival. One of the casualties of this competition has been legitimate political journalism. The Halperin incident is a natural outgrowth of the direction political reporting has taken on the cable networks, and that, in turn, is a consequence of treating political journalism as entertainment, as talk radio does — a trend that has turned out to be the ideologues' best friend.
Rutten also somehow thinks CNN balances out its ideolgues in an "illusory stab at fairness." It's natural that journalists don't like politicians becoming talk-show hosts...although this article is about cable, so he can't really talk about presidential aides becoming the host of Good Morning America. It continued:
MSNBC now programs for a Democratic audience, while CNN broadcasts ideologues from across the spectrum in a futile and, in fact, illusory stab at fairness. Increasingly, actual political reporters or analysts are replaced by campaign advisors and strategists from both parties. Fox has upped the ante by signing Republican politicians themselves — Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich — as on-air "commentators." The only losers are those who hunger for real reporting or analysis as opposed to partisan spin.
"Morning Joe" is as good an example of this process as any. Scarborough is a former Republican congressman from Florida. He's essentially MSNBC's token conservative and a dependable personality in cable's impersonation of political journalism. His show has a delay switch because two years ago, he used an obscenity to characterize Obama's then-chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel. Last year, Scarborough was suspended for making contributions to Republican candidates. Yet there he is, every morning, egging his guests to take just the sort of extreme and, therefore, entertainingly attention-getting remarks that Halperin made.
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Comments
A textbook case of...
Submitted by syvyn11 on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 11:54am.
FDS. Fox derangement syndrome.
Good one
Submitted by StarAZ on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 12:33pm.
FDS---I like it.
this Tim Rutten guy must
Submitted by gunguru on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 12:00pm.
this Tim Rutten guy must NEVER watch the alphabet channels' "news" broadcasts. If he did, he would have to be ideologically blinded to not see the blatant and outrageous bias exhibited by clowns like Steffi Stephanopolous and the perky Katie Couric. Years ago Rush said something, and I think it applies to Fox News opinion programming as well---"I AM equal time". Just because Fox News news programming doesn't slant Left, the typical Journolists think that it is biased. Hypocrisy at its finest.
Why should he watch?
Submitted by almostacowboy on Tue, 07/05/2011 - 11:07am.
Like most Prog/Libs, he instinctively "knows" what they're like.
LATimes
Submitted by sawing batta on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 12:02pm.
"One of the casualties of this competition has been legitimate political journalism..."
Wasnt it the LATimes who instructed reporters to CEASE covering the John Edwards love child story - in the midst of the Presidental campaign - as it wasnt newsworthy....?
sorry, LATimes....if there's a lack of "legitimate political journalism" it's because of hacks like you who actively kill (or fabricate) legitimate stories about leading political candidates.....
best regards,
mary mapes and dan rather
It was also the LA Times
Submitted by UpNorth on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 2:20pm.
that obtained a video of Obama toasting Rashid Khalidi, a mouthpiece of the PLO, and then sat on it, before the 2008 election. Although they claimed to have told the whole story, without release of the tape, who knows?
So, yeah, they do "kill (or fabricate) legitimate stories" all the time.
many seem to have forgotten about this tape
Submitted by dmacleo on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 5:12pm.
too bad hackers would not get this and release it.
Test of Political Journalism
Submitted by zenman1661 on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 12:01pm.
I believe the best way to gauge how politically legitimate is a talk show is to look at how many guests they have on with an opposing view point. Using this test, Fox News would completely beat MSNBC and would also top CNN.
Well, blaming Bush is kind of
Submitted by gopsteve on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 12:03pm.
Well, blaming Bush is kind of losing its effectiveness...
I don't know. We have a
Submitted by ricklail on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 12:35pm.
I don't know. We have a DemocRAT hack writting letters to the editor of our local paper where she manages to get in the old blame Bush mantra on everyone. She gets a lot of positive comments from the other DemocRAT hacks.
Turnabout
Submitted by HardRightTurn on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 12:24pm.
There would be no need for Fox News if there was no need to counter the leftist dogma peddlers in the main stream media. So, by this cretin's definition, the MSM is responsible for the very existence of FNS.
______________________________________________________________________________
To more fully comprehend the Left, one must read “Leftism As Psychopathy” by John Ray, M.A., Ph.D. Caution, it might scare you a little bit.
http://jonjayray.tripod.com/psycho.html
BDS to PDS to FDS?
Submitted by Tomorama on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 12:32pm.
Because the news on TV...................... was so blatantly leftist, the niche for BOTH sides to be presented was there and Fox grabbed the mantel and ran with it SUCCESSFULLY.
So the REST of the leftist media in general calls Fox right-wing and they appear to be right-wing ONLY because the majoritey of the media is left of left of left.
Fox has FAR more Democrats and Liberals than the rest have Republicans and Conservatives ON and it isn't even close.
The next time ANY network has a Conservative sit in as guest host as Fox does with Liberal ones, then come a talkin'.
Rutten is trying to play the game
Submitted by Alvin691 on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 12:35pm.
The game he is playing is called "Above the Frey". It's not working.
Glenn Frey?
Submitted by almostacowboy on Tue, 07/05/2011 - 11:17am.
I think you meant "fray", no? :-)
The Birth of Fox News
Submitted by Bodini on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 12:36pm.
The Birth of Fox News has a allowed my blood pressure to return to normal after being force-fed liberal BS for decades by the Lewinsky media outlets! I love it when the leftist print media like the LA and NY Times out-house wipers whine about the "fairest" news outlet available to the public. God Bless Roger Ailes and Fox News and Damn the socialists' Press!
So there it is.
Submitted by hbnolikeee on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 12:53pm.
When your toilet doesn't flush or your cat craps on your pillow, it's either George W. Bush or FOX. This is paranoia at it's finest. I guess that's what BO meant by the most transparent administration in history.
What??
Submitted by DontFeedTheTrolls on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 1:23pm.
'Scarborough was suspended for making contributions to Republican candidates'?? Is that against the rules? I know it isn't when the candidate is Democrat.
Network policy
Submitted by Jer on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 1:43pm.
required prior approval regardless of party. His contributions were made without seeking or obtaining that approval and therecfore were in violation of stated company guidelines.
Jer
Jer, do you know if
Submitted by UpNorth on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 4:05pm.
NBC has a policy prohibiting in-kind, on air contributions to a political party, without prior approval? Just curious....And, have a Happy Independence Day.
UpNorth...
Submitted by Jer on Tue, 07/05/2011 - 7:29pm.
Are you referring to "in kind" donations or contributions as specifically defined by Federal Election Comission and IRS provisions or as it might be more broadly extended to a wide range of both on air and off air activities by a network employee?
Hope your holiday was an enjoyable one.
Jer
Uh...if Halperin had used the
Submitted by ex buff e-dub on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 1:31pm.
Uh...if Halperin had used the word "jerk" instead of the apt word choice he used, he'd likely still be on. Then they'd have a tougher time canning him for his ideology. At least he was accurate in his reporting.
delete
Submitted by rammingspeed on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 2:10pm.
delete
Tim Rutten Represents Them All
Submitted by rammingspeed on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 2:10pm.
Tim Rutten is a twisted piece of sh*t. He accurately recites by rote the left wing definition of Fox News and "right wing radio," and then proceeds to describe an all-too-well known scenario of evil based on these stupid lies. The man is either a complete numbskull (at least partly the case) or a true miscreant, one who will knowingly say and do anything to get his way. That one such as he is in the responsible position of a main stream journalist for one of the most well-known news agencies is beyond sickening. America is living in a sewer for being "served" by this excrement.
Rutten must not watch Fox
Submitted by CobraMan on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 2:24pm.
Rutten must not actually watch Fox News. Their format isn't any different than any other cable news source. It's the same format that CNN has been using since it's debut, including, but not limited to, 24 hour coverage, annalists and "experts," and, you guessed it, guest and house commentators.
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
The way liberals twist things is just
Submitted by Ken James on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 2:53pm.
un-foxing believable
I'm confused*
Submitted by cajun2 on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 3:05pm.
It was Tim Carney who made THE phone call. Doesnt he work for Obama not Fox News?
Blame them for everything
Submitted by jon_torlin on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 4:07pm.
It's the age-old thing, they think Fox News is an arm of the Republicans(it's not), and they blame the Republicans for everything, ergo, they blame Fox News.
That's how they think.
-Jon
the evil koch brothers
Submitted by dmacleo on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 5:14pm.
had to be them too :)
Carney
Submitted by CherDash on Tue, 07/05/2011 - 11:24pm.
I believe Jay Carney is Obama's spokeshole.
If the LA Times was
Submitted by buddyc on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 3:33pm.
If the LA Times was independent, fair and balanced I would NEVER waste my time with Rush/Glen/Mark/. It is the complete and total failure of people employed at media outlets like the LA Times (I won't call them journalists because they are not) to comply with the professional guidelines adopted by journalists that has caused right wing talk radio.
As for Fox being comparable to right wing talk radio, that is absurd. They have people like Haraldo, Greta, Shep and numerous others who are not idealogues. On the other hand check out Rutten' history at Patterico.com. He is a partisan hack who refuses to admit his agenda which is obvious to everyone.
I walked into the grocery store where the LA Times was soliciting subscriptions for the LA Times. They came up to me and asked "what would it take to get you to subscribe to the LA Times"? My answer; "fire the entire staff from top to bottom and pay reparations those harmed by your partisan actions in the amount of $5,000,000.00." The guy laughed. I didn't.
In trite fashion....
Submitted by Ashrak on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 3:54pm.
yet another progressive assigns blame in every direction except where it belongs. One person is responsible for the "dick" outburst and that would be the person who exercised his own right to speak and enunciated the words he himself chose.
In keeping with the progressive agenda, so too is the right defend hammered in a disguised manner. Without realizing it, the writer admits that the creation of Fox was in response to existing entities - CNN and MSNBC. Talk Radio did not move to cable to expand an attack on say print media, it augmented the scope of defense by using the First Amendment to exercise the Second.
Our Founders and Framers were so very wise. They implemented a poison pill intended to eventually destroy the foulness of slavery, they removed religion as a source of debate by employing Creator instead of God, G-d, Allah etc and they first got the Constitution, which could be amended, stood up and then amended it with a one-two punch for the ages.
The straight left that is the First Amendment, followed by the wicked right hook that is the Second, constitutes a knockout blow to all who will oppose Individual Liberty and make attempt to snake it away. One can be used to protect and defend the other, and that works either way, but they taught us all a lesson in their placement of them. It is always best to use the First to protect and defend the Second before using the Second to protect and defend the First.
It is my desire that this day is not just a recognition of birth, but in and of itself a rebirth. Articles like the one here can be the target of what has to be shown as in need of growing up. It is juvenile and foolish. Easily picked apart as full of projection and non sequitur, a reborn nation not afraid to call a spade a spade will find this, and its kin, easy fodder in the defense of Liberty.
Let this day be the beginning of the end for "journolisters", "authorized journalists", and mainstream media teleprompter readers (underpants gnomes all) and begin the rise of the Citizen Reporters who are unafraid to ask the real questions of substance, admit their truthful answers and share them our fellow countrymen.
Happy Independence day, NewsBusters. And thanks for your contributions to the march to defend Liberty.
Ailes sure does cut a bunch of paychecks with liberal's names...
Submitted by Dave. on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 4:14pm.
...on them for somebody who created the TV equivalent of 'right wing' talk radio.
-Dave
We need to have MORE Obama huggers on??????
Submitted by Tomorama on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 4:19pm.
You guys forget that the WH under Boooooosh tweeted talking points to Hannity and Beck all the time, REMEMBER?
Just like they do to the mouthpieces at PMS-nbc and especially Meeeeeeeka, PMS-nbc and Meeeeeeka, a match made in heaven.....
Have this 'Stepford mouthpiece" ever laughed?
What's that, Hannity and Beck didn't get tweets from the Boooooosh WH?
But PMS does and they are NON-PARTISAN according to Tingles?
I had no idea that Roger Ailes
Submitted by djwolf12 on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 4:23pm.
runs MSNBC and he has the ability to hire, fire, suspend, and pull shows off of the air at MSNBC.
A Massive Sea-Change On The Part Of The Left
Submitted by Samaritan01 on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 4:50pm.
I applaud this new thinking by the Left. At least they aren't blaming Bush anymore.....
I read recently the left was blaming the Rise of Roger Ailes
Submitted by djwolf12 on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 6:05pm.
on RICHARD NIXON!
Laughable...
Submitted by Chris Norman on Mon, 07/04/2011 - 8:02pm.
The cloak of "respectable journalism" as worn by the left wing ideologues posing as journalists is so threadbare that comments like Rutten's are laughable. Who does he think he's kidding? Liberal hacks such as Dan Rather, Bob Schieffer, Sam Donaldson, and Brian Williams practice "real journalism"? Please don't insult us. This fallacious argument may have played in the 1970s, but too many people have grown sick of the liberal bias permeating the mainstream media to be fooled for one second that it isn't so. Anyone who tries to make excuses or deflect the truth are just wasting their time and ours. It's a fool's errand, but guys like Rutten apparently think they have the qualifications for the job.
Wow...What a leap!
Submitted by Boil It Down on Tue, 07/05/2011 - 1:38am.
I hope Rutten did some stretches and warmed up a little before he made that giant leap.
So, let me get this straight. It's FOX's fault that MSNBC was formed and put on the air as the anti-FOX network. Because of this MSNBC had to abandon legitimate journalism to avoid being like FOX. So Halperin is just a victim of what FOX made them do. Is that about right?
Rutten has a twisted perspective on this combined with some pretty convoluted thinking.
Yeah, that's like telling your wife, "Honey, my buddies stood on my chest and poured that beer down my throat 'til I was drunk". Liberalism seems to require a lack of responsibility for your own actions. -bidn-
Wow...What a leap!
Submitted by Boil It Down on Tue, 07/05/2011 - 1:39am.
I hope Rutten did some stretches and warmed up a little before he made that giant leap.
So, let me get this straight. It's FOX's fault that MSNBC was formed and put on the air as the anti-FOX network. Because of this MSNBC had to abandon legitimate journalism to avoid being like FOX. So Halperin is just a victim of what FOX made them do. Is that about right?
Rutten has a twisted perspective on this combined with some pretty convoluted thinking.
Yeah, that's like telling your wife, "Honey, my buddies stood on my chest and poured that beer down my throat 'til I was drunk". Liberalism seems to require a lack of responsibility for your own actions. -bidn-
Halperin's responsibility
Submitted by nkviking75 on Tue, 07/05/2011 - 9:11am.
If there was such a thing as rehab for people who use obscenities and/or crude words on the air, one of the first concepts they'd try to teach is that the client is responsible for their words. While MSNBC should have used their delay and perhaps the rest of the on-air morning zoo were egging Halperin on, ultimately Halperin could have avoided all of this simply by not using the word.
“Always love your country — but never trust your government!" -- Bob Novak (1931-2009)
When you put the clowns in charge, don't be surprised when a circus breaks out.
Tim Rottan's insane logic
Submitted by donaldduck on Tue, 07/05/2011 - 9:26am.
As so many have commented before, the extreme left-wing slant on the reporting by the msm made FOX News not only possible, but a blockbuster winner over all of the other cable networks and, on election nites, even the alphabet networks. Rottan's logic is as flawed as the msm reporting. They are dying and refuse to to what they know needs to be done to save themselves: fair and balanced reporting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well at least the article admits that Fox
Submitted by gmaniac1 on Tue, 07/05/2011 - 9:31am.
has swept the ratings so to speak. It also mentions that the competitors are trying desperately to keep pace. However this is shining example of how the left's policies do not work unless it's force fed down someone's throat. Love it or not Fox is the best media outlet ever in the history of journalism. I love it especially how they smack the lamestreamers down on a regular basis!
Upped the ante?
Submitted by ChuckySchmucky on Tue, 07/05/2011 - 11:57am.
"Fox has upped the ante by signing Republican politicians themselves — Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich — as on-air "commentators." The only losers are those who hunger for real reporting or analysis as opposed to partisan spin."
Upped the ante? The ante was ALREADY "upped" when the Sunday talk show circuit hired former Democrat operatives like Tim Russert and George Stephanopolous, among others.
And the only losers are the frauds and sheep like you who pretend that the corrupt leftwing media that votes 90% for the Democrat in every election is fair, non-partisan and offers "real" reporting.
Mark Halperin is like Major
Submitted by amyshulk on Tue, 07/05/2011 - 1:35pm.
Mark Halperin is like Major Garrett - he says what he sees, softening the lefty bashing so as to stay in with the "in crowd" I guess they decided he was not softening the lefty bashing enough for them, so they egged him on, then down he went. Lie down with dogs...
Ronald Reagan
The real blame
Submitted by Model850 on Tue, 07/05/2011 - 3:33pm.
Halperin was banned for his own actions. He ALONE was responsible for what came out of his mouth, all the so-called "egging on" by Joe and others notwithstanding. Of course that concept of personal responsibility apparently is foreign to Rutten (as it seems to be to most if not all on the left). The only blame that needs assigned is to Halperin. Alone.
Now the other side of this issue is that it seems apparent that until the firestorm from the WH over this incident nearly everyone in the control booth that morning thought it was a funny comment, or worse (for them) a true one. How else to explain their failure to employ the "kill" switch against the word? As I mentioned in another thread on this subject, seven seconds is an awfully long time to sit on your hands and not push the button. So whoever's finger was on the trigger that morning must have agreed with Halperin's assessment of Obama's character during that campaign speech (which is all it really was; in my opinion it didn't qualify as a legitimate press conference).
Blessed are those who expect nothing, for they shall not be disappointed.