Say what you will about Keith Olbermann, but MSNBC will wholeheartedly defend the guy, if only because he's been printing ratings for the network, and provides the lead-in for new star Rachel Maddow. The liberal left loves the guy; they've got him on Hero Watch. And the conservative right can't stand him; they fear he wants to murder their first born. And then there's folks in the "center," like Campbell Brown, who thinks his whole shtick rings of ideology. Fine. But what's the real measure of a man? Like picking your president, it comes down to who you'd want to share a beer, or a nice glass of cab sav, with. CONTINUED »
Jon Stewart's "Who the Fuck is That Guy" segment is pretty hilarious. But did the Daily Show just unearth that footage from five months ago today? Because that old ranting lady calling Barack Obama an "inadequate black man" is hella old.
As is the disbelief at the number of yahoos on the news during the election.
Sarah Palin bashed Barack Obama, which most pundits didn't expect, or advise. She also lobbed some decent punchlines at the talking head class, and for that, we appreciate her. But how did the folks who are paid to over-analyze these type of things, and who were on the receiving end of her taunts, respond to her words? CONTINUED »
Karl Rove sits atop many lists. This week, it's New York magazine's media popularity contest for pundits. (Immediately below Rove? Rush Limbaugh.) Too bad New York, while writing about "opinionmongers," doesn't understand "pundits" are the people doing the commentary, not reporting the hard news, so it's a bit ridiculous to see names like Tom Brokaw, Bob Scheiffer, or even Andrea Mitchell on here. [NYMag]
Not two weeks after we get through an in-depth look at how virtually anybody can be labeled an "expert" and thrown on a cable news network comes a veritable how-to guide on accomplishing exactly that.
In the article, in the July issue of Politics magazine, Patrick Gavin explains how you too, without a newspaper's name on your business card or a publicist responsible for bookings, can get your message heard. Potentially, his information could be more harmful to America's safety than a DIY guide to building nuclear bomb.
But it isn't. Mostly, it's no-brainer tips: Don't try to get a booker or producer's ear when she's in the middle of a broadcast; Do use the telephone; Don't expect to they'll want to meet you for coffee the first time you reach out; Do use your connections; Do be reliable.
But there are three strategies anecdotally laid out: CONTINUED »
You have your own appetite for endless, 24/7 coverage of the news cycle to blame for the proliferation of a whole new class of pundits being labeled "political strategists." Desperate to fill their programming hours with experts, the trio of cable news networks are booking guests — sometimes they're authors, sometimes they're small-time party coordinators — to weigh in on John McCain's age and Barack Obama's elitism, and also on issues of import. In this era, the only thing it really takes to become a "Democratic strategist," a "political analyst," or a "military expert" is a single lower-third Chyron describing you as such. And when in doubt, that's exactly what the control room is willing to do. CONTINUED »
The Daily Telegraph is spending the entire week publishing its list of the Top 50 most influential television pundits. This is a delightful little scheme: The British newspaper will get the chattering class to visit its site everyday for at least the rest of the week as they scramble to see if they made it, with 10 more results printed each day.
But let's not kid ourselves: You know who's going to round out the top of the list, and they've got names like O'Reilly, Olbermann, and Hannity. Air America's Rachel Maddow kicks off the list at No. 50, the Times Paul Krugman is at No. 48, former B. Clinton press sec Dee Dee Myers is No. 39, WaPo columnist Eugene Robinson is No. 37, and colleague Howard Kurtz is No. 34. Sadly, we don't think Greg Gutfeld is gonna make it.
How easy is it to go from being a forgettable Christian radio host and Top 40 DJ to signing a five-year deal worth $50 million to continue hosting your own conservative cable talk show? Apparently, very!
And so, in the interest of jogging your memories and ours, we've decided to peruse the archives of Cable Quotables and take a look back at some of the valuable contributions that millionaire pundit Glenn Beck has made to the cultural stratosphere. Read on, then ask yourselves one very important question:
Seriously?
Editorial Director
