Posted on 07/28/2007 4:32:29 PM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
Jim Pinkerton found a graphic way to express his displeasure over Fox News Watch's decision to devote a segment to Lindsay Lohan's latest run-in with the law. With a nod to MSNBC newsreader Mika Brzezinski, who as I chronicled here had torn up a Paris Hilton story in protest, Pinkerton ripped a page or two on tonight's show.
FOX NEWS WATCH PANELIST JIM PINKERTON: This speaks to formula, right?. We all know that Lindsay Lohan and Nicole Ritchie are fighting to get the Anna Nicole Smith slot for this year.
FOX NEWS WATCH HOST ERIC BURNS: Nicole Ritchie, who has just been sentenced herself.
PINKERTON: Exactly. I'm going to honor another formula [as he ceremoniously tears the story in two]. That would be Mika Brzezinski on MSNBC and Jack Cafferty on CNN, who refused to read their copy. It might have been a show, it might have been an act for the cameras, but I'm going to do the same thing and see what happens. Because I don't think this is really worth covering on our segment.
View video here.
Burns tried to defend the decision.
BURNS: When stories like this are covered, it is shown that ratings tend to go up. People tend to want to watch this kind of story, as Jane [Hall] said, they want to watch this kind of story. This is a democracy governmentally. Why shouldn't it be a democracy in terms of what television news presents. If people want this, why not give them this in addition to other stories?
Fine. Just don't call it "Fox News Channel," the "CBS Evening News," etc. How about: "The Human Train Wreck Network"?
Contact Mark at mark@gunhill.net
Ripping Lindsay Lohan ping to Today show list.
This really feels like just another way for the press to play off Lohan rather than a genuine protest. This way they get the ratings and get to be holier than thou.
Yep. Playing the YouTube publicity angle.
Yep. If these guys really wanted to protest covering this type of non-news, they would make their protests with their editors and producers to persuade them not to run the story at all. If that doesn’t work, then rather than publicly and self-righteously ripping up the copy, instead just skip over it as if it didn’t exist.
“I usually turn on Fox&Friends to get the overnight headlines. Earlier this week, Fox&Friends spend nearly 30 minutes of continuous alerts and coverage of Lohan and her arrest(s).”
Fox and Friends has become unwatchable since DD left. They are under orders, I guess, to escalate jokey humor. Steve Doocy’s weather spots have become mostly chatter with the other anchors. I dropped the two-hour FF in favor of the one-hour Fox and Friends First. It’s just as bad, though. I running on habit for now. I really miss the Mancow days.
I find it incredible that anyone could choose CNN over Fox and still feel comfortable at FreeRepublic.
I sent FOX an email comparing their coverage of Lohan over a Cuban born American actress that grew up in Venezuela. She wanted to tell the truth of what was happening in those countries. It seemed they could not wait to get her off the air,compared to the drawn out commentary about Lohan.
I referred to their news as tabloid. I rarely watch news anymore, I get most of it from Rush and FR.
“””We all know that Lindsay Lohan and Nicole Ritchie are fighting to get the Anna Nicole Smith slot for this year.””” Not comparable.
On FreeRepublic there have been approx. 70k posts and 700K views recorded on 3 Anna Nicole Smith threads. Those of us who participated in those threads were not interested in the tabloid Anna Nicole Smith...we expected US law enforcement investigations into the following:
*The death of a son - about to reach his majority (age 21)of undetermined manner and cause. Could be homicide.
*The birth of a daughter - whose paternity and custody was in question - who may also have been born addicted to illegally obtained prescription drugs.
*The premature, undetermined death of the infant’s mother -could be homicide, suicide or misadventure.
*Conspiracy to access a $1.6billion estate and eliminate per stirpes heirs.
*Conspiracy by lawyers and foreign government officials to circumvent immigration laws for fraudulent purposes.
*Intent to defraud owners of real property and real estate.
*Illegal transportation of prescription drugs, by interstate and international waters.
*Potential kidnapping of a US citizen.
*Illegal disposition/seizure, by an officer of the court, of the remains of a US citizen in contravention of State Law (Florida)
*Creation and presentation of fraudulent documents to avoid parental and custodial rights.
*Causing pain and suffering to the biological mother /grandmother of the decedents, for gain and profit.
*Failure to allow visitation opportunities to the biological maternal grandmother .
The deaths of two US citizens in jurisdictions outside the reach of US law enforcement should concern all of us.
Hey, she has tig ol’biddies.
I could watch all day ;-)
Who ARE these people, and why are their names cluttering up Freepland? [Mind-boggling waste of space online!.]
Why? You get the latest on Anna Nicole Smith or the latest celeb gossip 24/7 on BOTH FNC and CNN.
And when that day comes, it will be called FRee-V
"I want my FRee-V"
I watch Lou Dobbs on CNN for an hour a day. Lou Dobbs is no conservative, but there are news reports about stories that interest conservatives that cannot be had on FNC. The commentators he has are of the liberal variety. The most liberal of which is some creep name Zimmerman who is employed by the Democrats, but on the issues of illegal immigration and general congressional incompetence and corruption, he unmercifully hammers him if he takes the Democrat defense with the tired old talking points. There is nothing on FNC that earns my attention for an hour a day. Sean Hannity is the tiredess act on television and I guess he would be Fox’s most conservative commentator.
Since I'm in Phoenix, I record Fox and Friends from 4:00 to 6:00 and watch when I wake up. That means I can speed through the drunk/missing/raped/dead pretty girl stories.
Guess what? As I have breakfast, there's not enough of the show left for me to finish eating!
How I yearn for the days of Captain Kangaroo.
Oh, my goodness. YOU’RE the reason!
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