Posted on 04/15/2005 10:04:10 AM PDT by Bubs
Fox News host: Repeat after me
If the conservative guests on Fox News' "Hannity and Colmes" sound especially on-message, that's because they're being coached by the best:
Sean Hannity himself.
On the March 31 installment of the shouting-head show, the guests included two of the late Terri Schiavo's former nurses, Trudy Capone and Carla Sauer Iyer, arguing that their patient wasn't brain-dead.
Between commercials, according to an off-air audiotape obtained by investigative comedian Harry Shearer for last Sunday's episode of his weekly radio program, "Le Show," Hannity coached the women on exactly how to respond when liberal co-host Alan Colmes cross-examined them.
"Just say, 'I'm here to tell what I saw,'" Hannity can be heard instructing his guests. "No matter what the question, 'I'm here to tell you what I saw. I'm here to tell you what I saw.'"
Hannity adds helpfully: "Say, 'I'm not going to be distracted by silliness.' How's that? Does that help you? Look into that camera. Look at me when I'm talking."
On the air, Iyer performs beautifully. "I don't have any opinions or judgments. I was there," she declares
After the segment ends, Hannity gushes off the air to the nurses: "We got the points out. It's hard, this isn't easy. But you did great, both of you. Thank you, guys. Those nurses are powerful, aren't they?"
On his radio show, Shearer injected: "Yeah, especially when they do what you tell 'em to do. Very powerful when they follow instructions from the host!"
A Fox News flack didn't respond to Lowdown's detailed message yesterday.
(Excerpt) Read more at nydailynews.com ...
bump
So I take it you think Rush is biased too? LOL
You said all that needs to be said. People who have never been on TV get nervous, need tips, etc....
You mean, just like the left-wing does???
Horrors!!!
"...investigative comedian..."??? Never heard of that one at the career fairs!
Bwahahaha!!
Yes, very effective. I learned the "broken record" technique when I was about 17. I gave it to one of my daughters in jr high after she was assaulted by a group of girls and they would try to find out what legal recourse she was going to take.
The key is to say EXACTLY the same thing every time you respond. If you change the wording at all, your questioners think they may be making progress. She would say, "My dad is pursuing it and told me not to discuss it." She was very excited when she got home after school. She said it drove them nuts, but they backed off after only a few tries.
This, of course, is absurd.
We all know that, in the clipped, sound-bite-ish nature of a television news program, words and presentation go hand in hand. Ms. Capone could have said the same thing, punctuated by a few stutters and "um"s and "ah"s...and the average viewer would have thought her (a) stupid and (b) uninformed (and, therefore, unbelievable).
I wonder if Alan Colmes also gives pointers to liberal guests who are not media-saavy. The fact that this article doesn't address this, IMO, is quite telling.
I guess that you would prefer that Hannity not offer advice or encouragement to his guests, but it's his show. So, get over it.
SY-
You were on O'Reilly. Did he help you any? Did that change what you were going to say?
Thanks.
Amen!
Is irrelevant. S&H isn't a hard news show it's editorial-entertainment. O'riley is the same way. It's really stupid how liberals confuse the news (which fox does very well thank you very much) with op-ed.
I was on TV once. A kids cartoon show when I was about five. I remember Mambo the clown coaching me.
Specifically, he said "smile and wave at the camera".
This is an aimless piece. The vast majority of TV Guests are coached before they go on the air. This is done in an effort to prevent them from "locking up" on a live program. By "locking up", I mean nervous fidgeting, stuttering, stopping mid-sentence, etc. That is not only embarassing, but frequently hurts their cause as well.
I don't see what the big deal is, other than how this crap ended up in the hands of this so-called "comic". It was either made up or it was stolen as I see it.
This really doesn't bother me, because I know what goes on "off the record" for the TV shows. It has been and always will be like that.
I wouldn't exactly call Hannity pretty, but then what do I know.
This isn't news but just a hit piece written for those who have an idea that what goes on the air is spontaneous. It ain't.
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