Friday, August 09, 2013

News And Entertainment - One And The Same?

I've been watching the hullabaloo on FOX over who will lose their time slot when Megan Kelly moves to prime time the first of September.

Even though Greta Van Susteren has the weakest ratings she appears to have the better agent because she is expected to hold at 10 o'clock.  Sean Hannity is slated for change.  I'm guessing a non-prime slot and a whole lot more money, but who knows.  None of them are worth watching unless your are interested in a 'conservative' rehash of the day's news plus too much fluff like the video of the day.  Never-the-less the speculating has been fun.

I had come to believe the line between news and entertainment couldn't get more blurred but oh, how wrong I was.  Remember the commercial where Alec Baldwin tells an airline passenger not to worry with him at the controls because he had played a pilot?  Well, now he's going to play pundit and where else but msnbc?  I love it!

If I want whiny or righteous indignation I watch FOX.  If I want anger and nastiness I watch msnbc.  If I want to watch line straddling I watch CNN. It really doesn't make much difference since the slant is predetermined and never wavers.

I read Baldwin's rants on the Huff Post occasionally and of course we're always reminded of his Irish temper whenever a photographer happens to get too close.  I expect his demeanor will carry over to his new gig.  After all he's played it before.

Now, where to go for news?  Maybe I'll bookmark the Washington Post now that Jeff Bezos has bought it. I understand he's a hard nose of a boss and obviously a successful businessman.  My curiosity is piqued as to how he's going to turn an obsolete though storied rag into a money making venture.  Maybe rags to riches will have new meaning. Besides I prefer print media.

The fun and speculation has about run its course with the FOX escapade except for the final details.  Now I can begin trying to think of who else msnbc might recruit to become the 12th angry man.  Maybe it will be Bill Clinton.  He'll be pretty upset if the Hillary bio pic gets trashed and no one can do angry better than he.  I can just imagine his red face now.

There's something about those Irish pundits.  Matthews, O'Donnell, Hannity, O'Reilly and now Baldwin.  Gosh, I wish they were all on the same network. Then I wouldn't have to watch any of them!


1 comment:

Margie's Musings said...

I never watch Fox News. It's not news. It's a conservative mouthpiece. About all news sources except maybe PBS are so obsessed with having constant news that anything at all is news and if there is news, like the teenager being found alive...they wear it out rehashing it constantly.