Jon Stewart's Crossfire appearance bears good fruit

[SemperEadem]

Silencing The Granddaddy of TV Shoutfests After 23 Years
New president of CNN shocks media watchers
By John Cook
Chicago Tribune
http://www.mediainfocenter.org/story.asp?story_id=63021791

The departure earlier this month of the puckish bow-tie enthusiast and Crossfire co-host Tucker Carlson from CNN was a surprise to almost no one who keeps abreast of cable news comings and goings.

(snip)

What did come as a shock was CNN President Jonathan Klein's sudden decision to can the 23-year-old show altogether, publicly endorsing the contention of The Daily Show's Jon Stewart that Crossfire and its bevy of copycat shout shows are, as Stewart likes to say, "hurting America."

Though he hasn't yet made up his mind for certain, Klein said he will likely reduce Crossfire to an occasional segment on Inside Politics, and said the future of Capital Gang as a stand-alone show is also in doubt.

(snip)

It is also, his critics say, a thinly veiled attempt to pander to Jon Stewart's audience of self-appointed media critics. (On his show, Stewart reacted to the announcement with puzzlement, saying, "I had no idea that if you want a show canceled, all you have to do is say it out loud.")


...more

[paineinthearse]

1. A moment of zen.

Hallejulla!

[Reverend_Smitty]

2. For being king of the stoner/slacker crowd...

he sure has a lot of influence, don't ya think?

[Geek_Girl]

3. Yay!!!

Kill Capital Gang too and maybe I'll never have to look at that traitor Novak on the boob tube again.

[Gabi Hayes]

4. unfortunately, of all the lousy, stinking shoutfests on TV, that one

offered the most balanced setting

think about it:

always two on two, never three/four/five on one (or none), as most other shows were

name another, similar show that you'd rather have on instead of Xfire

I KNOW how repugnant Novak/Carlson are, but, bad as they are, at least the dems get a chance to shout over them, and present their POVs

and don't bring up Lehrer as an example of balance, please. that show is one of the worst, as it pretends objectivity, while almost NEVER following up on pugs, while hectoring most dems on minor points (hyperbolic, to a degree, but I hope my point is taken)

[autorank]

9. Thank you for unmasking the "sacred" Lehrer!

The PBS people are the worst kind of whores, they know better.

To paraphrase Orson Welles: In Nazi Germany, people betrayed their friends to save their lives; in America we do it to save our swimming pools.

[Acryliccalico]

5. I love Jon Stewart and I am a 55year old grandmother

:hi:

[pacifictiger]

8. me too!!

[onecent]

13. Ditto and I'm a 59 year old grandmother of 15 grandkids.n/t

[seasidelib]

19. Same Here

I'm 48 and I watch it with my 19-25 yr old kids whenever we get the chance to see it together.. even have 'America' on our coffee table. LOL

[hyphenate]

6. Tres Cool!

Perhaps the cable "news" will make a turnabout. I doubt it, but there is always hope.

I heard Jon's comments on that. I know he desperately didn't want to appear smug, but I don't blame him if he was. Yippee!

[tandem5]

7. ahhhh that feels good... nt

[Al-CIAda]

10. After the Kinsley vs. Bucannon split, crossfire was never the same.

John Stewart issued the death blow...and what a sight it was.

[spartan61]

11. I hope CNN keeps Capital Gang on the air

although I can't stand whiny Bob Novak and Kate O'Byrne who always looks like she is sucking on a lemon. I truly enjoy Margaret Carlson and can't understand how Tucker can be her son. He is such a right winger!

[immoderate]

12. No relation there.

Tucker is son of Richard Carlson, conservative writer.

--IMM

[RetroLounge]

14. and Tucker is still a Dick.

Go Jon!

RL

[HeatherG.]

15. I'm Glad It's Gone

Crossfire was pretty obnoxious in it's current form. We are still going to need better pundits though. I wish Bob Sommerby would get TV time, and if Joe Conason can talk nearly as well as he writes he would be very useful as a pundit too. We need people who will be able steadily refute the lies as they come in during an election year. It seems like we find out the truth about things after the fact. The pundits were still talking about Gore and Love Story long after Somerby had explained the truth of the matter on his site. If Somerby had appeared on TV, stories like that wouldn't have the staying power.

[SemperEadem]

18. How to counter RW bullshit on these shows?

Learn 'deprogramming speak' from a cult deprogrammer. Learn now a deprogrammer undoes the twisted rhetoric learned by those in the cult, programmed to regurgitate what has been taught to them.

Once we learn this tactic and use it effectively, we will be able to wrestle the logic back from the RW.

[Fenris]

16. Good riddance to loud rubbish.

[grasswire]

17. capitol gang....

...is about the most worthless piece of television as one could ever devise. I can't imagine why anyone would listen to ANY of those cranksters.