Watching TV news and newscasters
I am also pleased to reflect that I took the measure of Chris Wallace some time back. To be honest, I find it hard of late to listen to any of the pontificators–most of whom I call Yappers. Even those that I admire, like Levin.
You mean Old Yeller?
It is almost impossible to listen to the shouting Levin, even when he’s saying something that’s correct – which is often. But for me, this un-listenability is an old old story, and not one limited to Levin by any means.
In fact, for whatever reason, I’ve never been much of a consumer of television news. Even before cable came into being, I was somewhat dyslexic for the networks. Who was the main guy on each station? Which did I listen to, NBC or CBS or ABC? I couldn’t tell you and I could barely tell them apart, except to say that I didn’t voluntarily listen to any of them. Why would I, when I could read the news in less time and more depth and on my own schedule?
And so please forgive me if I have relatively little to say about Chris Wallace’s move from Fox to CNN. Didn’t watch him on Fox. Don’t plan to watch him on CNN.
MSM coverage of the Wallace move seems to follow a fairly predictable pattern. His decision is “susprising” (not to the right, it’s not) and/or “abrupt” (not to the right, it’s not), and it will hurt Fox’s reputation (not with the right, it won’t). It is presented as the triumph of the crazy alt-right Tucker Carlson over the sober, objective Wallace.
Blah blah blah.
I don’t watch them, either, except I do watch Stuart Varney on Fox Business.
Wallace’s move to CNN+, a pay service, as I understand it, will bolster the theory that CNN is now doing “real news.” Or it will, with leftists. Wallace always leaned left; witness his terrible handling of the presidential debate last year.
The question is how many people will pay for a CNN streaming service.
Wallace has gravitated to where he belongs. However, I suspect his tenure will be short lived at CNN. If so, his career will spiral down into the irrelevance he so richly deserves. An essentially dishonest man.
I gave up most news on cable, if something is going on might flip to them ( OAN first) if a live feed isn’t linked by someone.
Wallace pulled Leftist talking points one after another during that debate ” moderator hack job”
I gave up on TV a long time ago. I now record stuff from youtube. Musk ox in Estonia, Archeology in Egypt. Angkor Wat, Dingos in Australia. Even more, record to flash drive and watch when I wish on TV. WinX YouTube Downloader.
After I read NeoNeo.com in the evening of course.
I too stopped watching FOX after that infamous debate performance by Wallace. Although I had already cut back watching FOX because as mentioned above all the yapping and saying nothing. Just same ole same ole. Stopped CNN when FOX came about, never watched the others. And I do not watch politicians at all, except I would watch Trump give State of the Union address to congress.
I haven’t listened to TV news for years. Cable news was just the same daily three ‘news story’ clips shown over and over punctuated by interviews that were people talking over each other and saying nothing in the process
The last TV news program I watched regularly was the Huntley-Brinkley Report. The last Sunday show I watched was “This week with David Brinkley.” I even read his book, “Washington Goes to War.” It was a nice description of how the DC bureaucracy grew, never to be reduced.
Always preferred the term “talking heads” since most of them seem to be nothing but a head talking saying nothing much really.
If you live in a Dem controlled city, you can bet that liberal talking heads will ignore what’s happening in your town every week.
https://abc7chicago.com/chicago-shooting-violence-shootings-gun/11333571/
Chicago shootings: 27 shot, 4 fatally, in weekend violence across city
16-year-old boy among those shot Saturday night
Try listening to Lars Larson
Tucker Carlson is the smartest and bravest TV guy of all time. His first segment tonight was very powerful and important. I think Fox prints a transcript of it.
OTOH, over at CNN Minus the jack off Jeffery Toobin was opining about Mark Meadows. Total loser. And why does his wife stay married to him? She has a Harvard MBA, but too smart.
Forgot to mention Nick Zentner. Started last February teaching geology with a camera hanging from a step ladder in his back yard with neighbors in audience.
Has progressed to a classroom in college with over 1000 watching and noted geologists from Montana and california on a shared screen. Questions from anywhere from Japan to England. Why would you listen to the crap on TV is beyond me.
Correction. Toobin’s wife is NOT too smart. Imagine explaining his online masturbation to his wife and 3 kids.
And Sean Hannity has long been unwatchable but now that he follows Tucker, it’s the worst comp of all time.
I sometimes watch a bit of NTD News. It seems more serious minded than a lot of what is out there on TV.
Cornhead,
I assume you know about Toobin’s affair?
Neo,
I agree with your assessment of Levine. I’ve heard he’s a good author, and he seems to be a knowledgeable, Constitutional lawyer, but I find his on air personality obnoxious, grating and unwatchable/unlistenable.
Neo, Rufus, I think Levin is a rather sad example. I believe that he is a valid constitutional scholar, and that he has a lot to say that is worthwhile. But, I agree that his manner of saying it is atrocious. It may be that the tone works in his favor overall; but, I can’t stand much of it.
My wife and several close friends love Tucker. I think that he rather bravely touches hot buttons that others ignore. For some reason I just don’t connect with him very well; and do not watch very much.
I don’t tap many sources of information and opinion; but, there are a sufficient number that I trust– hat tip Neo–that I seem to be better informed than many of those around me.
Of course, as my wife notes, I have a lot more time available than do those who must earn a living. Which does not explain the lamentable ignorance of many of my generation.
It will be interesting to see how things sort out with the move of CNN (along with other AT&T entertainment assets) into Discovery. John Malone, a major investor in Discovery and chairman of the board of that company, remarked that:
“I would like to see CNN evolve back to the kind of journalism that it started with, and actually have journalists, which would be unique and refreshing,”
I believe, but am not sure, that the intent is that Malone will continue as chairman post-transition of the AT&T assets. The CEO is Jeffrey Zaslav, who I don’t know much about.
“I had a job at a prestigious firm, a law degree from Yale that was paid for, a wonderful support group of friends,” she said, explaining her decision not to get an abortion.”
Well that was mighty big of her.
Cornhead: Why the dislike of Sean Hannity? His coverage of the Terri Shiavo case in 2005 should have gotten him a Pulitzer Prize. He has done solid reporting on Julian Assange, the Russia hoax, etc. I don’t watch tv so I only know him from the radio and I really liked Hannity’s interviews. As for Levin – maybe he sounds better on the radio – but I enjoyed his delivery. With the passing of Rush Limbaugh I haven’t gone back to listening to the radio talk shows.
“Why would I, when I could read the news in less time and more depth and on my own schedule?”
This.
Fox has available, usually, transcripts of Tucker’s show, but that’s an anomaly – almost no other TV presentation does that. It’s true that some of the nuances in videos – voice inflection, volume, facial expressions, etc. – are lost in a printed transcript, but that’s pretty much a minor issue; the information is still there in black print on a white page.
I ignore televised presentations some call “news” because they aren’t: Anything network-based is Democrat or Establishment talking points and propaganda, local “news” is just social media garbage repackaged to make it appear more attractive, and that’s where the photogenic talking heads come in.
I would, however, read some of the transcripts of those presentations were they available because transcripts are store-and-forward: I can read them anytime and at my reading pace which is much faster than speaking rate (that was the problem I had with Limbaugh; a supposed “fastest 3 hours in broadcasting” was really about 95 minutes of actual content, a transcript of which took me 15-20 minutes to read. But, the transcript couldn’t contain the ads which make money, which was the major purpose of his show – no money, no show, after all).
I hardly ever watch TV, but do listen to Levin on the radio a bit. I couldn’t stand his voice when he started his show 10+ years ago, so I never listened then. I kind of like his delivery now. It reminds me of an agitated dog on a chain ferociously barking. Sort of like how today’s news makes me feel.
Presented without comment.
https://babylonbee.com/news/brave-chris-wallace-comes-out-as-fake-news-journalist
With the death of Limbaugh, I’ve pretty much ended my interest in broadcast news of any sort. Neo’s description of Levin is spot on to my ears. I used to like local radio news, but it is no longer interesting enough. I know this seems radio based, but I gave up TV news a few years back. I don’t even list them in my channel lineups. Again neo nails it, I can consume all the news I want on my schedule, with the bonus of not getting a false initial impression of breaking news. That probably explains why I never thought Kyle Rittenhouse shot a black person nor ran at his attackers.
I’ve graduated from Can’t Stand Listening to Newsreaders and Talking Heads, to a more inclusive Can’t Stand Listening to Those Guys AND Politicians. Because I’m all about inclusivity.
As for Tucker, he is doing Yeoman’s work these days, but people who describe him as “far right” are absolutely clueless about his personal political views. The farthest he goes to the Right is lean. It’s just that expressing mildly conservative politics or criticizing the radical Left gets you branded “far right” by the Leninists in charge.
Casey Greenfield, who one might wager was not lacking in attention from men, began at age 25 an affair with a 40 year old man who had a wife and children. She squandered 8 years of her youth on that man and is at this time apparently unmarried. Her conduct compares favorably to Toobin’s, but there’s an element of the Iran-Iraq war in their tangles over child-support and the like.
Eva Marie:
Watching Sean Hannity is like watching Mendoza (sub .200) bat after Babe Ruth. It is just a horrible comparison. Huge drop off in talent and presentation.
I used to enjoy Chris Wallace on his Sunday program, but then Trump broke him.
Generally I just watch clips that other people point out. Been trying to wean myself off watching any news, as there’s not much I can do about it all (except preparing for the Next Great Depression.)
Cornhead: Bad lineup, I can see that. Maybe it should be Fox News, Ingraham, Hannity, Carlson, Fox News, Gutfeld.
Like many here, I am much more of a radio person that TV. I should say I was more of a radio person, but now I’m nearly exclusively podcasts.
The initial technology hurdle* is minorly daunting, but for those of you who like radio talk I can’t recommend podcasts enough. There is such a wide selection and one can easily fast forward through commercials.
*If you’re comfortable with your cellphone and apps, that’s the easiest way to listen to podcasts, on your phone. If you have a Spotify account they have a decent podcast feature in their app. iPhone users will find Apple’s podcast feature easy to use. There are also dozens of others available. Soundcloud is popular. I used Pocketcasts for several years.
Why the dislike of Sean Hannity? His coverage of the Terri Shiavo case in 2005 should have gotten him a Pulitzer Prize.
My problem with Hannity (and Ingraham) is interrupting guests all the time. I subscribed to Fox Nation just to watch Tucker’s interviews. He is a great interviewer.
Years ago, I watched Sunday morning shows but not since Brinkley left.
Hannity’s claim to fame is the Olympic bomb case when he was in Atlanta.
Chris Wallace. Fox News. The 2020 debates. Fox early call on AZ. That horrible smirking guy posing as their election expert.
I do not trust any of them. I do enjoy Tucker sometimes. And Gutfeld. He can be funny. And they do not bray at me like Levin and many others. Who can possibly watch Hannity? He is pure of heart, I think. But numbingly repetitive.
I used to listen to Hannity on the drive home but just got so sick of the fact that he couldn’t stop talking about himself even when ostensibly interviewing guests. What finally did it for me was a time he was interviewing Mike Rowe. Mike has great stories to tell, a charity to raise money for and i was really interested to hear what he had to say. Instead what i got was Hannity repeating old chestnuts about his dishwashing days, his construction days etc. Hannity sucked up the air time that should have gone to Rowe. i would have hoped his producer would have whispered in his ear to shut the f**k up, but no such luck. i didn’t listen to him again.
betty: I forgot about that. Yeah, his constant self referencing got hard to take.
Which did I listen to, NBC or CBS or ABC? I couldn’t tell you and I could barely tell them apart, except to say that I didn’t voluntarily listen to any of them.
Fred Barnes penned an article ca. 1985 sorting through a week’s worth of broadcasts on each commercial broadcast network. His conclusion was that ‘a dime’s worth’ of difference was all their was. His most amusing take was on the ads. (“They see their viewers as old, constipated people…”).
Even if I like most of the Fox news bias – I hate the feeling. I can sometimes listen to Tucker, for his 4-10 min intro, tho I usually prefer just the transcript.
CNN & MSNBC are execrable.
The BBC is far better for acoustic sound, but so annoyingly anti-Christian, anti-Capitalist and usually anti-(Rep) America.
I actually have done some watching of Russia Today (here in Slovakia), which does similar trashing of Reps as BBC, but also often trashes the Dem/ Left elites of USA & UK & EU.
There are 4 political truths:
help your side, hurt your side;
help their side, hurt their side.
RT does better at both hurt their side and your side.
But mostly now it’s blogs & selective “news” – plus the Slovak TA3 (for SK gov’t! )
I find it difficult to listen to Mark “Irate Pekingese” Levin as well, even though I enjoy his writing. I stopped listening to Hannity on the radio when the constant shouting got to be too much. About the only talk radio guy I liked was Glenn Beck.
I had never watched Fox News until Trump became president.
I have to say I adore the Greg Gutfeld show. My husband and I were so happy when it started airing every week night. One of the few shows that makes we nearly fall off the couch laughing.
It’s the only Fox show we watch except occasionally Tucker’s monologue.
The only real news source is The People’s Cube.
https://thepeoplescube.com/
Honestly, I get a lot of news from Viva Frei and Barnes on YouTube and locals, and The New Neo. I think the above commenters are also correct that People’s Cube and Babylon Bee both provide serious observation presented as satire. Not “news” per se, but more truthful, and far more insightful, than almost all media purporting to be news.
I check populist.press and rantingly.com multiple times a day. The former suffers from atrocious headline writing, but along with Rantingly it has filled the gap that Drudge left when he sold out.
At this point, I just don’t find the day-to-day news to be all that important, but rather the big picture commentary on what’s going on made by people whose judgement I trust. Besides, these days the breathless conspiracy theorists seem to have a far better grasp on events that anything calling itself news, so “news” as it’s called, doesn’t seem all that relevant.
The sober commentary of people like Neo provides information that I can take and run with if I want to know more.