Klein's Cancellation of Crossfire
As many of you probably have heard, Tucker Carlson, conservative co-host of CNN's Crossfire, is leaving the network because his contract was not renewed. Jonathan Klein, current head of CNN, plans to cancel the show entirely. This is in light of the recent spat Tucker and Paul (one of the liberal co-hosts) had with Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central's The Daily Show, a satirical news show that has risen to some prominence during this past election. If you missed the show, you can find a clip on iFilm or read the complete transcript at CNN. Suffice it to say that Jon made some excellent points about the partisan hackery and ineffective job the media has been doing as watchdog of the administration. The confrontation, however, only got worse as Tucker defended himself by making ludicrous accusations that Jon was not asking "hard enough questions" of the political guests on TDS, despite the fact that the show is a comedy, while the comedian shot back by calling Tucker a "dick" on national television. Not a pretty scene. In the end, most people sided with Jon, and this event lived on to infamy.
However, one person I was surprised at was Klein. He made some rather inane and insulting statements after the Crossfire announcement, specifically labeling Tucker as "best suited to host a head-butting talkfest" and saying it was time for more "storytelling" journalism (never mind that CNN has been jumping on the bandwagon to compete with Fox for higher ratings through polarizing rhetoric rather than objective analysis). So the man who sniped at bloggers for first calling attention to the inconsistencies in typesetting during the CBS memo scandal is now sitting on his own golden pedestal of righteousness? Andrew Sullivan and Mickey Kaus picked up on the hypocrisy, as well as general disingenuity of motive, in these statements.
Now, I'm not absolving Tucker of blame. From what I can see in his appearances outside Crossfire, namely on his PBS show Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered and various other interviews with the Washington Post and Real Time with Bill Maher, he is highly intelligent and articulate, much more of a moderate than pundits like Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh. In fact, he broke with the Republicans on certain controversial subjects such as the Iraq war, which he initially supported. So it stands to reason that, since he is capable of reasonable civil discourse, the inflammatory rhetoric he spews on Crossfire is more contrived theater than anything else, and he knows it. He plays to the format of the show, plays for the ratings, and - particularly with a live audience - plays to get in the cheap jabs that generate applause. In fact, Bill Press, a former host of Crossfire writes that the show died a long time ago when Walter Isaacson turned serious debate into a hackneyed "gong show."
Klein wasn't around during the Jon incident, but that doesn't mean he should come out and bash Tucker like this. I understand his decisions to cancel Crossfire and let Tucker go, especially since it had been reported in mid-November that Tucker would be seeking another position anyways. But the way he says it makes it seem like some kind of noble act. It's not. It's far from noble or courageous, a score for "Jon Stewart's camp," to kill a show that's already been declining. At best, it's a meaningless token gesture, but more likely the decision was simply a result of the politics of corporate media. Klein just found a convenient way to get rid of a ratings burden, up his PR by associating himself specifically with Jon Stewart, and pin the blame for everything that went wrong squarely on a subordinate. It's a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black.
So what's next, now that Crossfire's gone? No word out yet, but perhaps Klein will take Wonkette's advice and get his own show. At least then, he can fire himself for his own hypocrisy.
However, one person I was surprised at was Klein. He made some rather inane and insulting statements after the Crossfire announcement, specifically labeling Tucker as "best suited to host a head-butting talkfest" and saying it was time for more "storytelling" journalism (never mind that CNN has been jumping on the bandwagon to compete with Fox for higher ratings through polarizing rhetoric rather than objective analysis). So the man who sniped at bloggers for first calling attention to the inconsistencies in typesetting during the CBS memo scandal is now sitting on his own golden pedestal of righteousness? Andrew Sullivan and Mickey Kaus picked up on the hypocrisy, as well as general disingenuity of motive, in these statements.
Now, I'm not absolving Tucker of blame. From what I can see in his appearances outside Crossfire, namely on his PBS show Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered and various other interviews with the Washington Post and Real Time with Bill Maher, he is highly intelligent and articulate, much more of a moderate than pundits like Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh. In fact, he broke with the Republicans on certain controversial subjects such as the Iraq war, which he initially supported. So it stands to reason that, since he is capable of reasonable civil discourse, the inflammatory rhetoric he spews on Crossfire is more contrived theater than anything else, and he knows it. He plays to the format of the show, plays for the ratings, and - particularly with a live audience - plays to get in the cheap jabs that generate applause. In fact, Bill Press, a former host of Crossfire writes that the show died a long time ago when Walter Isaacson turned serious debate into a hackneyed "gong show."
Klein wasn't around during the Jon incident, but that doesn't mean he should come out and bash Tucker like this. I understand his decisions to cancel Crossfire and let Tucker go, especially since it had been reported in mid-November that Tucker would be seeking another position anyways. But the way he says it makes it seem like some kind of noble act. It's not. It's far from noble or courageous, a score for "Jon Stewart's camp," to kill a show that's already been declining. At best, it's a meaningless token gesture, but more likely the decision was simply a result of the politics of corporate media. Klein just found a convenient way to get rid of a ratings burden, up his PR by associating himself specifically with Jon Stewart, and pin the blame for everything that went wrong squarely on a subordinate. It's a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black.
So what's next, now that Crossfire's gone? No word out yet, but perhaps Klein will take Wonkette's advice and get his own show. At least then, he can fire himself for his own hypocrisy.
posted by Anqi at 9:42 PM
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