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Medved (courtesy of Random House)
Several websites, including TVNewser, The National Review, and NewsBusters, reported this week that CNN/US president Jonathan Klein has banned some talk radio hosts from his cable news channel. In an editorial meeting Tuesday, Klein directed his producers to refrain from scheduling talk radio hosts, in part because the hosts’ comments are “all too predictable.” Klein was quoted apparently slamming some of the talk radio hosts CNN has booked, saying “complex issues require world class reporting,” inferring that those hosts aren’t “world class.”
Some prominent CNN figures host daily radio shows, among them host Lou Dobbs, apparently exempt from the ban. Others presumably exempt are regular political commentators and radio hosts Bill Bennett and Roland Martin.
Seemingly subject to the ban is Michael Medved, whose nationally syndicated radio show is based at Bonneville’s KTTH in Seattle. Medved has commented on issues for CNN, and previously delivered weekly movie reviews for the channel. Medved carries impeccable credentials. As a National Merit Scholar, he entered Yale at the age of 16 and later attended Yale Law School, where he befriended Hillary Clinton. Medved was a prominent speechwriter and consultant for liberal political candidates before describing his shift to more conservative values in some of the dozen books he’s written. Medved’s radio show is heard in more than 200 markets and reaches an estimated 4 million people a week. His bona fides have been good enough to get him on with CNN’s Larry King, Oprah and Letterman, among many others.
Dobbs, on the other hand, has drawn a barrage of criticism to CNN over his comments on claims by so-called “birthers” that President Obama isn’t eligible to hold his office because he wasn’t born in the US. Dobbs has continued to express doubt over Obama’s citizenship status on TV and radio despite the fact that a fill-in host on his own CNN show had debunked the birthers’ claims. Dobbs even continued to press the issue on CNN after Klein had declared the controversy “dead.”
For his part, Medved has been quoted as calling the birthers “crazy, nutburger, demagogue, money-hungry, exploitative, irresponsible, filthy conservative imposters,” and “the worst enemy of the conservative movement.” He added, “It makes us look weird. It makes us look crazy. It makes us look demented. It makes us look sick, troubled, and not suitable for civilized company.”
Apparently CNN doesn’t see Medved as suitable for its company while continuing to showcase Dobbs and his dubious positions.
(Your Seattle Radio Examiner is an on-call producer and fill-in host for News Talk 97.3 KIRO FM.)
Comments
Freedom of speech is dead. No sane person can think this is a good thing for a democracy.
Does he expect us to believe that the comments of recurring guests on the other side of the political spectrum AREN'T "all too predictable"?
This is CNN. If we want your opinion, we'll give it to you.
Klein's declaration of "dead" regarding the abject failures of this criminal adminstration and their "transparent President" to release even a smattering of documents from Obama's (aka Soteoro's) past also included the ludicrous notion from Klein that Barry's long-form, vault copy birth certificate was "destroyed" in 2001 when the Hawaiian Dept. of Health began recording records electronically. A ridiculous assertion that Hawaii promptly debunked the next day. Also the fill-in host for Lou Dobbs, CFR member Kitty Pilgrim, monologged for 5 minutes of a 6 minute segment in "debunking the birther's claims" as you state.
You are a typical leftist-liberal propagandist who picks and chooses the parts of a story to substantiate your opinion. Funny, just like CNN. What your article fails to address is why CNN feels the editorial component inherent in all of their reporting is so weak that it cannot withstand reasoned debate or an opposing opinion.
Lou Dobbs has specifically said that he believes Obama was born in the US and has only brought up the birth certificate issue because it would seem so easy to present the original birth certificate and put the arguments of the birthers to rest.
Congratulations for getting the facts wrong.
Thank goodness the "silent majority" is finally waking up in America. There are a lot more people out there that haven't spoken up yet about what is happening to our county, but they will vote. We wanted change, but not this kind of change.
Lou Dobbs is the only show worth watching on CNN.
I'm not surprised that most of the comments here have been completely asinine.
I've just banned myself from CNN.
The opposition voices have been silenced. Does anyone still want to argue that CNN isn't biased?
The Obama censorship plan is beginning to work, eh?
Wow, this is not a ban on right wing or left wing radio hosts. This is a ban on ALL radio hosts as guests. So cut this thing about silencing people. I don't want to turn on the "news" only to hear someone repeat the rumors I had at work. I want an unbiased explanation of the facts.
Is this CNN'S decision, or Obama's? The Obama administration bristles at the mention of "socialism," or "communism," but what do they say....when it looks like sh.t, and smells like sh.t, it probably is sh.t.
And McCain was born in Panama! So is he an American citizen?
The question about Obama is settled. He was already vetted in every way possible before the general election.
I have to admire Medved. For speaking out on something which will surely destroy the GOP if it is not stopped.
The birthers are questioning Obama's Certificate of Live Birth? That is all I have, also. Do they question my citizenship?
It did not take long for racism to rear its ugly head after the inauguration. Does anyone think this debate would be happening if our president was white?
Klein is a microcephalic moron running a failed propaganda ministry with zero credibility. Let him stick his head in the sand and pretend the real America doesn't exist--he'll be swept aside and forgotten soon enough.
Kdgreat, there ARE no liberal radio hosts that anyone listens to. Get real.
This is silly. If the ban is on ALL talk show hosts (and would anyone care to argue they're NOT predictable?), how is this specifically a slam on Medved or conservatives? This article is biased reporting.
You wingnuts need to pay more attention. The ban was in response to a couple of appearances by Air America radio host Ron Reagan. CNN is now in complete lockstep with Faux Noise.
Jim sez; "The birthers are questioning Obama's Certificate of Live Birth? That is all I have, also. Do they question my citizenship?
Brer Fox sez...when you run for president, you can bet your last dollar I'll question your citizenship.
Why can't we see the long form BC? Why can't we see his passports? Why can't we see his transcripts?
There's just too much hiding of records to suit me and I don't give a rip what you call me! Birther- wingnut- crazy- racist- I don't care...I still want to see his long form birth certificate with the doctor's name on it.
I don't care what you call me....racist, right wing nut, birther, bigot...I still want to see his long form birth certificate. We can't see his passports, we can't see his transcripts, we can't see his writings when he was in college...there's just too much hiding of records to suit me. Why? He could clear all this up easily. Why won't he?
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