This format is a tried and proven win-win situation for the status quo, as never are any legitimate voices of dissent or discontent ever heard.
All the questions asked are only those which are allowed and expected to be asked, so as to not embarrass the guests, while at the same time appearing to the viewer as serious journalism.
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The Sunday spin cycleby Leon Fisher, Unknown News
Jan. 2, 2004
If you watch the Sunday political talk shows on all the major networks, you will see a standard format which they all follow.
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Present or former prominent Democratic and Republican politicians are the featured guests, with two or more members of the mainstream corporate-owned press adding their voices to the discussion. And of course, the host of the program is usually a former member of a past administration, now a well-paid member of the mainstream press, or some high profile journalist willing to go along with the sham for the money.
This format is a tried and proven win-win situation for the status quo, as never are any legitimate voices of dissent or discontent ever heard. All the questions asked are only those which are allowed and expected to be asked, so as to not embarrass the guests, while at the same time appearing to the viewer as serious journalism.
These shows remind me of the carefully choreographed televised "town hall" meetings of the 1990's. Remember the scenario? You would have some well known TV journalist like Ted Koppel or Bernard Shaw as host, with candidates or high-placed administration officials present to be asked questions by a well mannered, docile, politically correct audience. The anemic questions asked by the zombie-like townspeople, and the well scripted answers of the politicians, sometimes even greeted with applause, would have made Hitler's minister of propaganda Joseph Goebbels green with envy.
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 | However, there was an instance in early 1998 when a town meeting, hosted by Judy Woodruff didn't go quite according to plan. White House National Security Advisor Sandy Berger, Secretary Of State Madelyn Albright, and Defense Secretary William Cohen were on hand to push for another war with Iraq, and answer questions from what they thought would be the usual hand-picked stooges in the audience. But apparently the White House advance team forgot to close the doors and the real townspeople showed up along with a number of protest groups. |
The booing, heckling, and chanting was non-stop. Ms. Albright, frequently shouted down, glared angrily into the camera and tried unsuccessfully to make her case. Sandy Berger, looking pissed off, sat there and sweated. William Cohen, his eyes darting back and forth, was obviously quite uncomfortable. The camera would also show an audience, many standing and shouting loudly, some even shaking their fists, faces contorted in anger.
How sweet it was to see those three bastards forced to sit there and face the discontent they and their fellow politicians are responsible for creating. No doubt this is the nightmare of every lying, phony, corrupt politician, having to answer to the people they routinely betray, face to face.
© 2003, by the author.
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