Before I get to the only story that really matters — media speculation about who will replace Loofah Lad — let’s take a quick Trump Dump to prove what’s at the end of the Fox to Offal Office pipeline.
With Trump generating more flip flops than Fort Lauderdale during Spring Break, this reporter caught another Fabulous Fox 2Fer ™ this morning. First up? A supercut of the factual media exposing Trump’s reversals from this week, followed by a Pete Hegseth reach-a-round: POTUS is “pragmatic and smart” to change his mind. Trump’s laughable — and far too public — learning curve is recognized by everybody with a brain, which rules out those at Fox.
Speaking of laughable: A softball interview with D-Lister Maria Bartiromo of the Fox Bidnezz Network becomes the Marie Antoinette “Let them eat cake” interview, in which Agent Orange also blurted out other nonsense. Yet, only one thing that he pulled out of his ass resulted in a fact check:
Other effluent in the closed loop pipeline: Trump retweets Fox News report about Syrians being ‘grateful’ for bombing their country • Fox News’ Chris Stirewalt: Says Trump’s Military Intervention Is “The Pivot We Have Always Looked For” • Sean Spicer’s Holocaust Comparison Echoes Fox News
Sadly, there will be more next week. And, the week after.
I’m celebrating as Bill O’Reilly takes what he’s claiming was a pre-planned vacation, but he’s never before taken an Easter break this long. TO BE FAIR: He’s never before been crucified like he has been recently.
Meanwhile, Fox quietly reveals a new show called Factor Friday. (Why not Friday Fox Follies?). Like Johnny Carson before him, he’ll get another day off per week. Gee. I wonder why Fox hasn’t promoted this show.
If you’re unfamiliar with this sex scandal, a good overview is this ABC Report: What to know about the Fox News and Bill O’Reilly controversies. Otherwise skip ahead.
Because he’s never lied to his audience before, it’s totally believable that:
Often around this time of year, I grab some vacation because it’s spring and Easter time. Last fall, I booked a trip that should be terrific, not going to tell you where it is, but we have a contest on billoreilly.com, guess where Bill’s going. I’ll have a full report when I return.
Here’s my contest entry: To your sumptuous den to play with your loofah while drunk dialing women on the phone. What do I win?
When you return? Doncha mean if you return? With advertisers acting doing a 3 Stooges, trying to get out the door all at the same time. With more accusers in the wings, there’s heavy betting among the pundit class we’ll never see the No Spin Zone again. Fox is finally taking this scandal seriously.
I’m with the group that says he’ll return briefly, but a graceful way will be found to write him out of the script, just like Chuck, Richie Cunningham’s older brother.
O’Reilly is the most hated news person on the planet, but he still has his defenders. Such as the aforementioned P*ssy Grabber-in-Chief:
This is why we can’t have nice things:
Bill O’Reilly’s ratings are soaring
after the sexual harassment allegations
Face facts, Fox. O’Reilly is a pterodactyl, like Roger Ailes. That dinosaur doesn’t fly anymore in today’s corporate climate. The Culture Warrior is revealed as a hypocrite, one you wouldn’t trust your daughter or wife to be around.
SUPREME IRONY ALERT:
As Trump Defends O’Reilly, Fox Uses ‘Access
Hollywood’ Tape in Harassment Seminars
Like Glenn Beck before him, Loofah Lad will not recover from the advertiser exodus, nor headlines like this:
NY Times’ Emily Steel: Sexual Harassment
Culture Lingers At Fox Even Without Roger Ailes
Meanwhile, lookie who got thrown under the bus to deflect from The Falafel King:
Howard Kurtz Suggests Fox’s
Continuing Sexual Harassment
Problems Are Roger Ailes’ Fault
Pleasehile, Meet the People Behind the Ad Boycott of Bill O’Reilly’s Show:
“As of this writing, 82 advertisers have publicly withdrawn from his show, representing an estimated $37-42 million loss, says Angelo Carusone, president of the progressive nonprofit Media Matters,” Mother Jones reports. “Bill O’Reilly’s trouble with advertisers is in part due to a campaign jointly run by Carusone, Think Progress’ Editor in Chief Judd Legum, and the anonymous Twitter account Sleeping Giants, which gained a huge following shortly after Trump’s election by launching a campaign to dissuade companies from advertising on Breitbart News.”
LONG READ: Bill O’Reilly’s World: Books, Philanthropy and Speaking Engagements
MURDOCHIAN MADNESS: What will ultimately determine whether Loofah Lad will be back? The bottom line. Television is a business and this station has shareholders. Once the advertiser boycott starts to strangle profits, he’s gone.
Who will ultimately determine whether Loofah Lad will be back? With protests right outside the Fox moat, that will fall to the Murdoch family, which is apparently divided over their cash cow. There are reports that James Murdoch, CEO Of Fox News’ Parent Company, Reportedly Wants Bill O’Reilly Off The Air Permanently. This as Rupert Murdoch Spotlights Fox News Performance Amid Bill O’Reilly Controversy:
“As we enter this new spring season, I’d like to take the opportunity to wish those celebrating, a wonderful Passover and Easter holiday. The first few months of this year have already given us much to be thankful for,” said Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman of 21st Century Fox and chairman of Fox News, said in a memo distributed Thursday. “Fox News just delivered its highest-rated quarter ever and remains number one in cable in both prime time and total day, while Fox Business has surpassed CNBC as the number one business channel on television. I am tremendously proud of our entire team and truly grateful for the hard work everyone has contributed to ensure our continued future success.”
Murdoch made no mention of O’Reilly or the contretemps surrounding the anchor.
It’s not just 21st Century that could take a hit:
Murdoch Takeover Of Sky Would Undermine
British Broadcasting Standards, Joint Report Shows
Watch the stock tickers to divine The Falafel King’s future.
ANOTHER LONG READ:
The mainstream and conservative
media are living in different worlds.
So are those who read them
That’s a question any news consumer might ask of any story: What is this, and is it bad? Yet when it came to Rice, Americans were about to see conservative and mainstream news outlets come up with two very different answers to that question — a symptom of the increasing extent to which Americans often seem to live in one nation but inhabit two widely divergent realities.
One version these days typically comes from Fox News and other outlets that echo the Trump White House line. A much different one can often be found on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, the New York Times and the rest of the mainstream media.
Well worth your time.
EVIL IS AS EVIL SAYS: Read along as you watch how Fox & Friends Attacks “Perks” Like Clean Sheets For Immigrants In Detention Facilities:
BRIAN KILMEADE (CO-HOST): The party is over for illegal criminals in jail. Get this: They’re enjoying seven hours of outdoor activity. Who gets that anymore? Fresh sheets, and absolutely — I don’t get that. No need to learn English. I was born with that. But the Trump administration vowing a new plan to cut back on perks in their immigration crackdown, saying, expect a far less detailed set of regulations — maybe even dirty sheets — including no translation services, so learn English.
[…]
AINSLEY EARHARDT (CO-HOST): Seven hours of outdoor activity, freshly washed sheets, and absolutely no need to learn English. That’s the easy life of an illegal immigrant inside American jails. But now, the Trump administration says the party is over.
In another segment, Fox & Friends [lies]: America Shouldn’t Help Syrian Refugees Because They “Have Absolutely No Paperwork”
SPEAKING OF EVIL:
Geraldo Rivera: “One Of My Favorite Things” At
Fox News “Is Watching Bombs Drop On Bad Guys”
COMEDY CORNER: Throwing Fox under the bus:
Channel 25 to drop ‘Fox’ from newscast name
WFXT general manager Tom Raponi said he believes the station has produced impartial local journalism in recent years. (WFXT was owned and operated by the Fox network until 2014, when it was acquired by Atlanta-based Cox Media Group as part of a trade involving multiple stations.)
Raponi attributes the conservative perception among viewers to Fox News’s national reputation — a problem compounded by an increasingly polarized political climate.
“The perception of what our TV news station does is not what we do. They perceive us to be part of the Fox News family,” Raponi said. The Fox 25 News brand, he said, “wasn’t built for this environment.”
FOX’S NEWEST SUPER PARTISAN: FFF will explore this evil man in detail in later columns, but for now:
Fox’s Hegseth Shrugs Off MOAB Civilian
Casualties: ‘This Is Indian Country’
Fox News Blames Sean Spicer’s Hitler
Credibility Problem On ‘Left -Stream Media’
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he gets Loofah Lad’s time slot.
Headly Westerfield also writes about issues of race and inequality in Coconut Grove, Florida, for the Not Now Silly Newsroom.
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