More Changes at Fox News

The last year has been very volatile for the Fox News network. New shows arriving, old shows going, and the reshuffling of various personalities. Just when it appeared the dust may finally have begun to settle, we hear there are more changes coming for the network.

One of my favorite information sources, Mediabistro, reported the following this past week:

"TVNewser has learned America's Election HQ is returning to the Fox News Channel schedule beginning Monday. The 5pm ET show will be anchored by a rotating series of anchors through election day. E.D. Hill will host next week."

"Just In with Laura Ingraham ends its three-week run tomorrow. Ingraham was aware the show was temporary, and she will continue as primary fill-in for Bill O'Reilly."

"As for John Gibson whose show, Big Story, was replaced by America's Election HQ in February, he continues his show on Fox News Radio."

I'm delighted to see E.D. Hill back on a more regular basis and look forward to her having a designated spot daily once again. She is one of the more articulate and intelligent broadcast journalists today.

Laura Ingraham knew going into her recent show, Just In, that the program was intended to be temporary. How long, nobody knew. We have recently found out it was a mere three weeks. Ironically, she is losing this show just as she worked out the negotiations on her radio program and is back on the airwaves for that successful program. Ingraham is fine on TV, but better on the radio. I almost think that she welcomes the changes.

Meanwhile, John Gibson, will remain on the radio. However, if they are rotating hosts for America's Election HQ, we might see him on that program. We will have to wait and see. When it comes to the media, about the only constant you can depend on is change.

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Bill O'Reilly vs. Scott McClellan

I have to admit, I don't know exactly where I stand on Bill O'Reilly. This is surprising, because I have always felt pretty confident on developing my views of individuals and Bill O'Reilly has certainly given me plenty of material to work with. However, O'Reilly is gruff and he is as quick to take on a friend as he is a foe (part of his effort to maintain a no-spin zone). However, his performance last night on the Factor is, without question, one of the finest I have seen on any interview program.

O'Reilly's guest was Scott McClellan, the former White House Press Secretary that many see as a Benedict Arnold in his own right. McClellan's book is scandalous, not so much of its depiction of the things he saw and hated in the White House, but because of what he wrote about those years. Strong individuals tell their bosses that they disagree with what they have seen. If that doesn't work, they turn in their resignations and get a job somewhere else. They don't write about it, because who wants to admit that they were so weak that they stayed in a situation they despised (in McClellan's case) for years? That reflects far more poorly on McClellan than the people in the White House he attacks.

In the interview, O'Reilly was masterful at putting McClellan at ease and even finding areas to affirm him on a personal level at the beginning. Then he systematically challenged McClellan's approach to his topic, considered outside influences that may have altered the wayward Press Secretary's views (in other words, those views not actually being McClellan's), and left the audience wondering about the integrity of the process behind this controversial book. McClellan tried desperately (and obviously) to adhere to talking points planned in advance. It wasn't pretty. I can't do the interview justice. It must be seen to be appreciated. This interview helped me understand a little more why O'Reilly's show is the highest rated news program on cable.

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Morning Joe Questions Media Objectivity

Joe Scarborough surprised many of us by taking Don Imus's spot early in the mornings on MSNBC. It was a surprise because Joe is very conservative for a network rapidly becoming known for its liberal bias. On today's show, Joe Scarborough pointed out how the NBC newsroom broke out in "boos" when President Bush delivered the State of the Union Address in 2003. He discussed such with a managing editor and it never happened again.

He brought this up after a Seattle newspaper editor criticized colleagues for breaking out in applause when Karl Rove announced his resignation last week. View his comments as they appeared today.

Scarborough comment raises an important point -- the blatant bias that exists in media today. Joe is noted as a conservative, which is fine in my opinion. Does this mean that he and I are hypocrites? I don't think so. There are, in fact, more than one aspects to the news. There is "hard news," which should be "just the facts." That is the approach that should be burdened on every news person in news delivery.

There is also the editorial department. The Joe Scarboroughs and Bill O'Reillys who clearly have an axe to grind. Editorial can be biased, as long as they make it clear they have their own agenda. My concern and the concern of Scarborough and others are those who ostensibly come across as objective, but clearly are not. When a newsroom of reporters feel they can comfortably attack someone because he (or she) is conservative, indicates a culture that has clearly lost sight of what "objective" means. Scarborough, and the rest of us, have legitimate reason for concern.