Today's a good time to return to Howard Kurtz's October 25 hatchet job on the White House's policy on Fox News. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAwqRqPpccM  He gathered together an ex-Fox commentator Jane Hall, and some Psycho-Lady from Reverend Moon's reactionary Washington Times, and the three of them beat up on a game fellow "Nico" from Huffington Post.  Together they recited 16 talking points from Fox almost on cue, masquerading as discussion.  It honestly had the feel of very professional propaganda, just enough reality to make the bombardment of baloney seem credible.  Kurtz has been spreading the laughable tale BTW that Washington Times is "more legitimate than ever" now since some guy he used to work with at the Washington Post has prostituted himself by joining the Mooney Tunes.  Eager to saw of the limb upon he was already so pecariously perched, Kurtz apparently used that baloney to justify booking Psycho-Lady of all people!  His pal is a good chum, so Psycho Lady must be fair and balanced also!

The three of them ticked off Fox talking points on why WH strategy is bad, seriatim: 

PSYCHO-LADY:

(1) "because it's an attack on the media!", and (2) it's such big (and presumably harmful?) story for the White House that "other networks have to cover it!" 

JANE HALL:

(3) "have to differentiate between their commentators and their news." 

John Stewart did a great job (For Fox Sake!) of exploding this canard:  the "opinion" wackaloons spew their insults and, then the "news" team reports their agitprop as though news:   DEEP VOICE OF CONCERN:  "Many today are beginning to question," blah-blah. 

(4)"Not a good strategy for Obama Administration"  (This was repeated three times.)

(6) They "don't know"  the difference between news shows and opinion.  That's right! "Don't know."  Yuh!

PSYCHO-LADY: 

(7) Obama talks to MSNBC-TV and that's wrong. 

(8) It's not at all like Bush/Cheney's 24/7 control of media access, since Olbermann is just the same as that great journalist Rush Limbaugh (I don't even undersand this but this is what the crazy Washington Times Psycho-Lady said). 

KURTZ: 

(9) Why it certainly *is* "Nixonian"  to dismiss the propaganda network, Kurtz helpfully concludes, supported by the others (dredges up idiotic quotes from misguided liberals). Veteran Nixon conman Ailes, now of Fox, personally came up with this talking point so enthusiastically recited by Kurtz. 

PSYCHO-LADY (up on her high horse): 

(10) What is really terrible is they are attacking the free press!  Repeats this insanity later also. We have already seen in this blog what passes for journalistic "freedom" in Murdoch propaganda mills.

KURTZ: 

(11)  Our host agrees with Psycho-Lady's sourcing for the important point above, and then,

(12) stokes the fire by bloviating about the Press-Pool incident, a cherished and endlessly repeated Fox News half-truth about a non-newsworthy non-incident.

(13)  It is fair to go after MNSBC-TV! (though, isn't it funny how they never say, "But on the other hand, unlike Fox's propagandist "news," they do have NBC News, and even with right-winger David Gregory moderating their now much-degraded Meet the Press?)

And HERE is the piece de resistance!  Kurtz declares, really unbelievably, that it is

(14) "unfair to judge an entire organization by a few commentaries." Read that again, it's a direct quote.   A few commentaries!  That was his conclusion, his sum-up!  LOL!

Does Fox even say that craziness?  I thought that their lie was that it is important to distinguish their propagandistic "news"  from their brownshirt commentary, no?  Did fair-and-balanced Howard outdo them in deceit? 

Meanwhile, Jane Hall used Chris Wallace's stock talking point (not, "Hey big boy!"),  (15) "you can't whine!" several times 

and (16) added Fox's trump card that supposedly decides the argument, "THEIR RATINGS HAVE NEVER BEEN HIGHER!" (Most say, "their ratings have shot up!") 

See, we have to accept that if Fox gets high ratings, and especially increased ones, WH simply must regard them as a news network since WH is then supposedly boxed in.   

Make any sense?   

Apparently this passes for logic among the MSM; they nearly all chimed in to endorse the non-sequitur.  The White House showed courage in saying the truth, and has shown rare leadership, even if it may be harmful to them in short term. We can be happy our children have a President prepared to face facts.  MSM has been cowardly, with most nearly as terrible as Kurtz.  Ratings might be how Fox would like to measure things, but the White House is not stupid: 

Either it is news or not, and it certainly is not news, not even if you drag out every last spinning-eyed Psycho-Lady from the funny farm!  But finally we learn that that last talking point is not only irrelevant, but like so much from Fox, 

it is also a lie!!  http://mediamatters.org/columns/200911030004  Fox's ratings are NOT up!  (You see, MSM?  That's is real reporting, you begin with facts!)  Meanwhile, the MSM has dutifully reported Fox's (a) disinformation and (b) sophistry on this subject, how often would you say? 

10,000 times around the world, estimating conservatively?  Thanks to Media Matters for being maybe the only pros.