tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488378308098932132.post2774565211656333439..comments2023-05-03T03:03:38.361-07:00Comments on Communicative Action: White Guys with MicsMike Plughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08180838171989998353noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488378308098932132.post-60268774468081150542008-02-28T13:47:00.000-08:002008-02-28T13:47:00.000-08:00No, the title of this post is very straightforward...No, the title of this post is very straightforward. I think that each of the featured characters in this story are typical of the voices we see in the media that frame the public debate. They are all white men. They are all generally older white men.<BR/><BR/>Buckley, Hannity, O'Reilly, Matthews, Russert, Dobbs, Blitzer, Cooper, Stephanopolous, Olbermann, Moyers, Lehrer, Williams, Rather, Jennings, Cronkite, Hume, McLaughlin, and on and on and on. <BR/><BR/>Some of those men do a good job and others are destructive. I leave it to the particular ideologies to fight it out over what they feel on the issue.<BR/><BR/>My point, in particular, about Buckley is that he was superior in intellect and ability to all of the modern versions of the chat program that he hosted, but still dragged issues into the mud in his own way. He called Gore Vidal a queer and threatened to assault him. He also supported McCarthyism and opposed the Civil Rights Movement on a number of fronts.<BR/><BR/>The modern punditry is as dumbed down as the rest of the mass media, but Buckley wasn't always above the fray. He was just more eloquent and prolific. I don't blame him for what's transpires, but I think there's a relationship.Mike Plughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08180838171989998353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488378308098932132.post-74431328487945531442008-02-28T10:50:00.000-08:002008-02-28T10:50:00.000-08:00Is the title of this post a "wink wink" strategy t...Is the title of this post a "wink wink" strategy that on the outside says, "What?! I can't say these guys are white? What's wrong with that? They are. So what?" but inside says, "Hey, fellow Democrats, unite!"<BR/><BR/>If so, how do you explain <A HREF="http://youtube.com/watch?v=0ZA8JeQ6oV8" REL="nofollow"> this?</A><BR/><BR/>I find your linkage of Bill Buckley's television appearances with the current tenor of the cable news channels intriguing, if a bit tenuous. As his <A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/27/business/media/27cnd-buckley.html?hp" REL="nofollow">obituary</A> in the New York Times noted, Buckley authored more than 50 books and his collected columns would fill another 45 more. All done while editing a bi-weekly magazine, hosting the longest running public affairs program on television and birthing a nation-changing political philosophy out of his head. Impressive feats by themselves; considered together, herculean. <BR/><BR/>No O'Rielly or Hannity or Olberman or Matthews could tie the man's shoes - so your "basest form" point is taken. But laying the blame at the feet of <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firing_Line" REL="nofollow">Firing Line</A>, is a bit like blaming the Monkees on the Beatles.Matthew Hennesseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03181183042295264271noreply@blogger.com