media05-blogpunditry

​ Bias in the Rhetoric of Liberal and Conservative Pundits (Brody & John)

Pundit (noun): a person who makes comments or judgments, esp. in an authoritative manner; critic or commentator ("Pundit")

Originally meaning a learned person or expert, the word 'pundit' has gained much greater significance in today's society. Modern pundits are people who share their opinion on various topics, most notably politics, through print, radio, or television media. However, these people have become much more than simple commentators; pundits like Glenn Beck and Keith Olbermann are now the primary source of political information for many Americans.

Because pundits have such a powerful influence over popular opinion, it is especially important that we realize that the rhetoric and ideas that they spread may have a bias. Especially considering the preponderance of partisanship in Washington today, it is more than likely that mainstream pundits have a political agenda. In addition, the blurring of lines between fact and opinion and the use of hyperbole makes it even harder to distinguish between biased and unbiased information. Men like Keith Olbermann and Glenn Beck, who are on television almost everyday of the week, use language to sway the viewer to one side of the issue and prejudice them in ways that are sometimes blatantly obvious and sometimes much more subtle.

Below are examples of how two pundits, the liberal Keith Olbermann and Glenn Beck, use their language and rhetoric to convey heavily biased information on political topics to their viewers.

"The News" on //__Countdown with Keith Olbermann__// **//"Worst Person In the World"//, April 14 2010** Throughout this segment (whose name is itself a gross hyperbole), Olbermann critizes various people for their actions or statements, often using sarcasm, insults, or humor to belittle​ them even further. In this particular clip, he begins with Orly Taitz, a leading figure in the "birther" movement (a movement that is trying to prove Obama was born in Kenya). She was dropped by a local Tea Party organization for being too controversial, to which Olbermann sarcastically says "WOW! Too controversial for the Tea Party!", making his feelings about the Tea Party obvious. In addition, he refers to a gathering of Tea Party members as a "clan meeting", which is an extremely insulting allusion despite his rather casual use of it.

He then moves on to Sean Hannity, who said Barack Obama was catering to the world's dictator's like Neville Chamberlain did. First, Olbermann reads Hannity's quote out loud in an annoying voice, then goes on to say that Chamberlain was not only a horrible person but also a Conservative with strong support from Republican Americans (as if his association with the Conservative ideology somehow proved Hannity wrong). He then says that “Since you[Hannity] don’t know what’s happening in the world around you today, Sean, you can at least try to yesterday right. Try Wikepedia, Sonny”. Such belittlement is not simple political opinion; it's a direct attack on a Republican pundit (and thus opponent).

His worst person in the world was Bill "O'the Clown" (i.e. Bill O'reilly), who tried to repudiate claims that Fox News had said that forgoing buying healthcare could land you in prison. As with Hannity, Olbermann read the quotes in slightly ridiculous impressions, and in addition the pictures of O'Reilly were rather unflattering. Although Olbermann used very good research to prove O'Reilly wrong, he finished with "Bill O'the Clown, back from retirement and proving that he can still bring the stupid. Tonights Worst Person in the Wooooooooorld". Such theatrics seem perhaps a little innapropriate for a mainstream news and political commentary program. (//Countdown with Keith Olbermann)// media type="custom" key="5936627" width="250" height="173"


 * //"Countdown #4: Palin Wants America to Revert back to 1775",// April 19 2010**

In this story, Olbermann discusses and disputes (mostly disputes) claims by Sarah Palin that America should return to its Christian roots and abolish separation of church and state. Before he talks what Palin said, however, he cites a recent poll that says that more than half of Tea Partyers do not think Palin would be a good leader. This seems not to have anything to the actual story, and is more of an attempt to undermine her credibility. In addition, the caption on Palin's picture reads "Palintology", which is perhaps a reference to the often mistrusted Scientology religion. Throughout his rebuttal of her claims Olbermann keeps his sarcasm to a minimum (notably except for when he makes fun of her voice by pronouncing mind-boggling as "mind-bahgeling"), and uses well-picked quotes from the Founding Fathers to make his point. However, once he introduces his guest Markos Moulitsas of the blog "The Daily Kos" (a well-known liberal blog that Olbermann contributes to), more insults and teasing slip into his language. For example, he says that the Arizona State Legislature looks like "a bunch of clowns" and that if the Tea Party takes power, "all Hell breaks loose anyways". In addition, his guest seems totally welcome to use much more insulting and biased language against Palin, Bush, and the Tea Party. (//Countdown with Keith Olbermann)// media type="custom" key="5937137" width="227" height="166" align="center"


 * //"Countdown #3: Defining Obama's SCOTUS Pick",// April 19 2010**

Only a few minutes after the above story on Palin, Olbermann ran this story on Obama's options to replace Justice John Paul Stevens, with a notable change in tone. Throughout the entire segment both Olbermann and his guest (who was also a liberal) had a very serious, subdued, tone that would be suitable for any news program. This is highly demonstrative of Olbermann's pro-liberal bias, as he wants his viewers to understand that Obama's decision is important and should be respected, as opposed to the above stories which were much more blithe and disrespectful in tone. Only once does Olbermann use mildly contemptuous language: when he describes the decision by Chief Justice John Roberts in the Citizens United case as "wildly pro-corporate". (//Countdown with Keith Olbermann)//

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Despite Olbermann's claims to the contrary, __Countdown__ is clearly a biased show. It is, as Mark Lisheron of the American Journal Review calls it, "a fast-moving mix of news, entertainment and opinion". This combination may prove dangerous, because as Peter Kann says, "The need to entertain almost certainly leads to distortion and misdirection. Couple this with a blurring of the line between news and opinion, and the audience will eventually lose its ability to recognize what is true and untrue, will assume that news necessarily comes equipped with a way of thinking about it." In other words, as more people move towards shows like __Countdown__ for their daily news, it becomes more likely that the bias of the host becomes the bias of the viewer. (Lisheron)

In addition, there are people who think that is not only the format of the show that creates bias, but also the unrestrained, radical views of Olbermann himself. Writing about Olbermann's coverage of the Democratic primaries in 2008, political analyst Taylor Marsh wrote in the Huffington Post that "Fairness is not part of the 'news' on __Countdown__". She went on to say that Olbermann is practically the opposite of reknowned journalist Edward Murrow, who is described as "respected by the American people because he kept his biases in check and no one was off limits". Marsh thinks that Olbermann's intense, sometimes-insulting, one-sided rhetoric is neither logical nor suitable for the news. (Marsh)

The Hilarious Harbinger: Glenn Beck

Glenn Beck is a very conservative man who has been in the broadcasting business for many years. Many see him as a news reporter, and a very biased one at that, however Glenn considers himself to be merely an entertainer. When an observer looks at not only the information he shares, but in the manner that he portrays the information, many conclusions can be drawn. Most prominently, Glenn's use of sarcasm is profound. Mr. Beck consistently uses sarcastic remarks in order to satire the opposing view. These sarcastic remarks are also very effective in highlighting the potential flaws in the opposing view. For example, on his personal website Glenn posts videos. Recently for Earth Day he released this video. (//The Glenn Beck Program)// media type="custom" key="5955813"

One thing that i noticed while watching Mr. Beck's Videos is that he has a poster behind him that says Charity and features Benjamin Franklin on it. This helps to allude himself to great heroes of the past. In another video released by Mr. Beck he discussed taxes in America. He talked about his opinions on the increase in taxes during this year. During which he said that "Americans will spend more money this year on taxes then they will on food, clothing, and shelter, combined." This was a large reference to Roosevelt and the memories that many Americans have forgotten about the Great Depression, when food, shelter, and clothing were not readily available. Glenn is dripping with humor during this segment when he pretends to not be able to think of anything that the government spends our tax money on. Extremely biased and opinionated he takes a stance on the things that our government is doing and predicts the worst outcome possible. That no good can come out of taxes, that the government spending is useless, and that we will end up in round 2 of the Great Depression. (//The Glenn Beck Program)//

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Enemies of Glenn Beck consider him to be a raving lunatic. When looking on a website entirely devoted to providing the opinions of two opposing views, it featured an opinionated article, properly labeled as opinionated, that described Glenn Beck's talks as "unhinged rants". The author then shows a video that is of Glenn Beck live on tv, during which in the segment he misspells and word. The author says that he has "gone off the deep end" meaning the Glenn has gone so crazy he will never come back to a mentally stable state of mind. (TFN Insider)

Another blog known as the "Motor City Liberal" describes Glenn Beck as a "fear-monger-in-chief" clearly he is against Mr. Beck. Not many can be described as sowing fear into the citizens of America. This self-proclaimed leftist blog has a very negative outlook on Mr. Beck, saying the many other conservative radio hosts are significantly more acceptable, that Beck is too extreme. The author even goes far enough to say that Beck has incited people into violent action. (personally i find this statement to be ridiculous because part of Glenn's program is a contract of nonviolence.) (Conner)

Conner, John. "Anti-Defamation League calls Glenn Beck 'Fearmonger-in-Chief' ". //Motor City Liberal//. 20 Nov 2009. Web. 26 Apr 2010. []

//Countdown with Keith Olbermann//. msnbc.com. Web. 22 Apr 2010. []

//The Glenn Beck Program//. Premiere Radio Networks. Web. 24 Apr 2010. []

Lisheron, Mark. "Is Keith Olbermann the Future of Journalism?". //American Journalism Review//. Feb 2007. Web. 25 Apr 2010 @http://www.ajr.org/article.asp?id=4268

Marsh, Taylor. "Keith Olbermann is no Edward R. Murrow". //Huffington Post//. 13 Mar 2008. Web. 25 Apr 2010. @http://www.huffingtonpost.com/taylor-marsh/keith-olbermann-is-no-edw_b_91351.html

"Pundit." //Dictionary.com//. 22 Apr 2010. []

TFN Insider. "Glenn Beck Gets Even Crazier, Battles the Oligarhy". //Opposing Views//. 1 Sep 2009. Web. 26 Apr 2010 []