MEDVED SPEAKS: on NPR, Fox news, rush, savage, hannity

One of our favorite parts of in John Moe's epic odyssey into the wild blue state yonder, Conservatize Me, How I tried to be a Righty with the Help of Richard Nixon. Sean Hannity, Toby Keith, and Beef Jerky, he describes a day in the Seattle Entercom studio with Michael Medved during a daily broadcast.

Moe had never actually been that close to that many living, breathing neocons in a such a small space, and like a man who's just discovered that Jews aren't horned, was surprised to find that producer Jeremy Steiner ("the Pride of Hillsdale College") was "young, casually dressed, goateed, identical to a thousand liberals I know, but different..."

Medved was well-behaved, and gracious: Moe comments that the kosher blabberjockey with his thick black hair and mustache, looks like "the offspring of an unholy coupling of Mr. Kotter and Horschack." (we've always said that if Medved wore a sombrero he'd look like Juan Valdez).

We spent a day once sitting next to the Kooky Kultural Krusader during his show, and Moe's experience wasn't that much different than ours. Medved is quick on his feet, well-prepared, and suffers the fools who call in with eye-rolling and sighs, but takes all comers, smartly.

(We got the idea that he's probably not all that easy to work for).

But Medved delivered to Moe what would be a scoop to BlatherWatch (pathetic as our scoops are) by confiding that he is a big fan of NPR- especially the newscasts, Morning Edition, and All Things Considered, which he listens to every day. 

Everybody's heard Medved say on-air that he listens to NPR, and he frequently makes one of his repetitious little jokes, calling it National People's Radio, or when he's feeling his Zionist oats, he'll call it National Palestinian Radio. (John Carlson sometimes refers to All Things Distorted.

Maybe he was just lubing Moe, who works for NPR, but Medved really likes it, "He considers NPR the best source of news available on the radio, and better than newspapers in many cases."

Medved, in turns out, isn't much of a fan of Fox News; despite (or maybe because of) the fact that he used to work for another Rupert Murdoch enterprise, The New York Post as chief movie critic.

As a matter of fact, he and Steiner both dislike Fox News, and were that day, Moe reports, "morbidly interested" in how poor Fox's coverage was, flipping the studio TV back and forth between Fox and CNN.

He told Moe: "One of the things that people like to do is talk about 'conservative talk radio and Fox News'. First of all we're not fans of Fox News on my show. I know a lot of other talk show hosts who are not fans of Fox News and all of us are different. Talking about conservative talk rasio as a unit is a mirror image of people talking about the 'liberal media." There is a difference between Pacifica (Radio) and NPR, thank God.

"I hope that everybody would make a distinction between the Michael Medved Show and the Michael Savage Show. Savage is an embarrassment. He's an embarrassment to our industry. He's an embarrassment to the human race. Basically I don't think he's for real. I really do believe the stuff I say on the air, I care about it. It's who I am. It's my life. I don't think it's true for him. I think he's playing a role on the radio. I think he's created a character and maybe that character has taken over.

Medved wasn't so complimentary to Limbaugh and Hannity. "Occasionally there will be stuff that I'll hear on the Limbaugh show that will embarrass me but I think it's wrong to equate Rush and Michael Savage. I think it's wrong to equate Rush and Sean Hannity. Rush is sophisticated, extremely well-read, smart, and don't ask me about that other show."

"You mean Hannity?" Moe asked.

"It's different," he said. Moe writes it was clear that different was not complimentary.

Comments

[joanie]

Pretty interesting . . . esp. the part about his preference for NPR. So, why does he disrespect it publicly? Seems kind of dishonest to me.

Also, wonder how much of his dissing Savage, Limbaugh, and Hannity has to do with their ratings being better than his . . . I always thought he had a tad more integrity but not so sure, really. He, too, revels in put-down radio-least when I've heard him, which hasn't been often.

[umo]

Medved is pissed that his Ivy League education is still not enough to achieve more success than Limbaugh, Hannity or Savage in radio or book sales.

[sugo]

Medved is spending all his time defending Hastert and claiming a vast left-wing conpiracy in the congressional sex scandal. He'dcx definitely part of the tiughtwing noicse machine, evne if he does have lower ratings than a Hannity, Limbaugh or a Savage.

[Oly]

With all due respect, Umo, your comment is the purest idiocy - and I say that as someone who is no huge Medved fan.

While I admire his apparent eagerness to move dissenting callers to the front of the line - something Limbaugh wouldn't do to save his soul - and I appreciate the fact that he often has sensible left-of-center guests on his show (and treats them well), he nonetheless operates in most other instances according to the universal rightwing appeal-to-their-emotions radio-host playbook. He constructs straw men with the best of them, and he is a bit too smitten with reductio ad absurdum tactics as a sort of one-size-fits-all method of deflating every progressive idea he encounters, no matter how worthy. The man may well believe what he preaches - and I am inclined to agree with him that Savage is little more than an unusually flamboyant actor - but Medved is not one of the more intellectually honest pundits out there.

His respect for NPR does raise his stock a few points in my estimation, and his public disparaging of same is simply a showman's play to his audience and needn't be viewed as dishonest. It's rather like Tip O'Neill railing against Ronald Reagan in public while maintaining a genial personal relationship with the man.

As for "put-down radio", there are few hosts on the left who don't engage in that as well.

[umo]

Medved is in the ratings business. That is the be all and end all of broadcasting and the measure of success in the industry. Medved is without question the most highly educated radio talkshow host extant. It infuriates and drives Medved crazy that guys he deems inferior professionals continually kick his ass in the ratings wars.

[Oly]

Got it, Umo. Your clarification demonstrates that I misinterpreted your original post. I'm not sure Medved is actually the most highly-educated radio talker out there, but your overall point is well taken.

[Tommy008]

Savage is a true intellectual, having more education than Medved (a PhD. in a hard science from U.C.Berkeley trumps a law degree from Yale), he's faster on his feet than the sillyass with the superiority complex and he's really funny, whereas Litterman merely thinks he's droll and ironically humorous. Medved is the true disgrace- an insulting, condescending ethnic and religious "superiorist" dork and nerd. His pathetic attacks on Hannity and Savage simply mask his humiliation and embarrassment by being left in the dirt by both shows- both men started a national show years after he did and now have 3 and 4 times the number of stations. Medved, I'd rethink my suggestion of getting the bodysuit and cape with the red L on the chest and becoming Litterman fulltime. Your radio career obviously isn't going anywhere. The mean streets of Mercer Island need you.

[Scrilla]

Tommy008,

Remind me, who's "Litterman?"

[Tommy008]

Medved is Litterman (my original name for him). He earned this title for his self-admitted habit of picking up litter he finds on the streets, searching through it for identifying names and addresses of the perpetrators, and then sending stern, parental letters of censure to the offenders.

[Tommy008]

oh, and I believe the evidence(litter) is also included with his letter.

[sparky]

Sorry, but i do believe that Thom Hartmann leaves them all in his highly educated and erudite dust.

[Jeast]

Breaking news....
For those who are interested, Clear Channel and Think Progress and few more media likes are looking for the next Progressive Radio Talk Star. Check it out at
ClearChannel.com

Goldie? Sparky, joanie.......

[Jeast]

Michael Madman did a Cut and Run on Thom Hartmann show last week, Madman was quoted "We went into Iraq because Saddam attacked us" and then his time was up and wouldn't stay for a few additional minutes......at the request of Thom Hartmann...infact he left Thom speechless.....Yep, he's another CHICKEN HAWK!!!

[rodman]

For someone who claims to have distain for intellectually inferior talk show hosts, Medved sure seemed to be enjoying warm cameraderie with Bozus and Sytt-head on their show this morning.

[Proregressive]

More on Mr. Medved's litter crusade here.

[coiler]

He should knock on everyone's door in Medina like Ned Flanders imploring them to shape up or else..

[Jeast]

Progressive,

I just lined my cat's litter box with with Madman Medved's litter article. I read his article on litter and so did my cat and she gave it a 4 hairball rating. I had to give her Kitty malt to stop it..wharf, wharf.

[Proregressive]

Jeast,

You might want to read this article next then.

BTW, the nick is "Proregressive", not "Progressive". ;)

[umo]

Medved brilliantly pointed out that Nancy Pelosi voted to give a convicted child rapist a House Chairmanship...so why is she feigning moral outrage over Mark Foley?

[joanie]

, and his public disparaging of same is simply a showman's play to his audience and needn't be viewed as dishonest. It's rather like Tip O'Neill railing against Ronald Reagan in public while maintaining a genial personal relationship with the man.

You're trying to have all ways, Oly. Don't try to trump yourself! You're smart, we know that. But this post wasn't focused at all . . .

Jeast, thanks! That's a compliment! You oughta try out yourself, IMHO!

umo, you twit! According to everything I've read, Foley's preferances weren't known of by the Dems . . . you have some information that says otherwise?

Regarding Litterman: Medved kept going on about litter when he was interviewing William Kristol on the Seattle Channel (Foodproof maybe???). Even Kristol - whom I can't stand anymore - was getting annoyed with it. He couldn't quite believe what he was hearing . . . it was funny!

[joanie]

You guys might consider checking out Horsesass. Goldy posted "McGavick brutalized by national media" and it is pretty interesting.

[Oly]

Joanie, why is my entire post unfocused simply because a small part of it gently questioned the accuracy of something you wrote? I'll bet you found the rest of it easy enough to agree with. (Well, except perhaps for the last sentence.) I was merely trying to find something positive to say about a guy I generally don't have any use for. (My sainted grandmother taught me to try to find something nice to say about everyone, whether I like them or not.)

If it will make you feel better, I will declare that it is my fervent belief that Dennis Kucinich is a very nice fellow with sterling intentions. (And I say that with absolute sincerity, since I don't dislike the guy at all; I just wouldn't ever vote for him.)

[joanie]

Yeah, you're right.

But, I love Dennis and would vote for him (just as I was a delegate for him) in a heartbeat.

Some of us are risk-takers, I guess.

[Oly]

A semi-wise man once wrote the following:

"In politics there are two types of men. The elitist fancies himself superior to others and sees it as his natural right to rule them, and he makes little effort to hide that belief. The populist believes the same thing but pretends otherwise."

In the real world - as opposed to the political world - there is a third type: the truly humble man who knows, or at least suspects, that he has much to be humble about. He may get into heaven, but he will hardly ever get into politics.

I am prepared to believe that your man Kucinich may well be an example of the third type. For me, that is high praise.

That same semi-wise but deeply cynical man also said this:

"Those who seek a career in politics are driven by unwholesome peculiarities either of personality or of character. The conduct of their political lives thus becomes a ceaseless exercise in self-therapy and self-medication - and in the worst cases, self-exorcism."

[KS]

Medved is multi-faceted. He has superior knowledge of history and his calling would be narrating on the History Channel.

However, he is a Bush kool-aid drinker and loses objectivity points for that; supporting the Iraq War and comprehensive immigration reform aka amnesty and does not seem to object to his extravagent spending. Yeah, he is a chicken-hawk.

[joanie]

Oly, you are an elitist . . .

I don't know what Kucinich's motivations are. I wouldn't presume to know . . . I do know that quotations are easy to come by and sometimes as fallacious as nonsense.

Dennis isn't perfect. He was mayor of Cleveland as a very young man. He lost his job going up against the politicians and the businessmen who wanted to control the power grid in Cleveland.

The citizens of Cleveland were celebrating public ownership of that very power grid when someone said, "where's Dennis?" He's the one who save it . . . and they called him back to Ohio and elected him to Congress.

I don't think anyone is perfect and I think glib brainiacs can find cute quotes for anything. Dennis is a good person and might make a good president. He'll never get the chance because people like you (most people) wouldn't/couldn't stray that far from the norm to give him a chance.

Some of us really are innovative thinkers and risktakers and are willing to try something out of the box once in a while. But, not the sheep that comprise the majority in this country. Dems are more willing than Republicans; fundamentalists and neo-cons less than any; but greens and far-left liberals will try just about anything if they think it can work . . . for the betterment of the commonwealth.

[Oly]

Agreed and agreed. I do rather like his American Revolution and Civil War narratives, which as I recall his show airs on holidays. He gets it mostly right, with refreshingly little jingoism. (It's particularly good to hear him admit that without the assistance of France we would not have achieved our independence when we did. That's a noteworthy admission from a neocon these days.)

[Oly]

Woops! My above post is directed at KS, not at Joanie.

[Oly]

There she goes again. "Glib brainiacs"? I have just written some very positive things about your preferred Demo presidential candidate, and you carry on as if I have accused him of molesting House pages. What the hell do you want from me?

Your last paragraph is far more elitist than anything I have written. You dismiss the inherent wisdom of most Americans, who are neither too far right nor too far left; you call them sheep. And sheep must be led by their betters, mustn't they? You and your kind are so very much wiser than the rest of us, and aren't we foolish for not recognizing that yet! If that isn't extreme elitism, I'm a Scientologist. To you, an essentially moderate population is a bad thing; your mythical eagle apparently flies just fine with two left wings, and the left - oh, excuse me, the FAR-LEFT - approach is the only sensible approach to every problem under the sun.

Innovative thinker my ass.

[joanie]

Gee, still like me? :(

[Oly]

Ideologues make me nervous. As a general rule I try to stay away from them. People who proudly call themselves far right or far left simply baffle me. One might as well brag about missing a couple of chromosomes.

[Jeast]

Oh thank you PROregressive for the link to the CDC regarding Toxioplasmosis and Schizophrenia. You caught me in one of my many moods. I really do have many conversations with myself, for sometimes its the only civil and intelligent conversations that I have all day and same for my cat Katy.....besides I wear gloves at all times...when changing the litter box :O) my cat wears gloves too, to do her thingee. :O)

FDR once said that CONservatives never learn to put one foot in front of the other.....and remember some always regress before they progress...

By the way to all who gather here at BlatherWatch,

here is a link to a Time magazine article straight from a soldier serving in Iraq...It's very moving and ever more the reason why Chicken Hawks should never occupy the White House...

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1543658-3,00.html

or:

TIME.com: A Letter From Iraq -- Page 1*

[sclub]

Medved is a Yale law DROPOUT. Finished 1 year.

[Sam]

Spending most of one's day posting comments on a blog is being a risk-taker?

[sparky]

No, Sam, it isnt. And I think if you check the time stamps, you will see that nobody here spends most of the day at this site...unless someone is using 10-12 different names to post.

[Tommy008]

Thanks sclub. I suspected that the "sillyass with the superiority complex" didn't finish Yale Law School, but since I didn't know, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. I'd like to see "smartypants" Medved challenge Savage to a debate, since Litterman thinks he's such a disgrace. Savage would run rings around him. Medved is to much of a poltroon to do it of course. Medved's style is to take cheap shots at Savage's show ("I don't like radio talkhosts who talk about their bad Chinese Restaurant meal"} without mentioning his name. What's this HYPOCRITICAL crap with Medved and NPR? i've NEVER heard him say he likes NPR on the air. Now we hear that he listens in private while calling it childish little cheapshot names on the air. What a poltroon and a disgrace.

[sparky]

I think its called " showbiz'...

[joanie]

Oh, low blow Sam! Just 'cuz I like you all so much . . . :)

Besides, isn't taking on you righties something of a risk? Might'n you beat me to a pulp with the precise articulation of your profound intellect and erudition? Not to mention the breadth and depth of your common sense . . .

Seems like I'm taking a risk every time I post!

BTW, Oly, I am bleeding a little . . . you're pretty good.

[joanie]

Oops, one more thing: if anyone has mixed or negative feelings about Thomas Friedman, you might be interested in David Sirota's open letter to him at "Sirotablog"

[dippitydo]

Rolly James called him a "false concervative".
Savage blows him out of the water!