Down Goes CNN ... Who's Next?

Op-Ed: Down Goes CNN - Who's Next?
Published: Friday, August 17, 2012 9:39 AM
There seems to be an awakening of the public to media distortions. What is the next step?

Jack Engelhard is the author of “The Bathsheba Deadline” and “Indecent Proposal”, as well as the award-winning memoir of his experiences as a Jewish refugee from Europe, "Escape From Mount Moriah". His latest novel, "The Girls of Cincinnati," is available on Amazon. He can be reached at his website www. jackengelhard. com.


The ratings are not good over there at CNN. The network’s honchos are so desperate that there’s talk they may, in part, switch to Reality TV.

What’s next? I suppose it’s The Housewives of Ramallah, starring Hanan Ashrawi. This was CNN’s sweetheart and Yasser Arafat’s mouthpiece when there was yet another suicide bombing and SOMEONE had to explain why murdering Jews was so necessary. Miss Ashrawi was no more than a phone call away and always helpful to CNN.

On top of it all, the latest has it that CNN’s top foreign affairs commentator, Fareed Zakaria, was (allegedly) caught plagiarizing and got himself suspended.

Before that it was Eason Jordan who confessed in a New York Times Op-Ed that as head of News, he withheld news about Saddam’s atrocities so that his reporters could continue to function in Baghdad. (Another case of “half the news that’s fit to print.”)

Speaking of The New York Times and “half the news that’s fit to print,” well, the paper of record is on record as losing millions every month and sometime back had to go to Mexico to beg for money – but is still losing money as, apparently, this ship is being abandoned except for the rats who still get a thrill up their legs when Obama speaks.

UK’s Guardian is being exposed and even ridiculed for flagrant bias against Israel and Steven Plaut (and Arutz Sheva) has finally got the world to understand that Haaretz is a Palestinian/Arab newspaper published in Hebrew.

Meantime, this is the season when PBS and NPR go panhandling for more funds, but the money is not coming in as swiftly as it used to because (is this possible?) even liberal Jews have some smarts. (Don’t quote me on this.)

Get the drift? The colossus that was called mainstream news media, as in America-hating /Israel-bashing journalism, is being cut down to size. People are catching on to the deceptions that characterize most of our traditional news organizations – and work with me when I say that a misinformed public is the greatest danger we face.

This is why I dare not say that you can’t fool all the people all the time. Here in the USA we’ve been fooled for more than three years…and come November we shall see if this persists, this madness when we fell for this dreamer of dreams.

So we’re not safe yet from media distortions that imperil us day to day…such as the lie that appears on Page 1 in our mainstream media and the truth that is buried on Page 36.

Here’s the good news. The hard left makes up only about 10 percent of the population here and in Israel. (Go argue, but this is my personal estimation.)

Here’s the bad news. The hard left still controls just about everything. (Do you really expect Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor to ever rule against their prophet who selected them for the Supreme Court?)

Somewhere out there in a galaxy far away the Bob Simon-Tom Friedman-Paul Krugman Axis still exists and the scheming never ends. Do you remember how Bob Simon trapped Ambassador Michael Oren?

Do you remember how Paul Krugman wrote that he was afraid to speak up against Israel because of the Jewish backlash? What? He was afraid that he’d get captured and beheaded by my dentist?

Do you remember how Tom Friedman said that Bibi’s standing ovation in Congress was “bought and for by the Israel lobby?”

So who paid for that nincompoop’s THREE Pulitzer Prizes?

CNN may be down, but truthful journalism can succeed only if we demand nothing less.

Adios, Sanchez!

CNN host Rick Sanchez came under fire Friday after making controversial remarks the previous day on a satellite radio show.

Sanchez called out Comedy Central host Jon Stewart as a "bigot" for mocking him, and complained that Jews — like Stewart — don't face discrimination. He also suggested that CNN, and perhaps the media industry more broadly, is run by Jews and elitists who look down on Hispanics like himself.

[Related: Stewart to hold D.C. rally to 'restore sanity']

Clearly, those comments didn't sit well with the network, which put out a terse statement around 6 p.m. Friday.

"Rick Sanchez is no longer with the company," the CNN statement read. "We thank Rick for his years of service and we wish him well."

So far, Sanchez hasn't spoken out about the explosive interview Thursday on "Stand Up! with Pete Dominick." On the radio show, the now-former CNN star didn't just make a single impolitic statement, but spoke at length — for roughly 20 minutes — about Stewart and a media world he believes to be filled with "elite Northeast liberals" who consider Hispanic journalists "second tier." Sanchez is a Cuban-American.

He specifically called out Stewart as someone with "a white liberal establishment point-of-view" who "can't relate to a guy like me." Also, Sanchez claimed that Stewart is "upset that someone of my ilk is at, almost, his level."

Sanchez also has yet to address the controversy via Twitter, where he is a frequent user. He even made the social media platform a signature part of his afternoon show, "Rick's List." Sanchez didn't appear on his 3 p.m. show on Friday, but CNN's public relations department put out word that he was going to be at a book signing at the CNN Center in Atlanta. It's unclear whether he attended it.

Sanchez joined CNN in 2004 after working as an anchor in Miami. Prior to that, Sanchez worked as a correspondent at MSNBC, providing breaking news updates at CNBC, and at other local stations.

CNN plans to air "CNN Newsroom" in the "Rick's List" time slot, weekdays from 3 to 5 p.m.

You can listen to part of Sanchez's rant against Stewart and his dismissive comments about Jews below:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20101001/bs_yblog_upshot/cnn-fires-host-rick-sanchez-over-controverial-remarks

Rick Sanchez: Bigot

Rick, The Reverse Racist

op/ed

I have recently watched as Rick Sanchez, CNN Talking Head, attempted and failed to trip up Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County Arizona.

The only thing more stupid I have seen him do is to attempt to give Ibrihim Hooper, leader of C.A.I.R. enough credibility to refute the stance of the United States Government in regards to C.A.I.R. and it's documented ties to terrorism.

On two shows within the span of a week, Rick has had the good Sheriff appear live on his show while berating him with accusations of 'arresting people (illegal aliens) based on the clothes they were wearing', and 'flaunting a mandate' by the Federal Government to stop arresting illegals.

What an ass. But, I enjoy watching as he twists and skews the words of the federal agent to make his case to Arpaio, then twisting and skewing Arpaio's words to try to rile up the agent. Neither was impressed, neither was fooled. Sanchez was merely fooling himself. How desperate he must be to trot this charade before his dwindling audience in a pathetic plea for more viewers.

You must tune in from Noon to One weekdays as Rick reads selected exerpts from his Twitter loonies (Twits?). They all appear to agree with him, but if you go to his page yourself you will see a far different picture. Hardly anyone there agrees with him.