{"id":804,"date":"2008-02-20T02:03:03","date_gmt":"2008-02-20T10:03:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=804"},"modified":"2008-02-20T02:03:03","modified_gmt":"2008-02-20T10:03:03","slug":"pundit-population-explosion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=804","title":{"rendered":"Pundit Population Explosion?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paul Farhi of the Washington Post penned a column today<\/a> that looks at what he describes as an overpopulation of political pundits on television:<\/p>\n

“With the cable news networks ramping up wall-to-wall political coverage, the demand for people to analyze, comment upon and speculate wildly about the presidential race has expanded accordingly. The nation’s economy might be coughing and wheezing, but there is no shortage of employment opportunities in Punditland.”<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I have to wonder what cave Farhi just crawled out of. The TV pundit infestation has been festering for years on the cable nets. Like cockroaches that have evolved to be pesticide-resistant, these blunder-tolerant vermin proliferate and endure. A year ago, I wrote in The Pep Squad<\/a> about…<\/p>\n

“…the clubby environment that embraces the fraternity of professional opiners. Amongst the benefits of membership in the PEP Squad (Perpetually Erroneous Pundits) is that, no matter how much you screw up, you never lose your seat at the table. Commentators who have been wrong for a half dozen years or more, are consistently invited back to deliver more of their bad advice.”<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Farhi seems to be misinterpreting the problem entirely. The recruiting fest that he suggests is simply not happening. In his article he rattles off a list of pundits as affirmation of his thesis, but his own list proves the opposite. Take a look at some of the names on the list.<\/p>\n

On MSNBC:<\/strong> Gene Robinson, Pat Buchanan, Tucker Carlson, Chuck Todd, Howard Fineman, and Richard Wolffe.<\/p>\n

On CNN:<\/strong> Bill Bennett, Paul Begala, Carl Bernstein, Donna Brazile, Gloria Borger, David Gergen, Jeffrey Toobin.<\/p>\n

On Fox News:<\/strong> Eleanor Clift, Fred Barnes, Morton Kondracke, Michael Barone, Dick Morris, William Kristol, Juan Williams, Newt Gingrich, and Karl Rove.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That is not exactly the roster of a new generation of commentators. To the contrary, it is the same old team of hackneyed veterans that have been pawning off their specious viewpoints for years. I’m not sure which of those old-timers Farhi thinks have just fallen off the TV news van. Perhaps the flaw in his analysis is that these well-worn faces, while not part of a hiring boom, are being given more time to misinform viewers. The result is the opposite of a population explosion. In fact, the senior denizens of cable news are squeezing out newer, fresher voices by consuming all the broadcast oxygen.<\/p>\n

While the nation is in the mood for change, with both Democratic and Republican candidates battling for the crown, it is high time for the media embrace the concept. The public approval of the press is nearly as low as that of the president, and we’re getting rid of him. So as we prepare to introduce some new faces to Washington, we would do well to swap out some of the hacks who are still pontificating on TV.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Paul Farhi of the Washington Post penned a column today that looks at what he describes as an overpopulation of political pundits on television: “With the cable news networks ramping up wall-to-wall political coverage, the demand for people to analyze, comment upon and speculate wildly about the presidential race has expanded accordingly. The nation’s economy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[240,241],"class_list":["post-804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-paul-farhi","tag-washington-post"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Ijg-cY","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":626,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=626","url_meta":{"origin":804,"position":0},"title":"The O’Reilly Fear Factor: They’re Coming To Take Me Away","author":"Mark NC","date":"10\/1\/2007","format":false,"excerpt":"While most of America, and the world, is focused on painfully real wars and their tragic consequences, Bill O'Reilly is engaging a different enemy, a far more dangerous enemy, in his mind, because it originates in his mind. When O'Reilly said on his radio show that he... \"couldn't get over\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1292,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=1292","url_meta":{"origin":804,"position":1},"title":"Rothenberg Dunks Hardball","author":"Mark NC","date":"6\/8\/2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Stuart Rothenberg is the very model of a modern major political pundit. He has his own newsletter and contributes to Roll Call, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and is a regular commentator on television news programs. He has a reputation as an astute analyst. Which makes me wonder\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":390,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=390","url_meta":{"origin":804,"position":2},"title":"Hunter: The Rise of the Booboisie","author":"Mark NC","date":"3\/27\/2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Writing at the DailyKos, Hunter has articulated an insightful and inspiring essay about the embarrassingly inadequate pundit class in American media. It really needs to be read in full, but here are a few choice excerpts: \"What, and pardon my French, the flying baguette is going on in our media\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":846,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=846","url_meta":{"origin":804,"position":3},"title":"A Tucker Carlson Post Mortem","author":"Mark NC","date":"3\/25\/2008","format":false,"excerpt":"The first full week of the post-Tucker era on MSNBC validates the long overdue decision to cancel the perennial loser. David Gregory's new program, \"Race for the White House,\" outperformed Tucker by 35% (Gregory's first week vs. Tucker's last week). What's more, on Friday, Gregory was the second highest rated\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4379,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=4379","url_meta":{"origin":804,"position":4},"title":"CONFIRMED: Right-Wingers Mostly Wrong","author":"Mark NC","date":"5\/3\/2011","format":false,"excerpt":"The pundit class in American media has long been deservedly regarded with disdain. They are, as a group, an arrogant collection know-nothings who, via intense self-delusion, think they know it all. I addressed this sorry situation four years ago when I labeled them The PEP Squad: Perpetually Erroneous Pundits. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":873,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=873","url_meta":{"origin":804,"position":5},"title":"Tony Snow Goes Over To The Dark Side – CNN","author":"Mark NC","date":"4\/21\/2008","format":false,"excerpt":"The \"liberal\" media is at it again. CNN has just announced that it has hired former Bush press secretary, and Fox News anchor, Tony Snow, to be a conservative commentator. Snow: \"I'm delighted to be able to join CNN during the most exciting and unpredictable political year in memory. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=804"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}