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Kind of a D*ck
Author: Raine    Date: 06/30/2011 12:22:12

While gathering my stuff for this morning blog, something interesting came across my twittah feed. Here is the video: Here is the link, from Politico. I wasn't able to post that video, but as expected, I found it on You Tube:


They laughed and made smug jokes like it was some exclusive clique. The reaction was met with snark and self-aggrandizement. Then - they blamed the producer. After the incident, from all accounts, Halpern went on to pontificate about the President. In other words, he remained on the show.

While I do think there is place to lay responsibility on the producer I have to wonder...


Imagine for a moment what these people say and do when not on guard and in front of a camera. Halpern literally asked permission to say something he knew would not be acceptable. It wasn't a gaffe, it was quite intentional. For me, this is a bridge too far. With so many pundits playing fast and furious with spin and facts, we have lost basic common decency when discussing politics. This incident occurred because Mr. Halpern was offended at the President of the United States for not being nice to the press corps. Here is another view of the incident:



This shows the lead up to it:


Halpern sort of proved the presidents point, huh? Our media, be it punditry or plain news has utterly failed us. When a person can go on a national show and feel comfortable enough to use such a derogatory term to describe a President of the United States, something is wrong. As I said before: I can just imagine the things that are said off-air.

This used to be a noble profession, one filled with integrity. Now it has crumbled into an environment where one is comfortable calling women sluts and men dicks on the airwaves.

Apology is not enough; it is time for the media to return to a set of standards. This was not a person's living room, nor was it a radio show that is meant to provide a humorous view of news and politics. This isn't a few fairly unknown podcasters who don't get paid handsomely for what they do. Nor is it the Daily Show or the Colbert Report. This is a political show on a news network. It IS different. It wasn't funny. Words matter.

It was intentional and the ONLY reason why Halpern apologized is because he got caught. This is simply not acceptable, regardless of who is sitting in the Oval office. It time for a few standards to be put in place. This is not a joke, as we have serious problems in this country and we deserve to have serious people present us with the issues.

Contacts:

Time – [email protected]

Time Inc.
1271 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
212.522.1212

MSNBC
NBC News
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, N.Y. 10112
212.664.4444
Contacting MSNBC FAQ


and
Raine

Update (as of 11 am-ish this morning) : Mark Halpern has been suspended indefinitely. From MSNBC:
Mark Halperin's comments this morning were completely inappropriate and unacceptable.We apologize to the President, The White House and all of our viewers. We strive for a high level of discourse and comments like these have no place on our air. Therefore, Mark will be suspended indefinitely from his role as an analyst.
Still no word from the Staff and Host of Morning Joe -- a staff that includes hosts Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist.

It is my hope that the staff at Morning Joe (as well as the management at MSNBC) will address the smug, smirky, self aggrandizing atmosphere on the set that created the opening for this to happen. Enough is enough.
 

93 comments (Latest Comment: 07/01/2011 01:59:46 by Mondobubba)
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