FAIR has a new Action Alert out on CNN's newest political commentator: Red State's Erick Erickson. For some indication of why this is perhaps the creepiest move by a cable network since MSNBC hired Michael Savage–and for an email address to communicate your feelings–click here. Please leave copies of your messages to CNN, or comments on the alert, in the comments thread here.
About Jim NaureckasExtra! Magazine Editor Since 1990, Jim Naureckas has been the editor of Extra!, FAIR's bimonthly journal of media criticism. He is the co-author of The Way Things Aren't: Rush Limbaugh's Reign of Error, and co-editor of The FAIR Reader: An Extra! Review of Press and Politics in the '90s. He is also the co-manager of FAIR's website. He has worked as an investigative reporter for the newspaper In These Times, where he covered the Iran-Contra scandal, and was managing editor of the Washington Report on the Hemisphere, a newsletter on Latin America. Jim was born in Libertyville, Illinois, in 1964, and graduated from Stanford University in 1985 with a bachelor's degree in political science. Since 1997 he has been married to Janine Jackson, FAIR's program director. You can follow Jim on Twitter at @JNaureckas.
[...] Please post copies of your letters in the comments section on the FAIR Blog:http://www.fair.org/blog/2010/03/16/action-alert-cnn-hires-erick-erickson/ [...]
Mr. Feist, You've gotta be kidding me! Has CNN lost its sense of probity or have you all gone insane?
How could you give such a racist misogynist who referred to a retiring Supreme Court judge as a "goat-fucking child molester" a forum to spew his hatred to an unsophisticated public? I'm just reading a book by Frank Gruber/Gerhard Richter "Alltag im Dritten Reich, So lebten die Deutschen 1933-1945" (Daily Life in the Third Reich, How Germans lived 1933-1945) and let me tell you, Erickson with his hateful utterances has nothing on the SA and SS goons that were rested and ready to take over right after Hitler gained power in January of 1933. It really creeps me out that you would even consider hiring such a creep to use up your airtime. Too bad Ted Turner no longer runs your network; he must be aghast what has become of his creation.
Gisela Koestner
Poway CA
Mr. Feist,
Are you really serious? Eric Erickson is a perfect fit? What type of audience are you trying to reach? As if Lou Dobbs and Glenn Beck weren't enough hate-mongering for your listeners, you bring in the king of all bigots to affront the sensibilities of decent Americans. I assume that you are trying to attract the hate-filled Conservative listeners from Fox. I can only hope that the bulk of your listeners, which I believe to be thinking moderates will show their appreciation by turning somewhere else for their information. I, for one, am done with CNN.
Mike H
Dear Mr Feist,
What are you people thinking? Apparently, it's anything for a buck, in this case any sense of responsibility to your audience. How in the world do you think Erick Erickson is going to conform to your standards – or are you willing to 'adapt' your standards to market demands? Already in the US we have the least informed electorate in the western world, and you seem all too happy to dumb it down ever further. After all, an uniformed market is easier to fleece. In my view, there is no longer any reason for CNN to continue to exist, other than as revenue generator for a greedy and untalented corporate troglodyte that has no other choice. What you seem bent on is nothing short of continuing the noble tradition of NewsCorp in dividing and destroying the intellectual fibric of American culture and consensus.
Incredulously yours,
Steven Smith
My submittal:
Mr Feist,
I\'ve read Erick\'s commentaries for years â┚¬“ you couldn\'t have picked a more empty headed person to work for your news company. He promotes violence and hateâ┚¬Ã‚¦and he\'s rather scary. When the next tea party guy shoots a doctor, a government official, a liberal, or one of the older ladies I work with in the League of Women Voters â┚¬“ it is your hands that the blood should be smeared on. He\'s NEVER had an original thought â┚¬“ perhaps that\'s why you\'ve chosen him â┚¬“ to be the talking head for your owners. At least Glenn Beck was funnyâ┚¬Ã‚¦.
Jonnie Hamdan
Business owner
To CNN:
How does hiring Erick Erickson conform to CNN's standards and practices? He called Justice David Souter "the only goat-fucking child molester to ever serve on the Supreme Court".
dear Mr.Feist:
WHY on Earth would you feel the need to put one more far-right
ideologue, like Erick Erickson, on CNN??? His undeniable racism,
grotesque sexism and blunt homphobia are better left to right-wing radio
"shock jocks" than a nws network. I may have to DROP CNN as my
"mainstream" tv news source iof you're gong to become like FAUX News.
What CNN actually LACKS is even ONE SOLID PROGRESSIVE analyst–not the
spineless liberals making excuses for the Democrats no matter how lame
they are—-: here's some suggestions of people that have appeared as
guests or on Larry King Live* or should: John Nichols&, Katrina vanden
Heuval* (of The Nation), Michael Moore* (he'd BOOST your ratings for
sure!), Anne Wright (retired military), Glenn Greenwald (Constiutional
lawyer who writes on many current issues), Bob Herbert (NY Times
columnist), Eugene Robinson*(Washington Post columnist),–to name just a
few. If you looked on the progressive website COMMON DREAMS you could
find plenty of witty & eloquent progressives to tap INSTEAD OF Erick
Erickson.
Lydia Howell, Minneapolis,MN
Your hiring of Erick Erickson is a spit in the face to every rational, intelligent American.
Are you kidding me ? CNN must really be hurting for ratings . Hiring Erickson as a political commentator
on John King's show has just demoted Mr. King's program to a freakish side show. No longer will I think
of him as an unbiased reporter with substance just a Glenn Beck wanna be.. So sorry for John King's
career.
What CNN lacks is NEWS and we need another analyst from either side ( and only 2 sides fighting ea. other is part of the left V Right paradigm designed to distract viewers ) to create more cheap political theater .
I hear accusations THAT CNN is nothing more than PSYOPS and I'm beginning to agree .
Here's my case . Abe Vreis dutch journalist discovered that CNN hired military psychological operatives FROM fT. BENNING AS " INTERNS" in late 90s . Around same time there was a report that Larry King has set up interview with a Serbian General , literally pulled out at last minute and the Serb General unfortunately was recipient of a missile on his head .
Amanpour puts picture of Afghan kids and says , " They don't believe it's an occupation " Silly and amateurish propaganda , but propaganda nonetheless . What do kids know about history of occupations ?
Selling the war and Invasion of Iraq with Generals taking talking points from Rumsfeld .
Censoring Cynthia McKinney's abduction by Israel was NEVER reported on CNN , which is part of the long track record of covering up for Israel as well as Goldstone Report never reported as part of regular news cycle , as well as the numerous of Palestinian killed on a daily basis , goes unreported .
Gratuitous coverage of Iranian protesters for they are " worthy victims " but Africans bombed by Drones in middle of a desert goes unreported . Hondouran protesters , Afghan or IRAQI OR EVEN U.S. PROTESTING u.s. WARS & OCCUPATIONS MANY TIMES GO UNREPORTED .
I had never heard of this gentleman before FAIR called him to my attention. I am sure you have seen FAIR's report on this man:
Well, he's a racist who declared that Barack Obama won the Nobel Prize because of "affirmative action quotas" (Think Progress, 10/9/09). He's a misogynist who suggested that "feminazis were enraged" by an anti-abortion Super Bowl ad because "that's what being too ugly to get a date does to your brain." He urged that "ugly feminists return to their kitchens" (Media Matters, 2/8/10). He's a homophobe who asserted that "the full gay rights agenda" means that "men and boys can have sexual relationships free of prudish moral people frowning" (Media Matters, 10/9/09).
He's an all-around nasty human being who, upon Justice David Souter's retirement, called him "the only goat-fucking child molester to ever serve on the Supreme Court" (Crooks and Liars, 5/1/09). He declared that White House spokesperson Linda Douglass "really is the Joseph Goebbels of the White House healthcare shop" (TPM, 10/12/09). Meanwhile, he suggested that Obama might be worse than Hitler, writing, "Does it say more about the IOC or Obama that the IOC gave Hitler the Olympics, but not Obama?"
Are these allegations correct? If so I see no reason why you could put him on your broadcast in any capacity. He can't be a 'journalist' because he is obviously a strident partisan. He can't be a 'commentator' — or at least he should not be, on any respectable program — because he is a foulmouthed slanderer with nothing to contribute but spittle.
Why would you want such a person in your building, much less on your air?
You're hiring Erick Erickson?!?!? How in the world does hiring a racist, homophobe, ultra right-wing conservative to become your political contributor lend ANY sort of credence to your network? I use to watch CNN because FOX is just absurdly ridiculous. Now, you're trying to compete with Glenn Beck?! The man that even FOX's own reporters are upset with because he paints ALL of the FOX reporters as fakes?!
Good luck with that. I'll stick with public radio and just avoid TV "news" altogether.
As a devoted watcher of CNN, I'm concerned about the hiring of Erick Erickson as a political commentator. Erickson has a history of extremely right-wing views which I feel would degrade the journalistic balance CNN has shown over the years. This man also has a history of racist comments that degrade the quality of CNN reporting and journalistic integrity. I feel that this man would not be a useful contributor to the quality of CNN reporting, and in fact would bring down the quality of the excellent journalism CNN has done over the years.
RE: CNN Hires Erick Erickson (Copy of Message Submitted to CNN)
It's really a sorry state of the Amerikan Conglomerate Mediate Apparatchik that the most newsworthy items are provided by comedians, i.e.Harry Shearer's Le Show (News Outside the Bubble), Jon Stewart's The Daily Show, & Stephen Colbert's Colbert Report,.than the pablum that the 24-hour news channels air. Now CNN has disgraced itself to hire a (another) right wing hate-speecher to replace Glenn Beck (or for CNN to train for Fox to hire)? To "balance" which left-winger on CNN?? (Are there any?) Given the some of the quotes credited to your new addition -Erick Erickson – CNN really is showing it's ass.
Come out of the "he said/she said" gutter, and fire all your overpaid "newsertainment" anchors and use that money to hire many, many real journalists worldwide that would produce real news. Your corporate overlords at Time-Warner won't even consider it, right?
To quote Colbert, "Facts have a liberal bias". That's what CNN has to "balance" with a hater like Erickson?
[sent to CNN]
Dear Sir ~
To this journalist with 50 years\' experienced in newspapers, radio and TV, I find the increasingly rightwing tilt in US mainstream media to be close to alarming. Surely more reason, adherence to fact, and civility are needed in dealing with the many and serious problems faced by your country, my country and the world, as opposed to more overheated rhetoric and, frankly, hate mongering.
Don\'t you think people all over the world haven\'t noticed that US â┚¬Ã…“politicsâ┚¬Ã‚ increasingly is going off the rails -â┚¬“ by way of the proliferation of maliciousness and outright lies? Fox â┚¬Ã…“leadsâ┚¬Ã‚ the way. It shouldn\'t be aped. It should be shown up by vigorous, reality-based people and programming: real competition. Right now Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are providing more thought-provoking opposition to know-nothings and hate mongers than CNN seems willing to provice.
CNN occupies a privileged position on the first tier of Canadian national cable TV. Bringing on Erickson will tend to sully your contribution and your reputation.
Providing him with clear guidelines such as avoiding name-calling is the least you should do. And to make these guidelines serious, he should be told that three strikes and he\'s out. And if he strikes out, watch your stock go up -â┚¬“ among thoughtful people everywhere.
Thank you for listening.
Barrie Zwicker
Toronto, Canada
Join the facebook group to protest
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=app_2373072738&gid=114314268582880#!/group.php?v=wall&gid=114314268582880
Dear Sir
How does hiring a died-in-the-wool right-wing commentator fulfill ANY of your claims for independent, journalistic quality news coverage?
More corporate, bloated propaganda as news?
Give us a break.
It is about time that CNN saw that it needed SOMEONE who is in touch with the American people. Good for them for recognizing it!
I'm so glad that Jennifer Love Hewitt broke up with Jamie Kennedy. He is this kind of a wierd guy!
[...] http://www.fair.org/blog/2010/03/16/action-alert-cnn-hires-erick-erickson/ 3/15 [...]
[...] http://www.fair.org/blog/2010/03/16/action-alert-cnn-hires-erick-erickson/ [...]
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