A Challenge to CNN's Jonathan Klein...

By Digby . Posted January 20, 2006.

Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Joe Scarborough, Chris Matthews, Tucker Carlson, Pat Buchanan, Robert Novak, John Gibson and Neil Cavuto versus Keith Olbermann wasn't imbalanced enough for cable news stations, so CNN just made the bold move of hiring THREE MORE CONSERVATIVES!

How do you like that for fair and balanced?

And this is being generous by counting Olbermann as someone on the left, when he makes no claim to speak for liberals or even to being political. This is also not counting Wolf Blitzer, who hasn't met a Republican talking point he didn't want to make out with.

Two weeks ago CNN announced they were hiring Bill Bennett. Then they doubled down (pun intended Bill) by hiring the loathsome Glenn Beck. Now, they just finished off the hat trick by hiring former Republican Congressmen from Oklahoma, J.C. Watts.

It's sad to see how clueless the people at CNN are about this. After all their efforts at finding new programming, their genius move was to hire more conservative hosts? Very, very bold. That should really set you apart from the pack.

If you want to see how copying FOX works out for you in the ratings race, just look over at MSNBC (you would be the first person who turned them on in two hours).

I was once in a television meeting where cable executives fretted over hiring a Jew as a host because they weren't sure that would go over well in the middle of the country. This was after the overwhelming success of "Seinfeld." They named the show Seinfeld and it was number one for about 35 straight years. And these schmucks (who by the way, in a great twist of irony were also Jewish) thought Jews on TV might not work well.

Now, a new set of cable television geniuses bring you the revolutionary idea of adding the 187th conservative talk show host in a row. Hey Einstein (who also didn't sell well in the middle of the country), how about adding a strong, liberal voice for counter-programming? Or did they not teach you that in TV Exec 101?

59 million Americans voted for John Kerry. And when they turn on cable news, who do they have representing their side?

Cenk Uygur is co-host of The Young Turks, the first liberal radio show to air nationwide.

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