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Attacking The Middle: Mediaite Takes Fire From The Right And Left

by Colby Hall | 1:41 pm, February 24th, 2010

» 20 comments

Much has already been written about the current era of opinion media, and how consumers now often get their news from the media outlets that reaffirm their pre-existing opinions. In fact, part of the reason that Mediaite exists is because there are so few unbiased arbiters in what has recently deteriorated into the toxic and puerile sport of “am not!” and “are too!” So yesterday was an interesting day for us – our commentary and reporting received criticism from stalwarts on both the right AND the left. People often ask us “whose side are you on?” Well, whoever said that we had to be on a side?

The trouble really started brewing over the weekend — Mediaite columnist Tommy Christopher decided to cover CPAC, and we were all too happy to consider his contributions to the site, which included an exclusive (and short) interview with MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, as well as a post lauding the CPAC conventioneers for lustily booing anti-gay speaker Ryan Sorba off the CPAC stage. Then he came across Andrew Breitbart and things got, well, a little ugly.

The video clip of the spirited debate between Breitbart and Christopher started pleasantly enough, but somehow devolved into commentary on the state of partisan journalism, mucus, male genitalia, charges of racism and shouts of “I got you!” It wasn’t the most professional journalistic moment ever recorded on video tape, but it was good footage and we decided to publish it, with the disclaimer that Tommy’s thoughts were not necessarily those of Mediaite. It was a sound decision that we stand by – though we were later called out by John Nolte, editor of Big Hollywood and compadre to Andrew Breitbart. Nolte wrote:

Well, the scorpion struck when this pathetic example of Journalistic Rendition published on Mediaite Saturday evening with this equally pathetic disclaimer: “For the record, the thoughts and ideas expressed in this exchange are those of Mediaite columnist and White House reporter Tommy Christopher and not those of Mediaite.

Don’t you just love that disavowal? Christopher isn’t some guy who threw the video over the transom. He’s Mediaite’s columnist and White House reporter. He’s “their guy” out on assignment, and not only was Mediaite willing to publish the video, it was their lead story for hours. Shouldn’t the disclaimer have read: “While we are paying for and benefitting from the wildly unprofessional race-baiting of our White House reporter and making this our lead story for hours, we want to assure everyone that we literally brought out a bowl of water and washed our hands before hitting the publish button.”

What Nolte neglected to include is that, prior to publishing, I personally called Andrew to give him a head’s up that we were going to post the video, and he was gracious enough to provide a quote, which we included in the post. We both agreed that clip would best be published unedited – which we did. These are small, yet somewhat significant quibbles with Nolte’s critique – with which I didn’t wholly agree, but found to be relatively fair.

The other small, yet significant, note is that somehow Christopher had some sort of hidden agenda. The truth is that Tommy IS an unabashed liberal – which is why we like him. He doesn’t hide his point-of-view, he owns it, which makes his critiques of sacred cows on the left even more meaningful, and has earned him respect from his conservative peers for being fair. He often provides solid, straight reporting from the White House – just as many other columnists can, and often do, also report straight stories. (We often feature conservative columnists as well.) Again, a small, yet significant detail that is emblematic of our desire to publish strong yet fair opinions and critiques on both sides of the partisan divide.

But back to the sacred cows on the left…yesterday ended with MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann calling out Mediaite for being “gullible” — ostensibly because we had posted a Dallas Tea Party produced video that didn’t necessarily paint Olbermann in the most favorable light. To wit, Olbermann had called out the Tea Party movement for having very few members of color; the Dallas Tea Party video not only invited Olbermann to join them for a coming event, but also pointed out the lack of diversity on MSNBC – as depicted on the MSNBC.com homepage. Our take? Judge not, lest ye be judged.

If Olbermann’s shtick weren’t so transparent, it would be funny. Example? Prior to calling out Mediaite, he clumsily searched his desk for the name of the site, acting as though he needed to be reminded of our existence. Honestly, that was pretty funny, if not schmaltzy – but again, it reminds us that his is an an act – a tired and hackneyed act that has outgrown its utility.

But the real reason that we were called out? Perhaps because we had just pointed out that Olbermanns cohort Rachel Maddow has usurped his spot as the most powerful, respected and influential opinion journalist on the left.

Bottom line? Bring it on. Our goal is to be a part of the discussion and view being called out from both left and right as a badge of honor. The only think we can guarantee is that we will probably disappoint partisan journalists – on both sides of the aisle – for the forseeable future.

Andrew Breitbart, Big Hollywood, John Noble, keith olbermann, Mediaite, Tea Party, Tommy Christopher

The Real Royal King

This is, indeed, a very good site. The foremost media site, I think …. It is truly balanced unlike the advocacy sites. I appreciate the investment by everyone involved.
SWWT

Don’t flatter yourself too much. Your site doesn’t suck as much as the other blogs that are out there.

J/K, keep up the good work, Mediate.
ex politicalmedia hack

there is nothing more annoying, self justifying or stupid than members of the media when they justify their work by saying that since they get critiqued by both sides, they must be doing it right.

this is the uniform response from all media hacks.

i agree with bob somerby at the daily howler on this and also on his judgement on maddow. im a dem and think she and olberman are horrors on air for us. they are namer callers first and bad models for how progressives should creat an effective message process.

but that analysis is way to deep for the analysts here.

i suggest they go to the daily howlers archives and learn what real media criticism is.
Rachel Sklar

Happy to see Colby giving props to Tommy, who is one of the hardest workers I know and has been delivering great stuff for us since our earliest days. I admit that I missed the Olberman shout-out. But why didn’t he mention Quigley this time? That was awesome.
http://twitter.com/CRZ CRZ

Geez, don’t break your arm, M.

Congratulations on finding new and exciting ways to consistently troll both “sides” into practically living here, making hundreds of comments, each one more inane than the last, on a daily basis.

It’s a living!

(Yes, I appreciate that I am serving up a big plate of irony and/or hypocrisy by even typing this thought out and pressing “Submit Comment” but like everyone else, I CAN’T HELP MYSELF.)
m

Congratulations, Dan Abrams and crew. I know this is one of the things Mediaite strives for.
PureFreedom

This is the only site you can visit that does not preach to the choir…Otherwise its the same boring thing on both sides. blaming and calling the other side names and everyone agrees in the comments. That is why Huffpost is boring and newsbusters does the same thing.
Zakk

“In fact, part of the reason that Mediaite exists is because there are so few unbiased arbiters in what has recently deteriorated into the toxic and puerile sport of “am not!” and “are too!” ” – this is tongue in cheek, right?
Christine

I really can’t speak on Mediaite’s “fairness” since I’ve only been following for a month or so and not keeping score. Though I am a proud right-winger who initially supported Breitbart, perhaps in a knee-jerk way b/c I abhor people that run around screaming “racist”, and I generally agree w/ his version of the facts surrounding the Acorn tapes, after a couple of days passed, I’ve realized that Breitbart is incredibly annoying so I’ve kinda gone neutral. This is an ass-backwards compliment but Tommy is nowhere near as annoying as Andrew so there’s that. I’ve also realized that I don’t give a rat’s ass about O’Keefe, Giles, hidden tapes, pimp costumes, or the inner workings of any of these people’s minds.

I enjoy Mediaite’s short + sweet coverage of things w/ accompanying video when available. I like the humorous angle you often take when appropriate. That’s all I got.
Colby Hall

Christine is a wise woman.
http://www.facebook.com/people/John-Boyer/602168764 John Boyer

Although I respect Mediaite for calling like they see it and not pretending to a veneer of non-partisan objectivity, the site seems to be center-left. Being attacked from both sides does not a fortiori prove you are a centrist, just that you pissed off people on both sides (and in the case of Olbermann, he’s pretty far to the left). It wouldn’t hurt to get expand and strengthen Mediaite by hiring some good right of center talent on par with Tommy Christopher. The more the merrier.
http://www.facebook.com/people/John-Boyer/602168764 John Boyer

“…part of the reason that Mediaite exists is because there are so few unbiased arbiters….” Shouldn’t that read level-headed or even-handed arbiters? I hardly think Mediaite is “unbiased.” I don’t think you can claim to be unbiased after championing Tommy Christopher’s unabashed liberalism. Honest? Yes. Reasonable? Sure, why not. Unbiased? Not as such.

That said, this site is addictive.
Fidoohki

Hey as long as everyone is honest about it I say go for it.
marcus.lewis

@John Boyer: I agree somewhat with you; however, unbiased is hard to define. Every person has bias, and anyone who tells you they don’t is just lying. With that said, I enjoy posts from pretty much everyone who writes for Mediaite. I think its fair to say that this site is not a haven for Republicans or Democrats, and it shows with the diverse people who comment on the site. I don’t think Mediaite will claim individuals don’t have biases who write for the site, and I didn’t read that in this piece. What I think it does insinuate is that this is not an overly partisan outfit and they are attacked from the left and right. Now they are also praised from the left and the right as well. The individual posts they write are what is attacked, because those might be partisan–but as a whole…the site offers a pretty diverse mix of media critique.
felixw

In all fairness, Mediaite does an excellent job of presenting a range of views, and not just dishing out the predictable rhetoric. The news media could learn something from this.
Barney

I registered with Mediate a while back…don’t remember when…to comment on a particular story that was linked on another blog…don’t remember what is was about..

My first reaction was..huh..this is different..it could be interesting. It could have been…but it’s not. No real reporting..no incisive commentary…no redeeming humor angle..

My clicking over to Mediaite had pretty much dropped to zero

…it’s just crap…day after day. I stopped by this time to read about the “dustup” between Tommy Christopher and Breitbart. What I saw in the vidoe is ridiculous. Breibart didn’t exactly come out looking dignified…I dunno…maybe he’s just tired of the idiotic crap constantly tossed his way..

…but Christopher just made a complete ass of himself..he’s a child. Having someone like as a contributor doesn’t speak well for Mediaite

There is no buzz out there about Mediaite…I think it’s already peaked…I don’t expect it to be a player at all..
robear

I wouldn’t worry too much about Olbermann. He’s pretty much the Glenn Beck of the left. The only difference between Beck and Olbermann, save that they are on opposite ends of the spectrum, is that Olbermann’s IQ is 30 points lower than Beck.
Jim R

Great site, Mediaite, carry on.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Joe-Callan/100000200979966 Joe Callan

Of the regular comment-posters on this site, there are more than a couple who are here to work out their snark-muscles and vent some ideological frustration (*Ahem*, guilty). Having said that, despite spouting the occasional acidic comment here and there, I think the site’s got a well-balanced staff and some damn good media reporting.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Joe-Callan/100000200979966 Joe Callan

Crap…I just now realized that April 1st isn’t really a great day to profess sincere praise for things.