John Stossel: Across the Great Divide

Well, here's the least surprising media-centric news item ever: John Stossel is leaving ABC for Fox News Channel.

For the uninitiated few, Stossel is a multi-Emmy-winning investigative reporter with an amusing Harry Reems moustache. He calls himself a libertarian -- a designation which these days, unfortunately, is almost exclusively the property of the right -- and has spent the past several years doing his best to debunk man-made global climate change, bolster the notion of the wonders of unfettered greed and the ultimate good of the free market, and assail anyone who complains about the current health care model. His slot on 20/20 has been little more than his own personal Hyde Park-style soapbox ever since his conversion from serious journalist to silly dogmatic populist.

Stossel's been a regular guest on Fox for some time now; he generally appears as an analyst (which at Fox is code for someone who has even less obligation to the truth than the correspondents in the general assignment pool). Given his tendency to egomaniacally showboat, his departure probably isn't much of a loss to ABC. But it does underscore in no uncertain terms just where the business of journalism is heading: Hume, Beck, now Stossel -- they all skew hard to the right and they've all wound up at Fox. At this point, Fox is the bright light on the porch that attracts all the insects. The problem is that what we're witnessing is the homogenization of the news media. It was admittedly inevitable. With so many choices out there, narrowcasting was always the future. But the fewer dissenting opinions at each outlet -- with Fox essentially saying, "If you're a conservative, this is where you belong" -- the viewers, readers, and people simply looking for a well-balanced vision of the world will suffer.

Then again, the battle lines are so clearly drawn these days, with people believing only what they want to believe and refusing to hear any evidence to the contrary, that it probably doesn't make any difference anyway. For God's sake, last night on national television a congressman shouted that the president is a liar (a lie itself, at least insofar as what that congressman was protesting at the time). The damage is done, and we may never reach a point again where this country's various political factions listen to each other without prejudice, let alone treat each other with respect.

The people who like what Stossel has to say are already waiting for him at Fox.

Welcome home, John.

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Comments

[Anonani]

All I see is that Fox must be paying a lot of money.

[pharmmajor]

Look people, John Stossel is not a right-winger. He opposes laws against pornography, marijuana, gambling, ticket scalping, prostitution, homosexual activity, and assisted suicide. He also opposes corporate welfare and bailouts.

[Grulg]

Strossel there always struck me as just being a jerk. I don't care what network he is on, I won't be watchin' him. Of those the columnist listed-Britt Hume I actually do respect from back in his ABC days. Yeah he's a righty, but at least he seemed (mostly) to ground it in some kinda real-news background.

[booker52]

Let us not forget Tucker Carlson. He is another who found his niche on Fox noise.

[TheCommons]

When it comes to actions as opposed to inflated self description, I have never been able to spot a dime's worth of difference between a libertarian and a movement conservative.

So, goodbye John. I could say I'll miss you, but since I stopped watching you so long ago, that would be just rank hypocrisy.

[AJLenze]

If you can't tell the difference between a libertarian and a conservative, you are not paying attention. Libertarians believe that marijuana should be legalized, immigration should be free, and gays should be allowed to marry. Libertarians disagree about abortion based on differing beliefs about when a fetus becomes a person, but most support allowing at least first term abortion. Does that sound like a conservative? Stossel has appeared on The O'Reilly Factor a number of times and he and O'Reilly argue every time.

Saying that libertarians "assail anyone who complains about the current health care model" is blatently false. Libertarians continually criticize the current health care system for having too much government involvement. It's true that we disagree with Obama-care, but saying "keep your hands off my health care" is vastly different than saying "keep your hands off the current health care system". Anyone who thinks the current system is a free market system needs to take an economics class.

This is my first time on The Huffington Post, and if this article is what THP considers journalism, it will be my last. You all are welcome to your misinformed echo chamber.

[TakeSake]

Don't go away mad. Just go away.

[CNNfan]

AJLenze said, "This is my first time on The Huffington Post, and if this article is what THP considers journalism, it will be my last. "
Welcome. The Huffington Post is really quite excellent journalism, not to mention it has a comfortable web design. If you know someone else new like yourself..­. This is a good website to recommend. As for this particular article, just consider this as a practice round.

[JerryLevy]

Stossel has been a fixture on ABC and they should be very sorry they are letting him get away. This well respected reporter will just further build FOX's ratings much to the chigrin of the mainstream press.

[denlong]

sounds to me like Faux News is the perfect place for him.

[yankees]

I don't care what channel he is on, he's a terrific REPORTER. Something that most of the main stream and cable networks on both sides of the political spectrum have forgotten how to be.

[xzyzz]

Hahahahaha [wipes eyes]

That impression of a Fox fan feigning objectivity was dead on, my friend.

[sdskelton03]

Did you read the column?

All of the hatred and disrespect (as evidenced by your comment) is exactly what he was getting at.

His point is that we can't even respectfully discuss anything anymore.

[sdskelton03]

I apologize, something is weird here.

Your comment was under mine when I responded, and now it is under a different comment altogether.

[sdskelton03]

Pat Buchanan writes today with a similar sentiment.

http://townhall.com/columnists/PatBuchanan/2009/09/11/is_america_coming_apart

[JohnnyDylan]

Chez,I could not disagree with you more. Have you actually spent time watching Hume, Beck, and Stossel? Stossel is considerably different in his approach and politics to both those guys. Why is libertarian the new republican? It (libertarian ideology) promotes progressive social issues and fiscal conservatism. That's not exactly what Bush was about the last 8 years.

[xzyzz]

John Stoessel is a libertarian, then he's the Sarah Palin of libertarianism.

[pharmmajor]

So why do liberals hate libertarians so much?

[ProperGanda]

Well, you could have taken the lazy way out and just say he is paid off by the billion dollar corporations or something
But I agree. A liberal is going to go to MSNBC, a conservative to FOX, therefor all they are doing is preaching to the choir. I give MSNBC credit though, they have Morning Joe on, Fox has no anchor of differing views.

[sdskelton03]

Last night I decided to watch the liberal network. The anchor led off with six minutes about the jack-ass republican who rudely yelled during the speech. Yawn!

Where was the discussion of whether or not Obama backed away from the public option? How about whether he was telling the truth that the plan won't raise the deficit? How about some details regarding this insurance exchange? Will these new regulations drive some health insurers out of the market and force people to find new coverage? Is it a good idea to mandate coverage?

All of those topics are more interesting to me, but someone on the other side made an ass out of himself so that lead!

Now before someone gives me a paragraph on Fox and how horrible they are, I agree with you so you can just keep it to yourself. But I didn't watch them last night, I watched the other guys.

[Wombaticus]

You bring up very good points about the way we discuss the important issues as a matter of method rather than the addressing the substance of the topic.

All major news media are guilty of this, and there needs to be a revolution in that industry too.

[ProperGanda]

I don't hate fox, but I don't watch it either. I try to stay away from cable news in general. Ive tried the talking heads on MSNBC, but they are just the same as Fox. I know, I know, i'm going to get the obligatory "Keith and Rachel use the facts and faux noise is lying!", but that is irrelevant to my point. EVERYONE in cable news already has their opinion predetermined, and use 'facts' to back their story up, and leave out the 'facts' that might change their or their viewers minds

[TakeSake]

It's true that just about all network coverage of the health care reform debate is over the political machinations, not the structure of the policies. It makes for good quotes and headlines.

However, the networks also skew right. It's just that some skew more right than others.

[Tia Teachman]

I wonder... Is it purely the dedication and honest political adgenda that is swaying him to move, or the amazing amount of rival publicity between MSNBC and FOX that gets the $$$ in is eyes a twinkling. Hmm... thats a toughy.

[ilmhisf16]

The best news and discussion of current affairs can still be found on PBS.

[mortrefuge]

Exactly!

[sdskelton03]

I think the best discussion panel is the last 15 minutes of Special Report on Foxnews.

I can't hardly stand to watch any of the shows on any of the channels anymore.

[BuckCarson]

I have admired Stossel for years for his innovative and incisive command of the real issues. Stossel will clearly elevate Fox News to a new plateau. Stossel should have had his own program years ago.
The only worry that I have is that he stayed with the mundane elites for so long, I do question his judgement.

Regardless, this marks a great moment of hope in the journalistic cancer pervading the mainstream media. I think that too many of these journalists were trained under tenets valid 40 years ago and not reflective of the core issues of today.

I have often said that training for journalists ought to have more math and physics orientation. Stossel I think is an exception to this problem. His interests are quite broad and it shows.

[Mildmannered]

The "plateau" is still below ground level.

His "science" background has led him to debunk man-made global climate change -- which is contrary to accepted science.

[BuckCarson]

Please post the URL. I don't remember him debunking anything of that magnitude. I do remember him displaying some ridiculous behaviors associated with global warming.

My guess is that you were threatened by him in some form hence the exaggeration.

[ralphieboy]

"Accepted science" once believed that the earth was flat and the sun revolved around the it. Science is obviously fluid and dynamic - it changes based on the prevailing belief of the majority in the available "accepted" data. If there are no dissenting voices, then where is the proof? where is the discovery? where is the motivation to know? Not accepting the status quo has been a hallmark of America from before the beginning.

[JScott]

Yup it's from the Geraldo Rivera school of journalism----it's all about who's reporting (aka all about me) and not the story

[BlueMrsKitty]

His great "scientific" mind once caused him to put a Salvation Army donation bucket in San Francisco for one day and another donation bucket in a smaller, conservative city for one day and measure who gave more. From this highly scientific survey, he concluded that conservatives are more generous. Ahem.

[BuckCarson]

Perhaps... for theatrics. But there is a rigorous study that validates the hyposthesis (as you probably already know).

[TruEngineHearing]

I missed that one, but it does indeed sound like genuine Stossell Science. To me, he is like Dennis Miller, but without the fantastic charm.

[AmirZadeh]

I guess Fox is where former journalists all end up eventually. Brit Hme, from ABC to Fox. Geraldo Rivera (born Jerry Rivers), from ABC to Fox. Now John Stossel, from ABC to Fox. Hmmm...I'm strangely detecting a pattern here. Don't be suprised if you see George Stephanopoulus or Charles Gibson bolt to Fox.

[BuckCarson]

I don't think Fox would hire Gibson. Stephanopoulus maybe, but would not give him his own show.

[gs-425]

Stephanopoulus had been making some guest appearances on Hannity's radio program as of late. Could be a warm-up to what you mention...­.interesti­ng.

[PoliticalJunkie65]

I would vomit if Stephanopoulus went to Faux news.

Just sayin.