Pundits Open Up About How Fox News, MSNBC Treat Liberals And Conservatives

What's it like to be a liberal pundit on Fox News? A conservative commentator on MSNBC? This Sunday, Sally Kohn and Ben Ferguson tried to get to the heart of both questions.

Kohn, a former Fox News contributor who describes herself as a "progressive activist," and Ferguson, a conservative radio host who has refused to appear on MSNBC in the past, appeared on CNN's "Reliable Sources" Sunday to talk about a recent piece by Alexis Sobel Fitts in the Columbia Journalism Review. Fitts had argued that Fox News invites liberal pundits to appear in person and present their view, while MSNBC is more likely to turn to news clips of conservatives to get the other side of the story.

Both Kohn and Ferguson said that they felt conservatives outnumber liberals on Fox News, and vice versa on MSNBC.

However, Kohn explained that it made sense for her to go on Fox News. "From my perspective as a liberal, as a progressive, I want to be in the conversation," she said. "I don't want [the other side] to go unquestioned, unchallenged first of all, first and foremost."

Ferguson argued that conservatives are "not really welcome" at MSNBC. "They almost feel like you're just a random person that we're going to destroy for a couple of minutes and we're going to shut you down and we're going to tell you to stop talking and don't interrupt me," he said.

Kohn disagreed. "The reality is both FOX and MSNBC struggle to get people are who perceived to be from the other side of the ideological table. It is always a challenge," she said. "My experience is very different from Ben's on both sides. I saw conservatives and liberals being treated very nice, very appreciatively on both channels."

Watch their discussion in the clip above.