What can CNBC be thinking with this Dennis Miller? - Eric Alterman

[dArKeR]

What can CNBC be thinking with this Dennis Miller?  His ratings are not just in the toilet, they have traveled all the way to the septic tank.   And as we all know, they need to pay audience members to show up.

Since my hotel here in Santa Monica does not get CNBC, I remain among the category of the vast majority of my fellow countrymen and women who have never seen the Dennis Miller show.  So I don’t know how it looked to its miniscule audience.  There is a description here, however.

Anyway, what was so weird about it was how professional it seemed until I finally sat down with Miller.  It was set up long in advance by the book’s publicists.  The car came on time.  In my dressing room, which was pretty elaborate as such things go, I met with a series of staff members who informed me that Dennis would be wanting to discuss topics such as George Soros and the funding of 527s; whether Bush was exploiting the 9/11 families, and I forget what else, just like a real talk show.  Then I go out there and what?  I’m talking to a stoned teenager, who can’t be bothered to say more than, “Whoh, man, you are so totally screwed up.  Like, you really believe that stuff, dude?”  I paraphrase, but really, Dennis did not say much more than that.  Everyone on staff was extremely apologetic afterward and the word “unprofessional” was used over and over.

I try to avoid most of these guys, though I’ve been on O’Reilly, and Scarborough and Michael Medved’s silly radio program a couple of times but never have I encountered a guy who could not be bothered to make his own case on his own show.  Really, what can CNBC be thinking with this guy?  His ratings are not just in the toilet they have traveled all the way to the septic tank.  And as we all know, they need to pay audience members to show up.  It has got to cost more than the Phil Donahue show to produce, given the size of the audience and the set and that was yanked even though it was then the highest rated show on MSNBC.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3449870/

[still_one]

1. Hopefully they will get rid of Miller soon...

[Room101]

5. Unreal, I rather watch Bill ORacist.

Miller threw in the towel right when the bell rang.

[Syrinx]

2. Eric Alterman lives in a hotel in Santa Monica?

:shrug:

[devilgrrl]

11. When he's visiting L.A. where Miller's show is taped....

:freak:

[Manix]

3. Video link

http://homepage.mac.com/duffyb/iMovieTheater127.html

[NJCher]

4. why would Alterman bother with Dennis Miller?

With all due respect to Eric Alterman, what on earth was he thinking, anyway, being a guest on Dennis Miller's show? I mean, it's not as if this guy has ever produced scintillating dialogue. We know where he's coming from.

That is definitely a talk show invitation I'd have declined.


Cher

[deutsey]

6. He's just got that silly liberal notion that differing viewpoints

should be able to discuss in a civil manner what each side believes. Maybe, just maybe, a glimpse of the larger truth will emerge.

Silly idea, I know, in the era of Hannity, Miller, et al.

[Jade Fox]

8. "It was set up long in advance by book publicists" is what he says...

in the article.

[Skittles]

7. the rumor about Eric being the bearded liberal in Tom Tomorrow's cartoons

is that true? Just curious. I think Eric is a major-league cutie pie.

[Jade Fox]

9. Why the hell did they pull the Donahue show if it was so highly rated?

If they don't want to produce Liberal shows, why did the put in on in the
first place? To placate complaints about conservative bias?

These folks make no sense. :shrug:

It sounds like even Dennis Miller's staff thinks he's an idiot, yet he is still
on the air.

[JohnyCanuck]

10. Anyone who watches the video clip in post #3

would know the guy is one big time looser. How CNBC can't be embarrassed to death to have an asshole like this as a host on their network really does speak volumes about their eagerness to kiss republican/Shrub ass. Can you imagine how long a real "liberal" would last in the job were s/he to put on such a massive diplay of boorish ignorance.

[noiretextatique]

12. wow...he is an embarrassment

pouting in his chair like a 2-year old :puke: pathetic!!!!

[RamboLiberal]

13. I think Donahue was pulled because we were about to

go to war with Iraq and we just all had to be "good little flag-waving patriots". Don't you dare question the motives of the Bush administration.

[teryang]

14. It is totalitarian characteristic

Not to have to bother to articulate a rational position. There are certain keywords and jingos to identify yourself as a member of the huge and powerful but thoughtless movement. Leadership, national defense, appeasement, tough on terror, strong on defense, good against evil, hate us for our freedoms, blame America first, you have to sacrifice freedom for security, if you've nothing to hide theres nothing to worry about, etc.

Did you ever notice how many apparachiki in repuke government positions have communications degrees? They can have no competence in their agencies specialized function whatever, it doesn't matter. Their purpose is to conceal government operations by manufacturing a meaningless virtual reality devoid of information and reason. They are the masters of platitudinous jingos. They have been media trained to stay on point (and off the issue). Leaders know the talking point of the day. They almost never respond to a direct inquiry unless it involves the most mundane and neutral content. It's not what a government or party does, or the effects of its actions or policies that count or even if there is the barest hint of thoughtful functionality and purpose. What is important are the jingos and turns of phrase devoid of content that travel so well through the mindless masses.

The fact is that most of the attempted rationalized positions by the journalists and other spokepersons on the far right are based on selective bias bordering on total blindness, ad hominen attacks, ersatz machismo, long and short term memory loss, deceptive associations, and patent non-sequitors. Most of it is just out and out disinformation produced by professionals. It's low quality stuff that even thinking people can't follow because its purpose is to deceive and to ultimately bore and frustrate the interested. One of the typical responses of such a movement member upon confrontation with a critical thought, is something completely off the wall, like "You better watch what you say," or "Who are you with?" (the Chimp) or "Are you a communist?" (John Bolton) as if this ignorant response is all that is required for a movement member to dismiss those who exist outside the orbit of official party mass induced delusion. This is the lexicon of many Americans, including those who are professionally educated and should know better.

If you know the simple to remember jingos and keywords, you're in with the in-crowd that controls the full spectrum dominance (and secret decoder ring) of the centralized security state. Dialogue not required. Investigations not required. Thought not required. Trust the leader.

[dArKeR]

15. Update: This just in: Dennis Miller called my cell to

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3449870/