On Tuesday, the fate of the Republicans’ attempt to undo the Affordable Care Act dominated news out of Washington. Phones rattled with alerts about the decision to delay a vote until mid-July. Camera crews jostled for shots of senators meeting with President Trump, then boarding a bus that took them past jeering protesters.
A viewer tuning into Fox News that night hardly saw any of it.
The network’s prime-time shows, ratings kings of cable news, ignored the health-care story. Fox’s 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. shows began with stories about a sting video that caught a CNN producer dismissing his network’s coverage of Russia and the 2016 election. “The Five,” Fox’s 9 p.m. show, began with the “bombshell” news that President Barack Obama had said — in October 2016 — that it would be “impossible” to rig the election.
“It’s not that surprising,” said Charlie Sykes, a former talk radio host from Wisconsin who has condemned what he sees as a move toward tribalism on the right. “You look at the trajectory of conservative media and it’s not been policy-oriented for a long time. It’s about whether you get the win or not. There’s nothing for Rush Limbaugh to sex up about a bill that’s neither repeal nor reform.”
Coverage of whether Republicans can “win” on health care, Sykes noted, had long ago surpassed coverage of what was in the bill itself.
“Maybe we’ve reached peak hypocrisy,” Sykes said. “Having spent years attacking Obamacare, it may be a bridge too far for conservative talkers to urge Republicans to do it faster and with less transparency. How do you do a talk show saying: Hey, it’s great that they did in secret! It’s great — no hearings.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...dia-610:homepage/story&utm_term=.86cb9f8f0c3f
A viewer tuning into Fox News that night hardly saw any of it.
The network’s prime-time shows, ratings kings of cable news, ignored the health-care story. Fox’s 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. shows began with stories about a sting video that caught a CNN producer dismissing his network’s coverage of Russia and the 2016 election. “The Five,” Fox’s 9 p.m. show, began with the “bombshell” news that President Barack Obama had said — in October 2016 — that it would be “impossible” to rig the election.
“It’s not that surprising,” said Charlie Sykes, a former talk radio host from Wisconsin who has condemned what he sees as a move toward tribalism on the right. “You look at the trajectory of conservative media and it’s not been policy-oriented for a long time. It’s about whether you get the win or not. There’s nothing for Rush Limbaugh to sex up about a bill that’s neither repeal nor reform.”
Coverage of whether Republicans can “win” on health care, Sykes noted, had long ago surpassed coverage of what was in the bill itself.
“Maybe we’ve reached peak hypocrisy,” Sykes said. “Having spent years attacking Obamacare, it may be a bridge too far for conservative talkers to urge Republicans to do it faster and with less transparency. How do you do a talk show saying: Hey, it’s great that they did in secret! It’s great — no hearings.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...dia-610:homepage/story&utm_term=.86cb9f8f0c3f
