As you are aware, Fox News is just as guilty of this crass commercialization as any network. I once heard you allude to that on O’Reilly’s show – congratulations! Fox airwaves are filled with the latest gossip on public figures, especially if it involves prurient interests. Here, I focus on FNC because you take care of other networks (only occasionally you also focus your canons on FNC.)

O’Reilly is also guilty of this, although your buddy Jon Stewart is correct when he says that O’Reilly is “the skinniest kid in fat camp.” O’Reilly typically saves sexy segments unil toward the end of his show, however his teases frequently start at the beginning. As just one flagrant example, a model once tripped on the cat walk and in so doing exposed her panties. O’Reilly had a segment on this and showed a five second tease (panties and all) at least five times from the beginning of his show throughout. (I don’t know what the actual segment was about, because I flipped the channel by then.) O’Reilly does this type of thing a lot, but usually more subtly. And I think it’s no accident that he regularly has good looking, buxom commentators on as well (yes, they also have talent and offer substantive discussion).

I know the argument is that when he does hard news, he is responsible. The “fluff” is just to keep viewers who would otherwise not watch the entire show.

But the commercialization of the TV news media goes beyond the crass appeals to peoples’ prurient interests. It goes to talk shows. Here again, FNC is as guilty as other networks. And, here again, O’Reilly is the “skinniest kid in fat camp.” FNC, like other networks, knows that vitriol and confrontations are what enhance ratings.

This even transfers onto the “news” anchors at FNC, e.g. “Some say that Obama’s international trip is costing tax payers $200 million a day.” Technically this is true, but why not report that “some” say the Earth is flat and that 9/11 was an inside job?

FNC anchors sometimes have “fair and balanced” discussions about various issues with two guests. First, they have a love fest with the conservative/Republican guest, and then say “because we’re fair and balanced we have the liberal/Democrat view.” Then they fire hardballs at the other guests, interrupting them before they can make their point, only to fire other hardballs at them. These “discussions” are typically about things which put liberals/Democrats on the defensive. To FNC’s credit, the anchors have generally gotten much less blatant about this in the last year or so.

There are countless examples of FNC, including O’Reilly, sensationalizing/slanting news coverage. Do you include FNC in the MSM?

However, once one person physically attacks another person, it does become our business. Regardless of his obviously wrong affairs, if Nordegren really did scratch Woods’s face and swing a golf club at him, she deserves the same legal penalty that would be received by a man who did those things to his wife.