Jon Stewart Is Hurting America. Funnily Enough, Crossfire Can Help
Ramesh Ponnuru has a fantastic column about the problems with cable television shows about politics. He says some complaints about these shows (e.g., they are responsible for incivility) are overblown. He's more worried about how the discussion on these shows is dumb, one-sided or both:
Their main function seems to be to provide Team Red and Team Blue with their daily talking points and with fresh causes for outrage at the other side. A lot of people seem to like this kind of thing, and it has its place in a robust democracy.
There is a way to elevate the political debate a little bit, though, and it’s simple: One of the cable networks should bring back “Crossfire.” Yes, that’s the CNN show that Jon Stewart attacked in 2004 for “hurting America,” shortly before its 23-year run ended.
Ponnuru concedes that the show had degenerated in later years. But the original format is worth going back to:
The show ran for half an hour and examined one question. There were two hosts: one liberal, one conservative, both opinion journalists rather than operatives for a political party. In the early 1990s, Michael Kinsley (now a Bloomberg View columnist) and Patrick Buchanan did the job. There were two guests, usually politicians or public-policy experts on each side of the debate. There was no studio audience.
Each of these features made “Crossfire” better. The one-subject rule made it impossible for the politicians to make it through the show on sound bites alone. That both hosts were journalists made for a fairer debate than the usual practice of today’s political shows, which put journalists up against political operatives.
The show would avoid political strategists, whose sole job is to spin. That was the problem with the Crossfire that featured James Carville and Paul Begala. They were smart and funny at times but they were practicing politicos. The studio audience that TV executives added only made things worse, with hosts and guests playing to the crowd.
Ponnuru thinks CNN or another cabler should think about bringing back the old-style Crossfire:
“Crossfire” was balanced by design, and I bet there would be an audience for it once again. Of course, I’m not a professional TV executive. Then again, the professional executives at CNN sank millions into “Parker Spitzer.” Maybe it’s worth listening to someone else.
He ends by saying that the show would force partisanship to be more intelligent and honest, a service we could use now more than ever. I'm convinced.
At the very least we need a show for people who have graduated from the sophomorics of The Daily Show.
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Jun '10
Re: Jon Stewart Is Hurting America. Funnily Enough, Crossfire Can Help
In comedy, if the truth doesn't match the common perception, you can't go with the truth. You'd bomb miserably. You have to go with the common perception to make the joke work. That's the difference between doing comedy and doing news. I'm not sure people understand that.
Edited on August 7, 2012 at 4:01pmMay '10
Re: Jon Stewart Is Hurting America. Funnily Enough, Crossfire Can Help
Crossfire? Isn't that too gun-centric?
Nov '10
Re: Jon Stewart Is Hurting America. Funnily Enough, Crossfire Can Help
Why do we need anything other than Ricochet? ;-)
Jan '11
Re: Jon Stewart Is Hurting America. Funnily Enough, Crossfire Can Help
That's a bell I want to ring loud and often!
We need some place where conflicting views are confronted, including their perspectives and assumptions. Note that I didn't say attacked, mocked, ambushed, or destroyed. Just confronted.
It's not as if human civilization hasn't recognized the need for vigorous but respectful debate before. Society developed a court and judicial system, precisely to give society a venue where people could haggle their disputes in a constructive (or non-destructive) way. That's just for legal disputes. Societies also have long traditions concerning formal debates, academic disputations, scientific review, and so on.
Of course, I wouldn't restrict debates to journalists. No disrespect, but journalists are the last people I want to see. Frankly, I don't think Crossfire imploded because of political operatives. They helped (Begala and Carville especially), but they didn't kill it. Journalists are like referees; when they become the focus (instead of what they're reporting on), you know the game is going bad.
As Ricochet has shown ... and shows every day ... America is stacked with "ordinary" people who conduct debates very well.
Mar '11
Re: Jon Stewart Is Hurting America. Funnily Enough, Crossfire Can Help
Ramesh is right.
May '12
Re: Jon Stewart Is Hurting America. Funnily Enough, Crossfire Can Help
I think you would be hard pressed to find two opinion writers that could have a thoughtful debte with class.
The 1 or 2 that would qualify are probably too dull for cable TV to get their instant splash ratings so they will go for the firebreathers.
Dec '10
Re: Jon Stewart Is Hurting America. Funnily Enough, Crossfire Can Help
Dear God, I miss Buckley. How about some cable network just reruns all the old Firing Line episodes? They're all the same old arguments anyway, and no one living can articulate the conservative position with more grace and humor than Buckley. (isn't it interesting these shows were named for activities involving flying bullets?.... hey, wait-a-minute!...she says as she comments on the website Ricochet!!)
I agree with KC. I want journalists to go back to being reporters. If you want to elevate the debate, have the intellectual big guns (sorry, couldn't resist) host the show -- the movement leaders.
P.S. When Hugh Hewitt and Dennis Prager debate lefties on their shows, it's the nearest thing to Firing Line. Unfortunately, pretty much only right-wingers are listening.
Dec '10
Re: Jon Stewart Is Hurting America. Funnily Enough, Crossfire Can Help
BrentB67: I think you would be hard pressed to find two opinion writers that could have a thoughtful debte with class.
The 1 or 2 that would qualify are probably too dull for cable TV to get their instant splash ratings so they will go for the firebreathers. · 13 minutes ago
Is it a deficiency of the writer/thinkers, or the audience?
Re: Jon Stewart Is Hurting America. Funnily Enough, Crossfire Can Help
I liked Crossfire. I remember watching it in my formative years. Ramesh makes a good point about the format and its design that keeps people on topic.
May '10
Re: Jon Stewart Is Hurting America. Funnily Enough, Crossfire Can Help
There is only one, true solution...
Sep '10
Re: Jon Stewart Is Hurting America. Funnily Enough, Crossfire Can Help
Ramesh is barking up the wrong tree. It doesn't matter what CNN puts on, it will always skew left because that's who they are. He must not understand that the mainstream media is completely in bed with the Democrats as a corporate policy. It's not just because reporters tend to be liberal/lefty, it is the business model. They are primarily interested in influencing the electorate which will bring them more profits in the long run.
Also, news divisions in the media LIKE people who don't think for themselves. They tend to be Democrats and those sympathetic to easy solutions, people who are quick to blame and demonize, people who like gossip and are otherwise petty, narcissistic and selfish. These people are so much easier for their advertisers to manipulate, which is mainly ads for inane superhero movies and designer pharmaceuticals.
Edited on August 7, 2012 at 5:02pmMar '11
Re: Jon Stewart Is Hurting America. Funnily Enough, Crossfire Can Help
Crossfire degenerated into a shoutfest in later years, but in the early 80s it was a great show. My college roommates and I watched it every night back in 1984/1985 (followed by reruns of Burns & Allen and Jack Benny on CBN).
I gave up on it sometime in the second term of Bill Clinton because it just wasn't terribly enlightening anymore.
Edited on August 7, 2012 at 5:09pmMay '10
Re: Jon Stewart Is Hurting America. Funnily Enough, Crossfire Can Help
I'm sure the major networks simply hadn't considered that.
Aug '11
Re: Jon Stewart Is Hurting America. Funnily Enough, Crossfire Can Help
Sounds like a good idea.
Mar '11
Re: Jon Stewart Is Hurting America. Funnily Enough, Crossfire Can Help
Jon Stewart is the best spokesman the conservatives have had in a long time. Liberals listen to him, dare I say?, religiously. When he skewers the port side he is devastating. Take a look at this:
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/jon-stewart-blasts-media-for-wasting-our-time-with-palin-emails/
Or perhaps this:
http://www.humanevents.com/2012/08/06/even-jon-stewart-thinks-harry-reid-is-a-terrible-person/
May '12
Re: Jon Stewart Is Hurting America. Funnily Enough, Crossfire Can Help
Western Chauvinist
BrentB67: I think you would be hard pressed to find two opinion writers that could have a thoughtful debte with class.
The 1 or 2 that would qualify are probably too dull for cable TV to get their instant splash ratings so they will go for the firebreathers. · 13 minutes ago
Is it a deficiency of the writer/thinkers, or the audience? · 2 hours ago
Majority deficiency is the audience. If we make a list of the most polite and astute conservative voices (some of which are professional contributors here) and the polite liberals (are there any left) I think you would get fellow members of Ricochet to watch, but not enough of the rest of the general public to be interested for it to be economically viable.
The majority of the television audience is conditioned by Jerry Springer, et al. To satisfy that crowd I think you need the Carville's and O'Reilly's of the world. Great sensationalism, not much substance.
Mar '11
Re: Jon Stewart Is Hurting America. Funnily Enough, Crossfire Can Help
BrentB67
Western Chauvinist
Is it a deficiency of the writer/thinkers, or the audience?
Majority deficiency is the audience. If we make a list of the most polite and astute conservative voices and the polite liberals I think you would get fellow members of Ricochet to watch, but not enough of the rest of the general public to be interested for it to be economically viable.
This concept was actually tested for several years as bloggingheads.tv (which Ramesh Ponnuru also participated in frequently), where a thoughtful writer from the left and another from the right would debate, usually very civilly, for about an hour.
They were indeed able to find a number of thoughtful commentators from both sides (my favorites were Ramesh, Jonah Goldberg and Kevin Williamson on the right and Dave Weigel, Peter Beinart and Kinsley on the left) - but it never took off commercially (and it was offered for free on the internet!).
So the problem is indeed the audience.
Edited on August 8, 2012 at 1:50amApr '11
Re: Jon Stewart Is Hurting America. Funnily Enough, Crossfire Can Help
Ponnuru's piece is excellent, but I am suspicious anyone could pull off what he is suggesting in today's environment. For evidence of that look at the comments on Ponnuru's piece on Bloomberg. The commenters seem to think that a TV show shouldn't have any conservative on it because all conservative are "liars."
When Crossfire started, it was one of the few places committed conservatives (and to a lesser extent liberals) could see their point of view forcefully expressed. Now conservatives can just watch Fox News and liberals can watch MSNBC for that without the bother of hearing a differing point of view expressed on its own terms.
I also fear who CNN would choose as the "conservative" in a revived Crossfire. Their last attempt at a right/left talk show featured Kathleen Parker, whom every genuine conservative considers a complete squish. Likewise, the PBS Newshour features David Brooks, whose form of "conservativism" is kept on a tight leash by the liberal establishment.
Hannity and Colmes was sort of an attempt at a Crossfire format. But every leftist thinks anyone who appears on Fox News is a traitor to the cause.
Re: Jon Stewart Is Hurting America. Funnily Enough, Crossfire Can Help
No need to wait -- if you have an Amazon Prime account, you can watch a ton of Firing Line episodes for free that were uploaded a month or two ago to Amazon Prime Video by the Hoover Institute. I stumbled over them by accident back in early July one night (July 4th, appropriately enough) on the Roku box; I'm surprised I didn't hear more on the topic beforehand at Ricochet or NRO.
Edited on August 8, 2012 at 3:36amRe: Jon Stewart Is Hurting America. Funnily Enough, Crossfire Can Help
We're already doing this show and have been for months.