The Atlantic on Andrew Breitbart, Or How Come There's No Conservative NPR?
On the website of The Atlantic, Conor Friedersdorf writes about my Uncommon Knowledge interview with Andrew Breitbart. Conor takes some shots at Andrew, arguing that "he publishes aggrieved blog posts, many of them poorly reasoned," but he also issues an interesting, provocative challenge. He begins with a chunk of the transcript. Then comes Conor's argument.
PETER ROBINSON: You want an NPR.
ANDREW BREITBART: I want everything. They have an NPR. They're so slick in understanding how important media is. They've convinced the government to pay them to propagate their worldview. How come we're not fighting for money to propagate our worldview? Because we don't believe in it. Okay. Then use the free market to convey the same ideas with the same level of sophistication and excellence that NPR does, because they are superior at what they do, just as Jon Stewart is superior at what he does. I grant Hollywood and the experts in propaganda for what they do.
PETER ROBINSON: You admit that they're good. In fact, that's what annoys you.
ANDREW BREITBART: It annoys me. And it annoys that our side does not commit to this battle.
Shouldn't the right aim higher?
What Breitbart wants is more conservative creative professionals. But what's needed to even the playing field in the arts is something different: creative professionals who happen to be conservative. Folks for whom excellence in their chosen field comes first and is their desired end. That is why Jon Stewart succeeds. He is a comedian first. Through his comedy, we get a window into his worldview, including his ideological preconceptions. They shape what he satirizes. Sometimes his comedy gives insufficient due to conservative insights. It would be nice for the right if there were a TV comedian as talented who bought into some right-leaning ideas. But if Andrew Breitbart launched a site called Big Comedy, he'd recruit based on ideology, house the comics in a business model where ideological agreement with the audience was vital, and pronounce it a success if it showed a profit, even if the jokes were awful.
Now, I'm happy to defend Andrew against the charge that he's some sort of hack--in fact, I'd insist on doing so. As the interview demonstrates, Andrew has a truly fascinating mind; his "Big" blog sites represent a stunning entrepreneurial achievement, and Andrew is still just warming up; and he has just engaged in a public service, exorcising from national life one Rep. Weiner. But it's not the comments about Andrew--who is, in any event, more than capable of defending himself--that strike me as interesting here. Why isn't there a conservative Jon Stewart? Why is Terry Gross of the NPR show "Fresh Air" both the best interviewer in radio and relentlessly liberal? Why are we all so astounded--for that matter, why is he himself so surprised--that David Mamet has become a thorough conservative?
Our side has talk radio and country music, and that's about that. How come?
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Re: The Atlantic on Andrew Breitbart, Or How Come There's No Conservative NPR?
What's Ricochet then, chopped liver?
Sep '10
Re: The Atlantic on Andrew Breitbart, Or How Come There's No Conservative NPR?
I believe it's because the media hires folks from northeastern schools who are liberal because of what they've been taught rather than what they have reasoned for themselves, and so they think the liberal, activist mindset is the regular mindset. I don't watch him very much, but even when Stewart makes fun of liberals, he never goes at it with nearly the same bite.
I also think Conor is being self-serving in saying that Stewart is a comic first. I would say he was first a comic who made fun of those who were philosophically unlike him without realizing that this bias is the primary element that makes his comedy funny to his viewers. To me, that's the biggest problem with leftists: they refuse to acknowledge their own bias; to them, only conservatives are biased, whereas they're just being reasonable.
May '11
Re: The Atlantic on Andrew Breitbart, Or How Come There's No Conservative NPR?
I would suspect that the "how come" is the reverse of the reason that there is no long running liberal talk show. That, I believe, stems from the liberal attitude of despising those who don't accept the liberal "path". No one will listen long term to someone who openly shows that they despise you and those that respect, nor is it ever pleasant to hear someone voice that they despise someone else.
I think Terry Gross is the exception that proves rule. Yes, she is relentlessly liberal, but when she interviews a conservative, she will argue, but she never (or, at least, I have never heard her) fall into an ad hominem attack. She never sounds like she despises the interviewee. The questions may filled with liberal cant or bias, but they are presented, ah, respectfully?
Edited on Jun 18, 2011 at 11:07amRe: The Atlantic on Andrew Breitbart, Or How Come There's No Conservative NPR?
Terry Gross's trick is that she almost never gives air time to a conservative, and that may be why there is no conservative Jon Stewart. What network would host the show?
As for Jon Stewart himself, I sometimes find myself thinking that he is drifting to the right. That he should do so makes good sense. Obama has tried everything that he and those like him could imagine, and it has failed. O my God, how it has failed! Reality bites . . . even Jon Stewart.
Dec '10
Re: The Atlantic on Andrew Breitbart, Or How Come There's No Conservative NPR?
The conservative Jon Stewart is on Fox News Channel at 3 AM Eastern.
May '11
Re: The Atlantic on Andrew Breitbart, Or How Come There's No Conservative NPR?
Claire, the implication is absolutely right, I do believe that the conservative web sites dominate the clear and sober discussion of the clash of ideas. But, as you see here, NRO, PajamasMedia, and even a cartoon series like DayByDayCartoon, with a strong dash of humor.
T'ain't chopped liver.
Sep '10
Re: The Atlantic on Andrew Breitbart, Or How Come There's No Conservative NPR?
Do you think he feels bitten by reality? Or by others than Obama whom he blames for the reality at hand?
Jun '10
Re: The Atlantic on Andrew Breitbart, Or How Come There's No Conservative NPR?
Stuart, you are so right. Gutfeld runs circles around Stewart, as does his dry-witted buddy Andy Levy.
If you want to find a wickedly funny comedian with right wing sensibiilities, try Colin Quinn or Norm MacDonald. Quinn's recent Broadway show, Long Story Short, was brilliant. They are far funnier than Stewart. I also think Ann Coulter has incredible comic timing. She's always presented in very small segments, and that is a shame. Yes, part of her schtick is the quick zinger, but she'd be a good choice to host a show that allows her more time to develop her ideas in a longer format.
Re: The Atlantic on Andrew Breitbart, Or How Come There's No Conservative NPR?
Paul A. Rahe: Terry Gross's trick is that she almost never gives air time to a conservative, and that may be why there is no conservative Jon Stewart. What network would host the show?
. · Jun 18 at 11:10am
Have to disagree with this. Fresh Air is primarily a show about the culture, not politics. By design, they rarely book politicians from either side of the aisle. I'm also friendly with the Exec Producer of the show and he tells me that most Republican politicians turn them down anyway. They'd rather do talk radio as it moves more books for them.
I love Red Eye and wonder why Fox News won't give it a better time slot.
Edited on Jun 18, 2011 at 11:29amJul '10
Re: The Atlantic on Andrew Breitbart, Or How Come There's No Conservative NPR?
That's ironic, ever since Conor brought himself to my attention on Ricochet and I sampled his work at the Atlantic I have wondered, shouldn't Conor aim higher?
There is nothing in Conor's accusations of Breitbart above that I don't see as far more true of Conor himself.
Andrew is a force of nature feeling his way, to some extent, in a "sudden" career inspired by a moral imperative. His new book arrived here this week and I very much look forward to a deeper look at what compels this man. It has always diminished Conor in my eyes that he is trying to make a career of tearing Andrew down. As if Andrew's worse excess was in any way comparable to the daily excesses and betrayals, petty and grand, of the Washington Post and New York Times.
Rock on, Andrew. We'll get that rock up the hill yet.
Edited on Jun 18, 2011 at 11:47amJun '10
Re: The Atlantic on Andrew Breitbart, Or How Come There's No Conservative NPR?
Another comic resource is the Ace of Spades blog. Ace can be over-the-top with vulgarity, however, and I think asking him to clean it up in order to do some outreach to the larger conservative base would be like asking a fish not to swim. At any rate, it would be great if conseratives would take a lesson from him on his contemporary humor style & clever use of cultural references, quick wit, and a willingness to be less buttoned-down than the average conserative pundit.
Apr '11
Re: The Atlantic on Andrew Breitbart, Or How Come There's No Conservative NPR?
Can we get the damm right wingers off NPR now? They annoy me.
Dec '10
Re: The Atlantic on Andrew Breitbart, Or How Come There's No Conservative NPR?
Blue Yeti
I love Red Eye and wonder why Fox News won't give it a better time slot.
Technology is making the notion of "time slots" irrelevant. DVRs and online viewing help those of you on the East Coast and those of us on the West Coast who happen to be doing something else at midnight to relish the Greg-a-logue, Andy's color commentary and the zany antics of the panel at our leisure.
And at any time other than 3 AM Eastern, Fox would probably feel compelled to censor the show.
Dec '10
Re: The Atlantic on Andrew Breitbart, Or How Come There's No Conservative NPR?
Peter Robinson
Friedersdorf is dead wrong. Breitbart would recruit based on talent with ideology as a filter. And guess what? That's exactly what the Daily Show does: it explicitly told Steven Crowder that he couldn't get a shot on the Daily Show as a guest correspondent because they specifically exclude conservative talent.
Comedy Central used to have a show, Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn. Too conservative: dumped. Comedy Central has South Park, which unfortunately for them makes way too much money for them to dump, but they still felt empowered to censor its Mohammed episodes. The Left includes most of the executives who determine MSM entertainment programming, so conservative viewpoints tend to get filtered out by prejudice and cowardice.
However, the profit motive still rules. Note how good Lefties still feel compelled to write and air entertainment programming that features revenge, the death penalty and good guys committing righteous violence.
Re: The Atlantic on Andrew Breitbart, Or How Come There's No Conservative NPR?
Stuart Creque
And at any time other than 3 AM Eastern, Fox would probably feel compelled to censor the show. · Jun 18 at 11:47amTechnology is making the notion of "time slots" irrelevant. DVRs and online viewing help those of you on the East Coast and those of us on the West Coast who happen to be doing something else at midnight to relish the Greg-a-logue, Andy's color commentary and the zany antics of the panel at our leisure.
That is true, but Fox News does not make Red Eye available on any alternate platforms, much less (other than brief clips) on its own web site. Meanwhile, The Daily Show is distributed on its own website, on Hulu (available on many mobile devices), and on the Comedy Central website. Not really a fair fight right now.
Edited on Jun 18, 2011 at 5:28pmNov '10
Re: The Atlantic on Andrew Breitbart, Or How Come There's No Conservative NPR?
Could the relative dominance of liberal comics overall be due in part to the fact that conservatives tend to be dispositionally more sober, respectful, and conventional, whereas liberals tend to be dispositionally more frivolous, irreverant, and iconclastic?
May '10
Re: The Atlantic on Andrew Breitbart, Or How Come There's No Conservative NPR?
One publication that is a model for what the right is capable of producing is City Journal. Top notch quality. Arguments that don't presume an ideologically friendly readership. Exceptional reporting and editing. And like I said, The Weekly Standard publishes some top notch features, the Claremont Review of Books produces some excellent reviews (and Peter has a fine interview program!). I happen to agree with Peter that "Andrew has a truly fascinating mind; his 'Big' blog sites represent a stunning entrepreneurial achievement." Fox News and Glenn Beck's radio show are also stunning entrepreneurial achievements. What the right needs are more stunning achievements of quality, produced for a general audience.
It can go out and produce a magazine or film of exceptional quality for a general audience, rather than an ideologically friendly one. Think of Milton Friedman's Free to Choose. But these days, the safe entrepreneurial bet is to do what Breitbart has done – pitch your product at the base, using their ideological friendliness to help build product loyalty.
(Sisyphus, there are 212 items in my personal archive at The Atlantic. I count 4 about Breitbart. He's interesting, but hardly the focus of my career.)
Mar '11
Re: The Atlantic on Andrew Breitbart, Or How Come There's No Conservative NPR?
I don't want "our own NPR", as NPR couldn't exist outside of a government subsidized sphere. Anytime we on the right try to monkey the left... make "our own" equivalent to something they have... it goes very, very badly. We shine when we're original and do what WE want. The Limbaugh show, National Review, Fox, Beck, Coulter's books, Ricochet, etc. This is when we're at our best and our most influential. Breitbart doesn't need an NPR. He's got his own network, and it's a difference maker. He just needs to help END things like NPR. Let liberals pay for their ideas on their own dime.
May '10
Re: The Atlantic on Andrew Breitbart, Or How Come There's No Conservative NPR?
I'm still in awe that a Catholic priest talking theology — Reverend Fulton Sheen — was once as popular on TV as the Ed Sullivan show. It seems conservative values were much stronger in film and TV shows before the 1960s. Was the shift between then and now corporate or cultural? Can it be traced to changes among executives, artists, viewers, or all of the above?
Oct '10
Re: The Atlantic on Andrew Breitbart, Or How Come There's No Conservative NPR?
I wonder if we're getting it backwards, i.e., it's liberal dominance that keeps conservatives out and not that it's because there aren't many out there with the talent. Ben Shapiro has made this point in his book that in Hollywood there's no chance for a conservative to get a job. It should be no surprise that there aren't many talented conservatives in Hollywood.