Megyn Kelly, Sean Hannity, And What Fox News' "Course Correction" Really Means

[babylonsister]

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/08/14/megyn-kelly-sean-hannity-and-what-fox-news-cour/195389


Megyn Kelly, Sean Hannity, And What Fox News' "Course Correction" Really Means
Whatever Primetime Slot Megyn Kelly Settles Into, Fox News Might Be About To Get More Dangerous
Blog ››› 9 hours and 57 minutes ago ››› JOHN WHITEHOUSE


Megyn Kelly's move to primetime will mark a shift in the very essence of Fox News, away from the hate of right-wing radio and towards something more effective at shilling conservative misinformation.

Recent rumors indicate that Megyn Kelly may take over Sean Hannity's 9 p.m. time slot on Fox News. But the factors in play are much bigger than one hour a night. The imminent Fox News primetime shakeup is more about Fox News' own brand of misinformation being set to surpass the blunter approach of Rush Limbaugh and right-wing radio hosts.

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Sean Hannity is in many ways a product of an iteration of Fox News that is slowly fading away. His willingness to push any argument any Republican ever once had has eroded Hannity's credibility over time. The Republican congressman who coined the term "terror baby" recently guest-hosted Hannity's radio show. Cumulus reportedly isn't even bothering to renew his radio syndication contract. Hannity declared himself as birther-curious, went all-in during the 2012 election on the story that President Obama once hugged a guy that right-wingers didn't like, and even dabbles in secession.

But the new face of Fox News primetime, Megyn Kelly, is a much more pernicious purveyor of political propaganda. Kelly has the unique ability to pluck misinformation and imbue it with a veneer of legitimacy that Sean Hannity has long since lost, if he ever had it at all. She can have a great moment chiding Fox colleagues Erick Erickson and Lou Dobbs for sexism, only to turn around and push the New Black Panthers scandal as something serious. Megyn Kelly can cover gay rights in a way that is occasionally not abominable, and then push Benghazi falsehoods that have long been debunked. Megyn Kelly will rebuke Dick Morris and Karl Rove, but then hosts a climate change denier during the president's climate address. Kelly smacked down Mike Gallagher on family leave, but she also defended Newt Gingrich's bizarre suggestion that schools should use children as janitors. The examples go on and on -- but the key for Fox is that her positive moments always get more press than her more dishonest moments. It's no surprise that Howard Kurtz declared her future bright.

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But ultimately this is about the future of Fox News and Roger Ailes' political mission. So if Megyn Kelly does indeed take the 9 p.m. time slot, look out for conflict. Kelly is uniquely positioned to be the Fox News arbiter of right-wing chicanery. It'll be good television, and she'll probably call out enough people like Erick Erickson to get attention in the zeitgeist. But while she's doing that, she'll also probably be pushing more subtle misinformation that will inevitably find its way into other media outlets. That's her track record, and after all, she still works for Roger Ailes. It's a "course correction," but the destination remains the same.

[Cha]

1. K&R for exposure on fox's latest brand of brainwashing.

mahalo babylonsistah!

[Pretzel_Warrior]

2. Yep. This is what I was predicting. Post 2012--this is what the Republicans have learned

you have to lure the lambs to the slaughter with something a bit more appealing than wielding a hatchet. FoxNews is on a long term strategic direction of surface acceptability but with the same aim in mind--warping public opinion in the direction of big corporate interests and away from sanity--i.e. rational self interest.

[dmr]

3. "surface acceptability" - good description

When the old way fails, try another that looks impartial.

Devious.

[progressoid]

4. "Hannity declared himself as birther-curious"

[Dawson Leery]

5. The blantent bigotry of Rush/Hannity/Savage and the hundreds of other reactionaries

only reinforces the hatred of the hard right. They need a new method. This is it.

[Wounded Bear]

6. Gosh, she's so purdy....

I just have to watch that show.

[pscot]

7. On the bright side

Murdoch and Ailes can't live forever.

[Faryn Balyncd]

8. She is a much more effective peddler of right wing propaganda.