On Sep 11, 2:26*am, D Peter Maus wrote:
bpnjensen wrote:
On Sep 9, 5:10 pm, D Peter Maus wrote:
bpnjensen wrote:
On Sep 8, 5:43 pm, RHF wrote:
Oprah Winfrey has a Duty and Responsibility to her Viewers*
* The All American Women's TV Audience -or- Are Only Liberal
Democrat Women ALLOWED to Watch 'The Oprah' ?
No she doesn't. *She can have on or not anybody she likes, just like
any other talk show. *If a *conservative talk show guy/gal just wants
McCain and Palin on, that's his/her business.
* *Actually, yes, she does. Oprah has declared her program, for the
purposes of McCain-Feingold, a NEWS program. In that case, yes, she
DOES have a duty and responsibility.

I understand why she would do this, but I am very unclear why
declaring herself a NEWS program gives her a duty or responsibility to
her viewers, to give equal time to all opposing viewpoints. *There are
plenty of news programs on both sides that are as lopsided as a one-
legged horse. *For that matter, there are lots of non-news programs
that do likewise, and I doubt they are in violation of McCain-Feingold
any less than she might be (emphasis on word "might" - the lawsuits
aren't settled yet).

* *Oprah has made a great issue out of raising her show above the
other chat shows that pander to the more or less prurient interests
of the public. Springer, Maury, to a lesser extent Montel...and the
balance of the banal. Only Oprah has declared herself and her show
to be about the higher plain...

Is that why she recently interviewed a pregnant man? Is that why she
gives a way free cars to screaming fans? Oprah's an entertainer, not
a journalist.


a higher standard...and she's someone
who's gone out of her way, over the years, to bash so called news
that has been unfair, unbalanced, or lopsided. Only Oprah has
declared herself to be the arbiter of what is mete, right, and
salutary, and that we should at all times and in all places give
thanks for her bountiful grace.

* *And then came Obama. Now, in previous campaigns, she's had on
candidates. Both sides.


She had none of the candidates on in 2004. This year is no different.


*With Obama's declaration for the
Presidency, she's now taken the position that she's not going to use
her program as a platform for any candidate, conveniently pointing
out that Obama was interviewed, more than once, before he officially
declared. And yet, she's endorsed him. On her show, in fact.

She can endorse anyone she wants anywhere she wants anytime she
wants. The key point is she did not give him air time on her show
while he was running, thus she has no obligation to give Palin air
time.

She
hosted the soiree for him and his campaign, at her home. She's
stumped for him.


Not on her show she didn't. He hasn't appeared on her show in nearly
two years.

* *But declaring that her show will not under any circumstances
interview Sarah Palin because her program will not be used as a
political venue is disengenuous in the extreme.


Except she didn't say that which makes you disinengenuos in the
extreme. What she said was that she wouldn't use her show to host ANY
of the candidates since she's obviously supporting Obama. In fact I
give her high marks for being so upfront about her bias.


* *Oprah IS the show. Wherever. Whenever. And she's clearly decided
to endorse Obama, eschew Palin, while declaring her show's
neutrality, after offering it to anyone with a candidacy. Nonsense.


Idiotic point. Oprah is NOT her show. Oprah is an American citizen
with the same right to support a candidate as any other U.S. citizen.
Yes Oprah may attract attention everywhere she goes, but by that
standard Laura Bush is a show. Should Laura Bush be forced to sit
down with Obama because her endorsement for McCain attracted volumes
of attention?