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Who: Sean Hannity: The Bully
Sean Hannity is the typical bully. He seems like the kind of person who is making up for being beaten up a lot as a child. His debating skills are excellent. His success comes from his natural ability to win an argument regardless of which side he takes.
Journalism Credentials: None available.
According to his bios posted on Fox’s web site and his personal web site, Sean has not attended any journalism classes, has no formal training in journalism and has not been a reporter. He was a talk show host on a college radio station and he made a very successful jump to AM radio.
Indicators:
Out of Context Quotes: This is one of Sean’s most common tools of deception. By using partial quotes, or quoting words without explaining the intended message of the person quoted, Sean basically commits slander on an hour by hour basis. For those of you who do not know what this is, I will try to site some examples in the future. There is a never ending list of examples but all you have to do to witness this is watch or listen to him for 10 minutes. It is amazing, once you realize he is doing this you will be stunned at how often he uses this method of deception.
“It is incumbent on broadcasters to add background and context”
BBC Director of News, Richard Sambrook
Dismissing Facts: Whenever someone points out a fact or statistic that works against his point of view he dismisses it. He questions it’s validity regardless of the source. In other words he disregards the truth. Attack the Messenger: This might be the most often used tactic of the right wing since Nixon used it so successfully. Sean spends a great deal of energy searching for any controversial aspect of his interviewee, or the who ever the target of the moment is, so as to discredit the messenger. In other words when he is scared of the message and he has no way of winning his argument he lashes out at the individual. Sometimes he uses this preemptively, before any interview starts, he begins by making some accusation, distracting from the topic of discussion. An example of how this is so wrong to do might be if a convicted murderer saved someone life, the fact that he had murdered in the past has no relevance to the fact that he just saved a life. The argument, as most of Sean’s arguments are, is irrelevant.To paint another picture of how wrong this to do when dealing with journalism you might think of it this way, regardless of Michael Jackson’s odd personal life you can not in any way question his musical talent. Sean would use Michael’s personal life to discredit his talent. It is wrong both technically and morally. Cut Off and Redirect: Sean constantly stifles people for the purpose of brining up another issue or to make an accusation, usually making use of his skill at presenting out of context information. Factual Errors Relentlessly Posed as Truth: Sean’s flagrant disregard for honesty is simply stunning. He quotes facts that are simply wrong. It would be a full time job for someone to keep track of his lies. One example might be the fact that he continually repeats the statement that Sadam gassed 1.5 million of his own people. Well Sean, wrong as usual. 1.5 million people may have died over the 10 years of war with Iran, but even the US did not sell him THAT much gas! I can go on, but I have to work on the rest of the site...check back for updates:-)
Why he is dangerous:
Using his loud mouth, partial truths, and tactics (see above), he has become one of the most listened to radio hosts in America. Sadly, our less than intelligent American public has been suckered into following this Pied Piper of Pontification. much like the bad guys in professional wrestling gain a fan base.
A Message:
Hey Sean, having an audience does not mean that you have anything meaningful to say. Case in point, Jerry Springer. Your claim to fame is a big mouth. Let’s have a little verbal one on one, without commercials, we’ll see how “right” you are. The only reason for your success is due to the fact that the people you interview, no matter how right they are, just don’t have your verbal skills. You are all show, and no substance.
Additional Reading:
Outfoxed examines how media empires, led by Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, have been running a "race to the bottom" in television news. This film provides an in-depth look at Fox News and the dangers of ever-enlarging corporations taking control of the public's right to know.
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