Fox News Keeps Telling Its Viewers That Impeachment Is Too Boring to Watch

[babylonsister]

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/01/fox-news-tells-viewers-donald-trump-impeachment-too-boring-to-watch

Impeachment
Fox News Keeps Telling Its Viewers That Impeachment Is Too Boring to Watch
CNN and MSNBC are largely sticking with the Senate trial, while some Trump-boosting anchors are using airtime to mock Adam Schiff’s appearance.
By Caleb Ecarma
January 23, 2020


While CNN and MSNBC aired much of Trump’s impeachment trial live during prime-time hours, the alternative-media universe of Fox News concocted a perfect narrative to avoid doing the same: Americans aren’t watching because impeachment—the third in U.S. history—is simply too dull, and the ending—Donald Trump’s acquittal by the Republican-controlled Senate—is predictable. So why bother airing the lead-up?

“If you watch some of it—there were snippets, and we’re showing you the good stuff—it was unbelievably boring, and I don’t know how people can follow it,” said Fox & Friends cohost Steve Doocy on Wednesday, after a night in which his network largely opted for its regular programming over live impeachment coverage. Ainsley Earhardt then concluded that “the majority of people” didn’t follow the proceedings, instead turning to them “to summarize it…because it was so long.” While the network did run Rep. Adam Schiff’s Wednesday opening statement in full, the broader message is clear: Cover your eyes, this will all be over soon—and, in the meantime, we’ll take care of you. The following morning, Doocy took a victory lap for his network’s refusal to air, using the collective “we” to declare Trumpworld “won.” “Our prime-time didn’t [cover it],” said Brian Kilmeade, noting that the network’s two top-rated hosts, Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity, didn’t pick it up. Carlson went so far as to apologize for the few minutes of airtime he allowed for live impeachment proceedings, while Hannity, who airs the top-rated show in all of cable news, concluded that only “a terrible host” would force their audience to endure the “never-ending babbling” and “repetitive talking points.”

That’s just a sampling of the defensive strategy concocted by some of the president’s favorite TV hosts. At other points, Fox instead aired segments on Hunter Biden’s drug habits, or handicapped live coverage by restricting it to a small, muted screen dubbed over with MyPillow ads, or featured hosts bashing rival cable outlets for airing the trial uninterrupted. It’s classic Fox News feedback loop: The network insists that the American people are disengaged with impeachment, so they don’t have to cover it; meanwhile their choice not to do so keeps viewers in the dark.

In the same vein, various Fox hosts argued that Democrats aren’t presenting anything new at the trial, so what’s the point in covering it? “If we look, there’s really no new facts here,” Hannity remarked Tuesday night, while GOP lawmaker turned pundit Jason Chaffetz pushed the same refrain on Thursday morning, saying the trial has “nothing to do with proving the facts” because there is “no new evidence.” Of course, Republicans—assisted by the president’s legal team, which was virtually plucked from the Fox News greenroom—are doing everything they can to block new witnesses and evidence—the very elements of the trial that might be considered newsworthy.

All of which raises the question: What commentary is so important as to be aired in lieu of Trump’s trial? “The real reason why they are impeaching him [is] these are all really boring people up against a phenomenally interesting person,” opined Fox News’s Greg Gutfeld, after his show, The Five, cut away from the first day of House managers’ arguments. The program’s other impeachment analysis included Jesse Watters, a 41-year-old man who still pops his polo collars, taking shots at Schiff’s appearance, saying he “looks like a rotten dandelion” and accusing him of tucking “his T-shirt into his mom jeans.” Tucker Carlson made a similar jab, claiming the House Intel chairman did not have “a single friend in high sch

[Historic NY]

1. Fingers in their ears.

[maxsolomon]

2. I expect nothing less.

Do not watch.

[ok_cpu]

3. As I type this

they have Rep Jeffries minimized and muted while they show a commercial for a manic depression medication.

[spanone]

4. I have heard several three and four multi-syllable words!

[C_U_L8R]

5. This is history not entertainment.

Of course, the goobers at Fox have absolutely no clue.

[uponit7771]

6. FAUK News blanking out the prime hours might be a sign its not good for kGOP

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

7. You've got to know your Fox viewer!

They should have the "Masked House Manager" and have Simon Cowell preside instead of Chief Justice Roberts. Now THAT's something they would watch!