“Fair and Balanced” Fox News hires former Tea Party Rep. Allen West

Via Politico…

Fox News has hired former Tea Party congressman Allen West to serve as a network contributor, according to a report in The Washington Post.

West served for just two years in Congress after a career in the military. Since losing his seat in Flordia’s 22nd (after being redistricted into Florida’s 18th), he has been hosting a show for “Next Generation TV,” which is owned by conservative website PJ Media.*

“Representative West’s congressional and military experience along with his fearless approach to voicing key issues will provide a valuable point of view to the Fox News lineup,” Fox News Vice President Bill Shine said in a statement.

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1 thought on ““Fair and Balanced” Fox News hires former Tea Party Rep. Allen West

  1. Ah yes, PJ Media. Home to the likes of muddying contortionists Andrew Klavan and Bill Whittle; ah yes, PJ Media, one of the fair pillars stabilizing the Conservative-Libertarian Propaganda Machine. Pure Goebbels. For those who care to remember it was PJ Media that dispatched Whittlin’ Bill to disparage the 2011 Madison protests (and protestors); it was PJ Media that dispatched Klavan to demonize public sector unions at the same time.

    Allen West didn’t merely “host a show” on a Conservative website – according to PJ Media, he “joined the company” as “Director of Next Generation Programming.” The announcement can be viewed here: http://www.pjtv.com/?cmd=mpg&mpid=532. Here is the notification at Allen West Republic – no, that’s not a typo, but the hilarious long version is Allen West Republic: Steadfast and Loyal – http://allenwestrepublic.com/2013/01/16/allen-west-joins-pj-medias-next-generation-tv-as-director-of-programming/.

    Then again, perhaps “hosting a show” and “director of programming” can be reconciled as “fair and balanced” credentials in PJ Media world. West certainly never shied away from using his title as “director” of Next Generation in the few short months he held the position. What the position actually entailed and what journalistic qualifications Allen West may possess to hold such a position are dubious at best. West’s background is political science, not media and not journalism. But then again, PJ Media qualifies for neither media nor journalism, so looks like West was a good fit. Made for a good transitional position to Fox, too, didn’t it? Nice pipeline.

    And let’s remember “Fair and Balanced” as a gauge really serves no other purpose than legitimizing “false equivalency.” As “reasonable” a phrase as it may sound, genuinely critical and intellectual examination doesn’t give “equal treatment” to nonsense, falsehoods, misrepresentations, distortions, and lies.

    PJ Media’s “Next Generation” initiatives appear to be quite the push to attract the next generation into the Conservative-Libertarian fold – demographically that makes sense. Something to look for in the near future: online streaming of Next Generation Conferences in July, August, and November. All will be available for viewing on NextGeneration.TV, but here’s the kicker, you’ll need to purchase a basic membership to Next Generation in order to view “Next Generation” conferences, or so it appears: http://www.pjtv.com/?cmd=mpg&mpid=524.

    Note how PJ Media describes NextGen membership: you have three CHOICES to become a NextGen member, but really, it’s six. Though one might say it’s nine because if you become a member of PJ Media, you’ll have access to some NextGen content depending on the level of membership you CHOOSE. Or so it seems. A membership to PJ Media is $5, $15, or $30 a month: http://www.pjtv.com/?cmd=subscribe. So, how being a NextGen Member differs from being a PJMedia member is anybody’s guess. Regardless, Fox is probably a better gig for West – Generation Y won’t need to become a member of Fox to view his “programming” and “contributions.”

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