Email to Hugh Hewitt After Jan 14 O'Reilly Show

I sent Hugh the following email after his appearance on The Factor last Friday. The email contains most of my thoughts, but I am still struck by the hypocritical nature of the TV press, including O'Reilly, who believe that their pre-formed opinions are the Rosetta Stone, and that they remain intent on shoving them down our throats regardless of the information their well-informed guests bring to the table. If FOX isn't careful, the self-righteous nature found in the MSM will begin migrating to them. As the big three start to slip, and FOXNEWS' rating climb, they will be susceptible to the same pitfalls the Big 3 are nose-diving from...snobbishness, elitism, and deafness.

To this point, bloggers still have plenty of mistakes to make before they come close to rivalling the MANY egregious mistakes made by the the print and video media...many of which they still have yet to rectify or apologize for.

It is the RESPONSIBILITY of every American to protect the information flow in this country, not just the responsibility of good looking(?) news anchors and biased print editors. Technology has collided with opportunity, and the internet is empowering us with this responsibility. Use it wisely, but don't be drowned out by the likes of O'Reilly.

MM

Hugh,

Interesting that Bill was "really" interested in what you had to say...NOT. It seems that even FOX will succumb eventually (soon?) to the snobbish assumption that they have the all answers and that the guests are simply props to add to the production values. Great job of staying on message, but unfortunately you were drowned out by Bill's control of the production elements and his preproduction bias. He didn't hear a word you had to say. How can he harp on a few rogue bloggers, in the face of the bloggers' excellent work on Rathergate and many other issues (SwiftVets, etc.), which the cable TV News orgs (FOX) are now taking credit for breaking/illuminating. Shameful on their part.

Hugh, I admire you for sticking your nose into the fight EVERY day. Keep it up! In the end the calm voices of reason will win out. Although I am just discovering the allure and responsibilities of blogging/publishing, I am convinced that the multitude of well informed and printable bloggers will indeed see that the intentions of the First Amendment are more purely exercised than the self righteous, "conventional" media, including FOX.

In its purest form, the First Amendment was meant for the Thomas Paines of the world. Blogging is just expanding the intentions of the First Amendment. O'Reilly's artificial protestations about the limited problems encountered on line to date, are just the early signs of defensive measures the will eventually put FOX in CBS's category if they don't adapt.

Great job tonight. Personal thanks for your encouragement and support. You are on the mark. It won't be long before you have O'Reilly's spot.

Best Wishes. Sincerely,

Major Mike