MSNBC and Fox are now equivalent

MSNBC is now the liberal distorter of conservative views, just as Fox has always been the conservative distorter of liberal views. When Jon Stewart claimed this equivalency in November, 2010, I disagreed.

Since then I have watched as Al Sharpton, Chris Matthews, Ed Schultz, and Lawrence O’Donnell do the same thing O’Reilly, Hannity, and the Fox morning talk shows do. I suppose it is a programming strategy.  Since Fox has a larger audience, MSNBC strategists believe they should be more like the more successful Fox station.  If it works on the right for Fox, it should work on the left for MSNBC — right?

I, for one, am an MSNBC viewer who is unhappy with the change.  If I wanted to watch commentators distort their opponents’ beliefs (prop up a straw man) and then ridicule and argue against the distortion (knock down a straw man), I would watch Fox.

I don’t have data on this, but if I watched shows from both channels over the last 18 months, I believe I would see an increase in the number of times MSNBC commentators distort conservative beliefs before knocking them down.  O’Reilly’s and Hannity’s frequency has stayed the same.

I used to enjoy it when MSNBC aired what was said on Fox.  Now they do the same thing, so they can’t pretend Fox is a lower form of cable commentary.  The two are equivalent because MSNBC has given up on being fair and balanced, which Fox has never been. I love irony.

So yes — I flip-flopped. That might mean readers should not read my commentaries anymore.  Or it could mean that I learned more about something and changed my mind about it. Is that the kind of person you should read? I love irony.