Bill Clinton: MSNBC ‘Really Has Become Our Version of Fox’
- Posted on January 18, 2012 at 2:39pm by
Madeleine Morgenstern
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Former President Bill Clinton said in a new interview MSNBC has become "our version of Fox." (AP)
Former President Bill Clinton declared in a new interview that MSNBC has become “our version of Fox.”
Speaking to Esquire magazine, the former president was weighing in on the current political culture, which he said is “more caustic” in part because of cable news, where fierce competition fuels a constant demand for content.
Having so many media outlets “has contributed to less actual reporting and a louder, more contentious, more divisive public discourse, highlighting conflict, sometimes falsely,” Clinton said.
“I also think that the diffusion of the media has complicated things,” he told the magazine. “For example, I was just watching — I don’t know if you heard what I said in the other room — I was just watching MSNBC, and they had a woman that used to work for me and a couple of other people on there, and they were talking about the Republican primary. And I was laughing. I said, ‘Boy, it really has become our version of Fox.’”
Chalking the comparison up to “the economics of running cable channels,” Clinton said that in the days when NBC, CBS and ABC were the sole television networks, “Everybody had enough market share that they knew would guarantee some comfortable level of profit. And yet there was enough competition that everybody could keep each other honest.”
“All that’s changed now,” he continued. “And so the good news is you can get a lot of information off the Internet for free and in a hurry. But I think the breaking up of the media, which is otherwise kind of healthy, has contributed to less actual reporting and a louder, more contentious, more divisive public discourse, highlighting conflict, sometimes falsely.”
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Comments (151)
RichNGadsden
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:10pmJust BSNBC? I would venture to add CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS News, NPR, and the list goes on.
Report Post »McNamara
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:25pmYou got that right. Fox is the only voice on the right.
Report Post »ChiefGeorge
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:28pmThey have and thats because Satan is an artist when it comes to counterfeiting.
Report Post »smithclar3nc3
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:33pmWTF does that even mean. Fox was the conservative version of every other media outlet. As in the reason Fox was created was because the rest of the media was alreay left leaning. And Fox won’t be covering up for Republicans like msnbc covers up for democrats.
Report Post »pamela kay
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:37pmRICHNGADSEN,Why he would choose that program is beyond me. Those people are an embarrassment to all journalist. They are the most radical and unreliable news network on TV. If Clinton wants to be associated with them only shows how low the progressives will go to push their agenda.. What he really wants is to influence his followers to watch and because BILL CLINTON recommended this news program get them swallow the lies and rhetoric they spew. What station was Chelsea on? Was it this one? That didn’t go so well from waht I have heard and read. He chose the most pathetic and laughable of all the other progressive medias. He seems pretty sure that his name will skyrocket their ratings. I guess we will see. Oh my gosh I bet Chris Matthews is tingling from head to toe. I seem to remember during the Lewinsky scandal Old Chris was pretty hard on Billy Boy. What lengths they will go to deatroy our country.
Report Post »RichNGadsden
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:45pmPAMELA KAY, I totally agree. When I want a good laugh and nothing else is on, I’ll click over to channel 185, BSNBC. Their lies and innuendo are so over the top that I just roll around on the floor laughing. Takes a head up rectum idiot like Tifosa to believe that tripe.
Report Post »AvengerK
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:55pmUnfortunately for Bubba….the only high profile female on MSLSD is a lesbian..oh well..back to the college circuit for Bubba.
Report Post »Baddoggy
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:59pmFox News is going more and more to the left. I can hardly stand to watch them anymore. It’s sickening. OReily is almost a Facist and Sean Hannity is a full blown Neocon. Spineless pukes…
Report Post »65Mustang
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 4:10pmYes, FOX is on the right but they are becoming diluted…wish FOX would put it out there the way Rush does.
Report Post »Kaoscontrol
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 4:19pmBill Clinton no longer plays the saxophone… He’s decided to devote his time to playing the Whoremonica.
Report Post »bhohater
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 4:21pmI’m sort of partial to the truth, and you don’t hear any name calling, personal attacks, or slanderous lies coming from the mouths of Fox News anchors. They live up to their standards of being fair and balanced.
Report Post »GeorgieJo
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 4:26pmI crack up every time SlickBilly says ANYTHING
Report Post »He created jobs in the 90′s
The cigar industry.
Therightsofbilly
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 5:41pm@KAOS
That’s a good one.
Report Post »Jaycen
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 6:08pmSo, Lord Clinton believes a small amount of competition is good, but too much competition is bad.
He’ll be publishing the specific numbers on just how many competitors can existin in a given market any day now. I can’t wait. I’m on the edge of my seat.
Report Post »FreedomPurveyor
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 6:31pmIt is pretty goofy to compare Fox News to MSNBC.
Fox News has some center-right commentators and relatively unbiased anchors. MSNBC has liberal extremist commentators and blatantly leftist ‘anchors.’
Fox News sometimes gets several conservative guests and 1 liberal guest during a segment. MSNBC gets 4 liberals and 1 “conservative,” who is basically just another liberal, then they all trash conservatism.
Fox News runs stories about how the House and Senate won’t agree. MSNBC runs stories about how the 60 ‘extremist’ Tea Party members (out of 535 total legislators) are somehow holding up the whole process by themselves (with sinister motives), while the poor democrats and Obama try desperately to work with them.
I know some poor, misguided, elderly people who have been convinced that Fox News really does lie, and that MSNBC is a fair news source. I have to slap my forehead whenever I hear something from MSNBC repeated as fact. “Oh, I don’t know about those Tea Partiers, they won’t let anything pass in Congress because they hate Obama.“ ”I don’t like how the Tea Party is so racist.“ ”How can anyone blame Obama? It‘s all Bush’s fault.” *slaps forehead*
The sad part is, they are perfectly nice people, and they aren’t even liberal. They’re just naive in their old age.
Report Post »Atomic
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 8:36pmWith 99% less VIEWERS.
Report Post »shaggyofwv
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 9:27pmWhat is truly sad is that Fox actually gives unbiased reports. But because the “mainstream” media has swung so far to the lunatic left, it makes Fox appear to be right wing.
Report Post »demint.disciple
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 10:12pmYou meant to say FOX is becoming more like msnbc, Bill. FOX sucks now, to P.C for me…
Report Post »smithclar3nc3
Posted on January 19, 2012 at 7:38amBILL REMIND US ALL WHY YOU NO LONGER HAVE A LAW LICENSE?
Report Post »Oh yea because you’re a lying sack of shite.
Macman1138
Posted on January 19, 2012 at 8:22amNo, it has become their version of Pravda.
Report Post »Along with those you mentioned.
antrancher
Posted on January 19, 2012 at 12:25pmActually Fox has plenty of Liberal bias too. Sometimes I just have to turn the channel. Like those idiots Colmes and Maddow. They are both as ugly as Debbie W. Shultz.
Report Post »Bill in Texas
Posted on January 19, 2012 at 12:52pmAnd that‘s why MSNBC’s ratings are in the tank. Because they are the exact opposite of Fox and the real Main Stream.
Report Post »NHwinter
Posted on January 19, 2012 at 7:06pmIt makes sense that Billy thinks MSNBC is their version of Fox. MSNBC is a joke just like Billy and all the progressives.
Report Post »paxnhymn
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:09pm“their” version of Fox, hunh? Now if they could just get HALF the viewers that Fox had instead of being behind everyone except Current, they’d have something…..
Report Post »BSdetector
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 4:09pmIf only they didn’t have 5 different “versions of our fox” combined had as many ratings…
Report Post »bhohater
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 5:12pmDumb asses who vote democrat don’t watch the news. They just vote the way their grandmas did.
Report Post »thegreatcarnac
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:08pmMSNBC is America’s equivalent to PRAVDA. However…MSNBC is more left than PRAVDA. They make PRAVDA look like a Nazi magazine.
Report Post »NoNannyState4me
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 4:52pmOh yea?! Well ██ ████████ ██████ ██████████ ██ ████ ██ ████ ██████████ ██. ███ ███ This comment has been found in violation of H.R. 3261, S.O.P.A and has been removed…
Report Post »HuckleberryFriend
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:07pmI keep seeing this same talking point being brought up by liberals time and again, that before the explosion of the internet and cable news, you only had a few sources of information on the news, and they were somehow better carriers of information. Clinton is alluding to this same talking point here.
With all due respect, I don’t believe that people 20 years ago were as easily able to be informed as they are today, and that includes me. Sure, we have many times more sources at our fingertips so you have to be able do some critical thinking to sort out the noise, but you also get a lot of different perspectives than you used to when your main sources were AP, Reuters, PBS/NPR and the 4 major networks who often looked over each other’s shoulders to copy homework and to make sure all their answers matched.
The more and more I see this talking point come up, the more it worries me that someday down the road, some powerful politician will see that his team has lost the battle of controlling the most popular media outlets, and thus must institute stricter editorial control over all the news in order to “make sure the public is properly informed.” Am I the only one that sees this?
Report Post »RichNGadsden
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:20pmFox simply stunned the public at large and especially the left wing loons by allowing more than a total brown nose job to the Democrats. They can’t handle the fact that not only does Fox let the left give their views, but horror of horrors the Republicans and Conservatives are also allowed to present their views. Other networks now have what they call conservatives on their shows, but they are well muzzled and on leashes, or simply lefties in sheep’s clothing.
Report Post »Realist4U
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 4:18pmWhich News Channel should I turn to to get all the truth about Clinton’s sexual dalliances?
Report Post »DrFrost
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 4:53pmThey’ve tried this several times now. What was it called…. the fairness doctrine! It didn’t attack television or newspapers, where they have a strong representation, but rather talk radio, where they have a weak representation.
Report Post »demint.disciple
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 10:17pmLMAO @NoNannyState4me……….. Good one.
Report Post »PPMStudios
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:07pmWhat’s BS-NBCs viewer share compared to Fox News?
In truth, I don’t know anyone who even watches that channel.
Report Post »bhohater
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 6:00pmI’d have to search the program guide just to find PMSNBC.
Report Post »dannyo
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:07pmwhy bill clinton is even relevant today is beyond me, anyone who is getting the down low from the devil in the blue dress in the oral oraface as his wife and kid are upstairs snoring needs to be hanging out with anthony weiner in cyberspace..
Report Post »girlnurse
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:05pmAnyone notice all the liberals and liberal speak oozing into Fox news lately???
Report Post »mommaLION
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:07pmI have noticed. It has made me watch less too. Thankful for GBTV!
Report Post »mike_trivisonno
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:14pmSaudi Arabia pretty much owns all of our media outlets. They even write the books our children use in school. They run the State Department. They sell us our oil. They tell our politicians what to do.
I am pretty sure a Saudi “Prince” owns a large chunk of News Corp and he tells them what to say.
Report Post »Git-R-Done
Posted on January 19, 2012 at 3:36amI‘ve also noticed it myself and that’s why I haven’t been watching it lately.
Report Post »tosamachita
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:04pmFOX for pro-America, and MSNBC for Anti-America? Ya, Bubba got that right!!!
Report Post »michael48
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:22pmcomrade clintonista finally owned up to his dedication to socialism..it’s an oxford thingy ya know…
Report Post »riseandshine
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:31pmFox does their part in the left-right show, while ravenous wolves are feeding on the remaining scraps left from the criminals from both parties.
Report Post »RichNGadsden
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 5:00pmMICHAEL48, Your mention of Oxford made me laugh out loud. It baffles as well as tickles me to observe the left heap praise on the Rhodes Scholarship Program, and those who attend through such scholarships. The really funny part is that Cecil Rhodes is who the scholarship is named for, while Cecil Rhodes also started his own little African country known as Rhodesia with strict apartheid laws. The left just does not see that particular tid bit of info as hypocritical. Hmmmm!
Report Post »Richard Compton
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:03pmGee Really, WOW like who couldn’t have figured that one out, but hey it comes from a creditable source!
Report Post »sWampy
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:07pmExcept before the whole non hacking of cell phone farse, fox reported both sides fairly, now they are slanted liberal also. ;-(
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:02pmYou know what? Were going to have to listen to pearls of wisdom like this from Obama for the rest of our lives. The gift that keeps on giving.
Report Post »skiz
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:01pmIm sure @VZE and @ 2012obama2012 think this is racist!
Report Post »Rickfromillinois
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:00pmSo MSN is for the liberals huh? A loser channel for loser viewers.
Report Post »Kiba
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 2:59pmYea ask Jerry Springer about that one, you know the ‘fair and balanced’ M.S.Dem.B.C. who tells it right down the middle huh? Lets see we have the fair and balanced crowd of Ed Shultz, Matthews, Odonnell and of course that Maddow dude. Yep as fair as can be.
Report Post »cuinsong
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 2:59pmIs he serious?? What plannet was he listening to???
Report Post »What’s wrong with HIS song???
http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_9134749
http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_10789987
JJW
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 2:57pmMore
Report Post »Stupid
Nogood
Biased
Corruption
TheJeffersonian
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:11pmIs there really no way you could’ve made that work without “Nogood” for “N”? “More Stupid Nonsense, Bias, and Corruption”?
Report Post »progressiveslayer
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 2:54pmOle slick willy draft dodgin candyass pig take your millions and your sorry excuse of a wife and disappear.
Report Post »CatB
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 2:59pmOh .. DARE TO DREAM … DARE TO DREAM …>>>> disappear .. YES!
Report Post »gmoneytx
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:14pmhope and change brotha
Report Post »Detroit paperboy
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 2:54pmYou know billy, the only thing that ever disgusted me about you, is the fact that you had the most awsome custom built 747 at your disposal, bad ass pad in DC, fleets of limos… Lobster a phone call away at 2 am…. And you had to mess with a fat hefer like Monica ….. So perplexing, i woulda had the damn playboy mansion on speed dial bro, what the Hell were you thinkin ?????
Report Post »db321
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 2:57pmThe issue is not which News is better – the point is that if Clinton in a political year is making a statement – Don’t listen to him – if Clinton‘s and Obama’s lips are moving they are lying.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 2:59pmHey Motor City, look who he married for craps sake. Did you think he had good taste in women?
Report Post »db321
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:01pmWait a moment Hilary said that she gets her news from Al-Zahra TV – my head use to explode every time Clinton’s spoke when he was in the WH – why are we even posting this mans lies!!!
Report Post »I.Gaspar
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 2:53pmTheir version of FOX…video feces to me.
Report Post »True American66
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 2:50pmGreat….cause if any one has seen the ratings, FOX is killing MSNBC!
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 2:54pmYea but, MSNBC has all the babes. Have you seen that Rachel Maddow? Yowza.
Report Post »Obama Snake Oil Co
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 2:58pmDoes anyone even watch anymore? I do not know anyone or they will not admit to it due to their shame over it.
Report Post »Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:02pmI guess Chris Mathews is their version of Monica Lewinsky.
Report Post »AvengerK
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 5:06pmGONZO…you’re just messing with us..we all know Ralph Maddow’s a guy.
Report Post »SoiledDove
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 2:49pmIt is pretty clear that President Clinton is right. MSNBC is, at times, just as biased toward the left as Fox News is to the right. There is no such thing as fair and balanced reporting on cable news channels.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 2:52pm“at times” You mean like 24/7?
Report Post »I.Gaspar
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 2:54pmsure your name isn’t soiledboxers?
Report Post »CatB
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 2:58pmLOL .. Fox at least tries to present the liberal view (Juan Williams, Geraldo, etc) even though they are usually confronted and proven WRONG! ..MSNDNC .. not so much .. they are LIBS/MARXISTS >>> 24/7!
Report Post »paxnhymn
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:12pmyou are absolutely right! Cable channels show a blatant display of bias that’s just not present on the Network News…no…..WAIT!
LOL!
Report Post »trolltrainer
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 2:48pmYeah, we have come to the point where we need top think for ourselves…
Sheesh, what have we come to?
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 2:47pmBill’s two favorite people are running for POTUS this year. Newt, because he forced Bill into policies that made the economy flourish during his term and Obama, who‘s presidency makes Bill’s look golden by comparison.
Report Post »Brian
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 2:47pm…that no one watches.
Report Post »AnAppealToGod
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 2:46pmhey Bill you are forgetting CNN, NBC, CBS, and ABC…and all of their affiliates
Report Post »RichNGadsden
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 4:23pmGood point on the affiliates. When Fox bought a local station in our area years ago then converted it from ABC to Fox the local newsies had a crap fit! One of the truly drooling rabid lefties finally got so frustrated knowing where his pay check came from that he quit. Major improvement.
Report Post »Susan Harkins
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 2:45pmHey slick Willy….was that “your version of FOX, or your version of Radio Moscow”?
Report Post »JRook
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 2:59pmYour statement is exactly why Fox, MSNBC and the internet wannabees are becoming increasingly irrelevant as they merely pander to their respective ideological zealots. Which of course is why independents, who actually listen to the saner representatives from both sides of an issue before rendering a decision, always elect the President. Anyone who seeks out and supports news outlets solely because they reflect and reinforce their biased should have their voting rights curtailed. We need rational thinking voters, not ideological lemmings.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:14pmYour beloved independents are just people who don’t pay attention until 2 weeks before an election. The lack of an ideology is not some noble attribute, it’s a sign of apathy or the lack of a moral compass.
Report Post »JRook
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 3:48pm@Gonzo Ahhh so that is your phrase for the week since Rick Santorum used it. In contrast it has been my experience that only rational thinking individuals are morally grounded. As they focus on the toughest of rules…. the golden rule. Rarely have I seen zealots even come close to adhering to it. Case in point the lemming zealot usually responds by attacking the individual directly, which of course means they have yielded the point. It terms of paying attention or apathy…. pick a topic tiger and we can debate it with real facts rather than mindless ideological sound bites or slogans. Obviously the shoe fit tight for you…so I know your sources for news and info are weak at best.
Report Post »Therightsofbilly
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 4:36pm@JROOK
You often post that “pick a topic tiger, and we’ll debate it” line.
I may be wrong, but I think I’ve seen other posters pick a topic, but you do not respond.
Please correct me if I am mistaken.
Report Post »AvengerK
Posted on January 18, 2012 at 5:26pmLOL….JROOK…when did you take up comedy? You’re hysterical. Your schtick is perfect for you…you announce yourself as being clever when the entire audience knows you’re an idiot. All you need is the “wah, wah, wah, waaahhhhh“ muted trumpet zing or a ”boom, tish” from the drums at the end of your posts.
Report Post »Therightsofbilly
Posted on January 19, 2012 at 1:11am@JROOK
If you fail to respond, I will assume that you have yielded point.
Report Post »