Pundit Theatre

Someone recently emailed me a column by Jack Cashill, the Kansas City-based writer and pundit. I suppose it’s accurate to call Jack’s positions “fairly conservative,” and certainly controversial.

I’ve known Jack a long time, consider him a good guy, and certainly a good writer. But when I have challenged him over his ultra conservative views, he has revealed little about what the true Jack believes except for what I detect as a wry smile. Writing columns that incite right-wingers is how Jack makes his living, and good for him. They snap up his books.

Years ago when I lived in Kansas City, people in the media would chuckle over Russ Limbaugh, who honed his ultra-conservative talkshow schick on a local radio station there before going big-time. I didn’t know Limbaugh but those who did say that it was all just an act to attract a larger audience among the region’s conservatives, and it certainly worked.

I consider both Cashill and Limbaugh to be performers. They have channeled the tone and style of their credentials in a direction that appeals to a particular audience. They are no different than pundits like Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews on MSNBC, Lou Dobbs on CNN … or former local TV movie critic Bill O’Reilly on Fox.

Pundit theatre. It’s how these people make a living – feeding the partisan media beast with divisiveness. They’re just making a living … so long as you take it all with a grain of salt.

Category: News Media, Personal notes