Why Foxnews doesn’t report Obama’s jihad ties

Ratings and IQ. It’s that simple. Yesterday, some readers didn’t want to believe what I wrote about Barack Obama’s support of Kenyan jihadis. Apparently, they just can’t imagine it being true because Bill O’Reilly (below) and Foxnews haven’t mentioned it. One reader helpfully informed me that she has passed along the information to O’Reilly because “if it is legitimate and accurate” O’Reilly would “broadcast it from the rooftops.” As if. Some won’t like what comes next but they need to hear it. This is the real “no spin zone.” We’ll look at ratings and IQ in turn.

Bill O’Reilly is a smart guy and — as an individual — seems to have some “conservative” sensibilities. But he’s smart before he’s conservative. He’s also an entertainer, not a hardcore journalist or investigator. The same goes for Foxnews and every other major so-called “news” organization. What we call “news” is really entertainment.

O’Reilly and Foxnews do and say whatever they think will get them the highest Nielsen ratings or the most mouseclicks over time. Why? Nielsen and mouseclicks drive the money train. When Fox and O’Reilly tell the unvarnished truth, it’s not just because it is the truth. If they tell it, they tell it because of its revenue-enhancing properties.

At the moment, Barack Obama is a media goldmine. He’s on the verge of making history as the first partially black, major-party presidential nominee in the United States. If he gets the Dem nod, he will also have knocked over the Clinton political machine and Hillary Clinton, one of the most viscerally disliked politicians ever. This storyline attracts viewers.

Obama might be an awful POTUS but he has star quality. No major U.S. news organ yanks a star off the stage until it’s absolutely necessary. John McCain and his growing conservative posse still have plenty of time for a dramatic save that would make great theater and drive ratings even higher than they are now. So even if they already know that Obama is that rarest of birds – a marxist with a soft spot for Islamic jihadis – for now the newsies are staying mum. But I’m not sure they know. This is where IQ comes in. For discussion, let’s agree that IQ = native intelligence, knowledge of history and investigative intensity.

Today’s American journalists – as a class – are IQ deficient. They know virtually nothing about history – journalism majors generally acquire little more from their college education than the journalistic process itself — and have no stomach for really studying people and events so that they can add value to the discussion. They read scripts prepared by someone else and preen for the camera. For a vivid illustration, watch current White House Spokesbabe Dana Perino (pictured right) in action. It’s unfortunate that people like this get put in places so far above their intellectual attainments.

Dana – like Foxnewsie Shephard Smith – is a typical member of the journalist class. You might expect some intellectual depth from a woman with a bachelors in Mass Communications, a masters in Public Affairs Reporting and stints as CBS news reporter and congressional press secretary but you would be disappointed. Dana is nice, cute, perky, loyal to President Bush, a meticulous dresser and largely mindless. At the podium, she looks for all the world like she’s thinking of nothing more profound than her next trip to the spa:

Shep Smith isn’t much different. The Perinos and Smiths of the world have neither the tools nor the temperament to discover crucial new information or connect dots. They are for show and ratings. Rely on them at your peril.

Yes, there are exceptions — Tony Snow comes to mind. But they’re so far up the food chain that they don’t do much if any original research or analysis. When you watch Foxnews, CBS, ABC or MSNBC, don’t expect news or solid information. Expect entertainment. And don’t expect marginally conservative smart guys — like Bill O’Reilly — to curtain-call entertainment like Obama until they have no other choice. They’re in it for the money.