Rick's List Delisted
Rick Sanchez let drop a stupid ethnic stereotype and slur. First lightly coded as being about "North Eastern Liberals," he soon decrypted himself and sneered about Jews owning and controlling the media. He also thought that it was ridiculous to consider Jews a minority because they (we) own everything. He was quickly fired.
Frankly, I'd have preferred him suspended and asked to do a special on racism and Anti-Semitism in modern America. I'd sooner he'd become informed rather than banished. But in the modern media world it can be one strike and you're out if the whiff is grand and stupid enough. And this is certainly close. Like al Campanis, once of the Dodgers, he had ample opportunity to pull back, but instead he plodded on making his poisonous point.
Anti-Semites will, of course, claim that his firing confirms his accusation. Had the bigots any perspective they might wonder how Rush Limbaugh says what he says about Blacks. But I guess there is more latitude for partisan commentators and entertainers than for actual news people. This is a strange world where the context of Sanchez's slur was criticism of Jon Stewart for being a bigot. Rick was unclear that Jon is a satirist and he is supposed to be a reporter.
This is a fair confusion since the common law marriage of entertainment and news took place some years ago. Rick may not think of himself as a reporter but instead as a ratings driven entertainer trying, as Gail wrote, to gin up his ratings. Well, not any more. At least not at CNN.
As for the charge of media ownership: CBS is owned by the Carlyle Group--whose largest stakeholder is Abu Dhabi. ABC by Disney. CNN is Time-Warner. And Fox is controlled by that famous Hebrew Rupert Murdock.
American Jews make up only 2% of the population of America. Yet: 46% make over $100,000 per year, they make up 15% of the U.S. Senate, 13% of the U.S. House of Representatives, 67% of members of the Board of the Federal reserve, 33% of the U.S. Supreme Court. Media: Just taking CNN only, 55% of corporate officers for TBS, which owns CNN, are Jewish. On air, Larry King, John King, Howard Kurtz, Eliot Slpitzer, Jeffrey Toobin, Paula Zahn, etc.. Rick Sanchez has nothing to apologize for.