Why does Chris Matthews object to being lumped in with other cable news programs that give free air time to groups such as USA Next, which put a nasty ad on a website, a move that then generated millions of dollars' worth of free TV coverage during the ensuing "controversy"?
MATTHEWS: Well, [USA Next is] spending $10 million to argue with you guys [AARP]. How do you say they‘re not important or significant to the debate? If you drop 10 mil into a debate, that‘s a lot of TV advertising. Can‘t they scare off people from your position? (CROSSTALK)
DAVID CERTNER, DIRECTOR OF FEDERAL AFFAIRS, AARP: I‘ve only seen that they [say they] will [spend] money. I haven‘t seen that much money spent in the campaign. All I have seen is them getting free TV time from people who like to put attack ads on TV.
MATTHEWS: Oh my God. You‘re including us in that. You‘re attacking us now? We put on both sides here, David. David?
Matthews apparently doesn't remember the show he hosted on February 23, 2005 (transcript here), during which David Shuster predictably reported on the predictable development of the ensuing controversy and USA Next CEO Charlie Jarvis predictably appeared as a guest. That doesn't count as free air time?
No comments:
Post a Comment