When CNBC announced that it was hiring Dennis Miller to host a new cable talk show, it wasn’t much of a surprise. Another news network hiring another conservative to share GOP talking points to a national television audience? Aside from the fact that Miller has a better vocabulary than most of ideological cohorts, this sounds awfully familiar.<\/p>\n
Usually, however, when these conservatives get hired, there’s at least a half-hearted attempt to make it appear that the talk show will have the veneer of impartiality.<\/p>\n
Miller has decided to forgo the usual efforts at legitimate journalism and announce, before a single show is aired, that he’ll be a lackey for the White House<\/a>.<\/p>\n In explaining that his show will be free of Bush criticism, Miller said yesterday, “I like him. I’m going to give him a pass. I take care of my friends.” <\/p>\n It’s irritating enough when news networks hire entertainers to fill at least marginally-journalistic positions, but it’s obviously worse when these entertainers admit in advance that their shows will have a partisan, pro-Bush bias.<\/p>\n