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CNN, Fox Crack Down on Junketeers   Idle Chatter: Naked Cowboy Rides On,...
Jun 24 2008 8:00AM EDT

Awkward Questions for...Arianna Huffington

You were one of Tim Russert's most vocal critics. Whom do you think NBC ought to replace him with on Meet the Press to avoid the same mistakes, as you saw them?

First of all, you know, my critique of Tim Russert was all about him as a journalist, not about him as a human being. So obviously, with his death, the focus has been on him as a father, a son, a Buffalo Bills supporter. But in terms of journalism, I think the need for the network will be to make sure that whoever succeeds him after Tom Brokaw's interregnum would challenge the conventional wisdom. I think that is they key. Challenging the conventional wisdom. That's what needs to happen more often.

Is there a particular interviewer you think would challenge the conventional wisdom?

Well, there are many. I think it's more a journalistic attitude than a particular journalist. Definitely Keith Olbermann challenges the conventional wisdom. It depends if they want to go with somebody known or somebody unknown.

And all this stuff that's been out there recently about personal beef between you and Russert?

Absolutely not. I had no personal feelings towards him as I have no personal feelings towards Bob Woodward. I have a whole section in my book describing Bob Woodward as the dumb blonde of American journalism. You could say there was something personal but I've barely met him, and I met Tim Russert once.

There aren't enough actual dumb blondes in American journalism? Maybe on Fox News? [Ed note: Yeah, I was baiting here.]

But they don't have as much power. That's why, in my book, I don't really challenge Fox News. It's too obvious. It's not worth writing a critique. Everybody knows where Fox News is coming from. But it's worth writing a critique of the icons of American journalism because they epitomize the conventional wisdom, and they made it harder to challenge it, especially in the lead-up to the war.


-Interviewed Monday at a party for her new book, Right Is Wrong: How the Lunatic Fringe Hijacked America, Shredded the Constitution, and Made Us All Less Safe

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