NYT, a small paper. Peter Baker, a small man.

[moniss]

40. The dirty but well known secret of "show-biz" type cable news

and media is that people develop "connections" with segment producers/show producers etc. and if they can be presentable on TV to more or less go along with the "theme" of a segment then they get asked on/contracted/paid. One hand washing the other. The show needs people who can appear legit and somewhat informed and convincing to come on and "perform". The person needs money and visibility so they can go on more shows and write books and columns.

Notice how Bill Maher continues to have on thoroughly detestable people like Charlie Kirk or Ben Shapiro? It's not because there is any real information passing to the audience. It's because it gets reaction and Kirk and Shapiro are more than happy to play the game and keep themselves visible and making money.

It reminds me of something that happened several years ago regarding talk radio. A Chicago area talker had a show that was on the "liberal" part of the station's programming day after they Limbaugh etc. and he had a distinctive voice. He was on that station for several years and then just was not on one day. I figured he got axed and never gave it more thought. But a couple of years later I was driving out West and tuning up and down the dial and lo and behold that voice jumped out of the radio. Only now he was all hard core right wing. So I called in and got through and used his previous "radio name" and he immediately hit the delay on the call but he kept me on the line. Apparently went to commercial because he took a minute or so to say Hi and thanks for remembering him. I asked him about his apparent "turn" and he told me all about how it's commonly called "rent a voice" in radio. If the station wants to pay you big bucks to "be" a liberal host then that's what you do. If someone wants to pay you more money and they want you to "be" conservative then that's what you do. Show biz, entertainment, entertainers, stage names etc. It's all "Theater of the Mind" to them but a large part of the audience, as we unfortunately see, believes every bit of it is real and that the person talking to them through the radio really is what they seem to be.