As If the Media Needed Another Reason to Hate Sarah Palin

Posted on | April 5, 2010 | 24 Comments

She’s now getting rich in their line of work:

[S]he has tunneled her own route into the public consciousness and gone into the Sarah Palin Across America business. And what a business it is.
She was paid a $1.25 million retainer by HarperCollins. Her book, “Going Rogue,” has sold 2.2 million copies, according to its publisher, and she has another [booki] tentatively scheduled for this fall.
She now has an actual television career, including appearances as a pundit on Fox News, her gig as the host of “Real American Stories” four times a year, and a coming eight-part series on TLC called “Sarah Palin’s Alaska,” which will cost, according to some media reports, $1 million an episode . . .
Other people have crossed the border from politics to media to very good effect — George Stephanopoulos, Patrick Buchanan and Chris Matthews, to name a few — but the transition was far more gradual. Ms. Palin turned on a dime and was a ratings sensation from the word go: her first paid appearance, as a commentator on “The O’Reilly Factor” on Jan. 12, was good for an extra million viewers.

You know that has to burn. Imagine you’re one of those White House correspondents who has scored a $100,000 deal for a Barack Obama book. You’re at the top of the heap, as D.C. journalism is reckoned, and then you turn on Fox News and see Sarah Palin — smiling, cheerful and paid a lot more than you.

Burn, burn, burn!

UPDATE: New York Times Correction of the Day:

Note: an earlier version of this column had an item about a blog post by a personal-injury lawyer, Eric Turkewitz, announcing that he had been appointed the White House law blogger. Blogospheric chatter indicates a high likelihood that this post was an April Fool hoax.

Burn, burn, burn!

Category: Sarah Palin

Comments

24 Responses to “As If the Media Needed Another Reason to Hate Sarah Palin”

ALERT: H. Reid launches ‘Stealth’ Bus Tour in Nevada, April 5 thru 7; Protest At His Bus Stops; Spread the Word! « VotingFemale
April 5th, 2010 @ 9:34 am

[…] The Other McCain: As If the Media Needed Another Reason to Hate Sarah Palin […]
Perspecticus
April 5th, 2010 @ 2:41 pm

I see what you did there. You took the money being made by a half-term governor and former candidate to be Vice President of the United States and then compared it to the meager $100,000 some alleged White House reporter will get for a biography of the President.

I’ll tell you what probably burns more. The fact that the few who tuned in to Sister Sarah’s show tunde out almost as quick. And, that the ones who did watch all the way through found it to be a bore. Maybe if you are going to produce high quality Olympics-level feel good sob stories, you shouldn’t air it shortly after the actual Olympics has bombarded the country with similar treacly nonsense.
Perspecticus
April 5th, 2010 @ 9:41 am

I see what you did there. You took the money being made by a half-term governor and former candidate to be Vice President of the United States and then compared it to the meager $100,000 some alleged White House reporter will get for a biography of the President.

I’ll tell you what probably burns more. The fact that the few who tuned in to Sister Sarah’s show tunde out almost as quick. And, that the ones who did watch all the way through found it to be a bore. Maybe if you are going to produce high quality Olympics-level feel good sob stories, you shouldn’t air it shortly after the actual Olympics has bombarded the country with similar treacly nonsense.
hrh
April 5th, 2010 @ 2:55 pm

Perspecticus: And yet Sarah’s show more than doubled her nearest competition in ratings and basically wiped the floor with those who’ve been on the air as professionals a lot longer.

So McCain’s point of paid professional journalists being ticked off at her immediate success is valid. And especially her success in direct competition with them and their shows.

And their inability to hide their professional jealousy in their amateur hits and snide remarks in print and on air – quite similar to your rant above, in fact, – shows them to be quite immature at handling competition.

Kind of like our current President.
hrh
April 5th, 2010 @ 9:55 am

Perspecticus: And yet Sarah’s show more than doubled her nearest competition in ratings and basically wiped the floor with those who’ve been on the air as professionals a lot longer.

So McCain’s point of paid professional journalists being ticked off at her immediate success is valid. And especially her success in direct competition with them and their shows.

And their inability to hide their professional jealousy in their amateur hits and snide remarks in print and on air – quite similar to your rant above, in fact, – shows them to be quite immature at handling competition.

Kind of like our current President.
Jack
April 5th, 2010 @ 3:03 pm

I think Perspecticusucka is suffering from 3rd degree Sister Sarah burns. Seriously, Persp, your haterd and desperation is making you even more irrational. Only a total fool would say $100,000 is “meager” and 2,000,000+ viewers(dominating the time slot BTW) is a “few”.

I’ll tell you what probably burns more. The fact that Sister Sarah, the half-term governor, has made more money in the past month than the last 5 generations of your sad family combined.
Jack
April 5th, 2010 @ 10:03 am

I think Perspecticusucka is suffering from 3rd degree Sister Sarah burns. Seriously, Persp, your haterd and desperation is making you even more irrational. Only a total fool would say $100,000 is “meager” and 2,000,000+ viewers(dominating the time slot BTW) is a “few”.

I’ll tell you what probably burns more. The fact that Sister Sarah, the half-term governor, has made more money in the past month than the last 5 generations of your sad family combined.
Leftists’ Slandering of Tea Party Protesters blows up in their lying faces; Tea Party 48% Obama 44%, so says Rasmussen Reports « VotingFemale
April 5th, 2010 @ 11:02 am

[…] The Other McCain: As If the Media Needed Another Reason to Hate Sarah Palin […]
Perspecticus
April 5th, 2010 @ 4:11 pm

Ohhhhh, you guys nailed me. Jack, have we met? You sure seem to know a lot about my family. More, at least, then you appear to know how to read. My comment re: the $100,000 was in response to McCain holding up such a payment to a White House correspondent as somehow being a snub (or “burn”) because Sarah Palin scored more for her book deal.

If you all want to spin Sister Sarah’s mediocre television debut, have at it. I learned never to try to take food from a starving dog’s mouth. Sister Greta dominates that spot most nights. Sister Sarah had a built in audience. Yet, Sister Sarah did not approach Sister Greta’s ratings in a time slot and on a network that was certainly calculated to give Ms. Palin the biggest bang for her buck. Not only did she not approach Sister Greta’s nightly ratings (and let’s not forget what a fan Greta is of Half-Term Palin), but she lost a steady stream of viewers as the show continued.

I know this is a new world whereby a loud (and I mean LOUD) minority constitutes the “will of the people” and that up is down and down is tyranny. As such, I am perfectly happy to let you all spin her show until you are convinced that Sister Sarah set all-time ratings records. I just wanted to, for but a brief moment, try to provide you with a tiny taste of reality just to spoil your collective days. Back to Big Rock Candy Mountain with you all.

BTW, really? “Burn?” Other McCain, 1979 would like it’s high school insults back.
Perspecticus
April 5th, 2010 @ 11:11 am

Ohhhhh, you guys nailed me. Jack, have we met? You sure seem to know a lot about my family. More, at least, then you appear to know how to read. My comment re: the $100,000 was in response to McCain holding up such a payment to a White House correspondent as somehow being a snub (or “burn”) because Sarah Palin scored more for her book deal.

If you all want to spin Sister Sarah’s mediocre television debut, have at it. I learned never to try to take food from a starving dog’s mouth. Sister Greta dominates that spot most nights. Sister Sarah had a built in audience. Yet, Sister Sarah did not approach Sister Greta’s ratings in a time slot and on a network that was certainly calculated to give Ms. Palin the biggest bang for her buck. Not only did she not approach Sister Greta’s nightly ratings (and let’s not forget what a fan Greta is of Half-Term Palin), but she lost a steady stream of viewers as the show continued.

I know this is a new world whereby a loud (and I mean LOUD) minority constitutes the “will of the people” and that up is down and down is tyranny. As such, I am perfectly happy to let you all spin her show until you are convinced that Sister Sarah set all-time ratings records. I just wanted to, for but a brief moment, try to provide you with a tiny taste of reality just to spoil your collective days. Back to Big Rock Candy Mountain with you all.

BTW, really? “Burn?” Other McCain, 1979 would like it’s high school insults back.
Roxeanne de Luca
April 5th, 2010 @ 4:13 pm

Persp., thank you for getting to the heart of what the Left hates about Sarah.

You all keep telling us that she’s a half-wit who is totally incompetent. If she were the idiot and the underachiever that y’all paint her as, she would not be nearly as successful as she is now.

Here’s the relevant comparison: in about a year, BHO will have served in the Presidency for about the same time as Sarah Palin was governor of the least-populous (and most remote) state in this country. Do you really think that BHO could channel his Presidency into a success like Sarah has made for herself?
Roxeanne de Luca
April 5th, 2010 @ 11:13 am

Persp., thank you for getting to the heart of what the Left hates about Sarah.

You all keep telling us that she’s a half-wit who is totally incompetent. If she were the idiot and the underachiever that y’all paint her as, she would not be nearly as successful as she is now.

Here’s the relevant comparison: in about a year, BHO will have served in the Presidency for about the same time as Sarah Palin was governor of the least-populous (and most remote) state in this country. Do you really think that BHO could channel his Presidency into a success like Sarah has made for herself?
Perspecticus
April 5th, 2010 @ 5:54 pm

I’m sorry, Roxanne, are you asking me if Mr. Obama- the first black President of the United States- could make as much money giving speeches, appearing on television shows, and writing a book as Ms. Palin? Are we pre-supposing that Mr. Obama has stepped down after two years in office, has completed his first term, or has completed his second term? Actually, scratch the question. In any and all of those scenarios, Mr. Obama would, at worst, easily match Ms. Palin’s success. Obama’s legacy is assured on health care alone (regardless of whether you believe that to be a negative).

Since you brought it up, what exactly do you believe Ms. Palin has achieved that surpasses what Mr. Obama has achieved?
Perspecticus
April 5th, 2010 @ 12:54 pm

I’m sorry, Roxanne, are you asking me if Mr. Obama- the first black President of the United States- could make as much money giving speeches, appearing on television shows, and writing a book as Ms. Palin? Are we pre-supposing that Mr. Obama has stepped down after two years in office, has completed his first term, or has completed his second term? Actually, scratch the question. In any and all of those scenarios, Mr. Obama would, at worst, easily match Ms. Palin’s success. Obama’s legacy is assured on health care alone (regardless of whether you believe that to be a negative).

Since you brought it up, what exactly do you believe Ms. Palin has achieved that surpasses what Mr. Obama has achieved?
Lisa Graas
April 5th, 2010 @ 7:16 pm

LOL! Great post!
Lisa Graas
April 5th, 2010 @ 2:16 pm

LOL! Great post!
gahanson
April 5th, 2010 @ 7:58 pm

Of course Perspecticus gets it wrong, because he or she cannot abide the fact that Sarah Palin is very successful. By comparing Greta’s show with Palin’s is like comparing apples to oranges. You have to compare Palin’s “special” with other FOX “specials,” and you will see that Palin’s scored about 28 percent higher. Nor does Perspecticus point out that the ratings for all of the FOX line-up on Thursday night had lower ratings than usual, and even usually busy websites saw a drop in activity, because many people were busy with Easter plans.
gahanson
April 5th, 2010 @ 2:58 pm

Of course Perspecticus gets it wrong, because he or she cannot abide the fact that Sarah Palin is very successful. By comparing Greta’s show with Palin’s is like comparing apples to oranges. You have to compare Palin’s “special” with other FOX “specials,” and you will see that Palin’s scored about 28 percent higher. Nor does Perspecticus point out that the ratings for all of the FOX line-up on Thursday night had lower ratings than usual, and even usually busy websites saw a drop in activity, because many people were busy with Easter plans.
Josh Painter
April 5th, 2010 @ 8:05 pm

What exactly has Mr. Obama achieved? Other than quadrupling the national debt, slapping our traditional allies like Israel and the U.K in the face, taking credit for the Bush victory in Iraq and breaking nearly every campaign promise he made?

– JP
Josh Painter
April 5th, 2010 @ 3:05 pm

What exactly has Mr. Obama achieved? Other than quadrupling the national debt, slapping our traditional allies like Israel and the U.K in the face, taking credit for the Bush victory in Iraq and breaking nearly every campaign promise he made?

– JP
Jack
April 5th, 2010 @ 10:23 pm

Seeing as I’m the one who has been going to sleep next to you for the past 25 years, yeah, I’d say I know your family pretty well.

PS- Don’t forget to take out the garbage tonight.
Jack
April 5th, 2010 @ 5:23 pm

Seeing as I’m the one who has been going to sleep next to you for the past 25 years, yeah, I’d say I know your family pretty well.

PS- Don’t forget to take out the garbage tonight.
Immanuel Goldstein
April 8th, 2010 @ 3:58 am

Sarah has gone from politics to the media in a seamless, and fluid transition, and can move back to politics just as easily, and the mainstream media can do nothing about it, is an example of her power in controlling her message. There is no one who can top her. And all the time, she, the hunter has Obama securely in her crosshairs. He can do nothing about it. She is living the best of both worlds, and we have Rahm Immanuel to thank for his bright idea to harass her in the Governor’s seat with endless lawsuits. Thanks, Rahm. That was one of the biggest bonehead moves of all time.
Immanuel Goldstein
April 7th, 2010 @ 10:58 pm

Sarah has gone from politics to the media in a seamless, and fluid transition, and can move back to politics just as easily, and the mainstream media can do nothing about it, is an example of her power in controlling her message. There is no one who can top her. And all the time, she, the hunter has Obama securely in her crosshairs. He can do nothing about it. She is living the best of both worlds, and we have Rahm Immanuel to thank for his bright idea to harass her in the Governor’s seat with endless lawsuits. Thanks, Rahm. That was one of the biggest bonehead moves of all time.