The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Finally, PJTV Discovers Rule 5

Posted on | November 7, 2010 | 21 Comments

Video is a visual medium. So if you want people to watch your videos, try a little eye candy. Stephen Kruiser is a great guy, but definitely not “eye candy.” Ergo, he adds a 25-year-old hottie sidekick, Kinsey Schofield. (Click the image to watch the video.)

“She’s a great writer,” says Kruiser. Yeah. She’s another freakin’ Shakespeare, I’m sure.

Cynical? Moi?

UPDATE: To, uh, disaggregate here: It has been brought to my attention that this post might be misinterpreted as a disparagement of either Stephen Kruiser or Kinsey Schofield, which is certainly not my intention.

Being misunderstood is a common hazard of gestalt logic. Sometimes I think of things as obviously connected and, not bothering to explain the connections, express myself in apparent non sequiturs that others connect in ways that seem logical to them — but which aren’t the connections I intended.

Anyway, I’d been doing the whole “Demi Lovato bikini” shtick with the MSNBC/Olbermann episode — it produced a 67% increase in traffic, BTW — and so, when Instapundit introduced an MSNBC-related PJTV episode by noting “Stephen Kruiser gets a new friend” . . . Do you see the gestalt logic here?

I had made the same Rule 5 point in August, when former Miss California contestant Brandi Milloy made her PJTV debut:

OK, anybody who ever questioned Roger Simon‘s judgment — his ability to spot top-quality video news talent — start apologizing now. . .
My advice to Roger: Change the name PJTV to “BrandiTV.”

I’m not saying that all video personalities have to look like Brandi Milloy or Kinsey Schofield. I am saying that the McLuhanesque requirements of a visual medium dictate that aesthetics must be part of the programming considerations.

Am I a cynic to assume that Kinsey Schofield was hired for her “eye candy” appeal rather than because of her writing ability? Yes, indeed, I am. And the day that PJTV hires an on-camera personality who looks like Barbara Mikulski, I will apologize for my cynicism.

But you and I both know you’re going to wait a long time for that apology — probably until hell freezes over — and I am certainly not going to apologize for explaining how the world actually works.

UPDATE II: I know we’re all grateful to learn that Katie Perry will never pose nude, but probably not as grateful as we are to know that Donald Douglas will never pose nude. At any rate, dibs on the “Kinsey Schofield nude” Google-bomb.

UPDATE III: In for a dime, in for a dollar – Kinsey Schofield’s mama hates me:

I’m obviously not going to ”win” in this kind of situation. (“Why is Stacy picking on a girl?”) But here is Kinsey Schofield’s “about” page in its entirety:

Recently recognized as #25 in The 100 Greatest Women in Social Media, Kinsey Schofield was born and raised in Texas. Cart-wheeling her way into the spotlight at an early age; she proudly represented The Dallas Cowboys football team as a Jr. Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. Kinsey homeschooled from fourth grade until college, immediately finding a calling in front of the camera and pursued entertainment while solidifying her marketing instincts in the class room.
A nationally recognized writer, social media strategist, and TV personality; Kinsey was chosen as a cast member of E!’s Party Monsters Cabo, where she won over International Superstar, P. Diddy. Party Monsters Cabo was a Survivor-esque competition based in Cabo San Lucas that featured celebrities- 50 Cent, Brody Jenner, Carmen Electra, and Lil’ Jon to name a few. Contestants were given 24 hours to throw parties for some of Hollywood’s elite using limited resources in a foreign country.
Mixing business with pleasure, the self proclaimed “Pop Culture Connoisseur” worked as a Fashion & Entertainment contributor for Arizona’s largest entertainment weekly, AZ Weekly Magazine. Through AZ Weekly, Kinsey was able to dish about fashion trends and interview some of her favorite celebrities like Hayley Williams of Paramore and designer, Ashley Paige. Additional published work includes an interview with Cindy McCain for So Scottsdale Magazine, a small write up regarding pop culture’s influence on the election in The Arizona Republic, and Celebrity Beauty Secrets on FOXNEWS.COM’s iMAG.
Kinsey has been seen multiple times on ABC 15?s Sonoran Living and Phoenix’s Fox 10 News, E! News, Reality Binge, MTV, Strategy Room on Fox News, and has become a recurring panelist on Byron Allen’s, The Gossip Queens, as well as Red Eye w/Greg Gutfeld on The Fox News Channel. She has appeared in The Phoenix New Times, AZ Weekly Magazine, Las Vegas Weekly Magazine and Runway Beauty Magazine. She was even featured on the cover of Entrepreneur Magazine discussing social media and celebrity ghost blogging.
Living in Los Angeles, CA, she continues to write, contributing to Examiner.com as their official Celebrity Social Media Expert. Kinsey also currently contributes to DailyFill, MovieFill, and AlloyTV as a host; where she has interviewed the likes of Ashton Kutcher, Jason Segel, and Kristen Stewart to name a few. Most recently Kinsey was heard filling in as “The News Girl” on The Adam Carolla Show. [Episodes 1 & 2]

You see that Kinsey’s status as a “nationally recognized writer” is asserted, rather than demonstrated.

At Examiner.com, her most recent contribution was “10 HILARIOUS Jersey Shore tweets“ – soon to eclipse Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France among the most influential conservative treatises in history.

To clarify: I’m 100% in favor of pretty girls being TV stars. I’m also 100% in favor of pretty girls being writers. But a career as a TV star does not entitle a pretty girl to acclaim as a writer.

However, I was pleased to see that Kinsey shares my contempt for Cousin Meg. Unfortunately, she also takes a shot at Bristol Palin:

Meghan McCain sucks. The daughter of John McCain, Meggie spends her time writing books with words like “dirty” and “sexy” in the title (when there is absolutely nothing dirty or sexy within), TwitPic’ing web-cam shots of her rack and hanging out with fame-whore Tila Tequila. Rumer Willis, Sean Stewart, Ashley Hamilton, Bristol Palin – go away. Most celebrities’ children who go into the entertainment industry have absolutely no redeeming qualities nor an ounce of talent.

Also, from the same interview:

If you are currently in high school, or even college, and Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” is your ringtone, I hope you get your ass kicked. Your parents probably conceived you to that song and, frankly, that is gross. This move is not retro or cool–and it pretty much signifies to the world that you’re still a virgin.

Where does the gestalt logic lead there?

UPDATE IV: The comic opera continues:

But I have no basis to judge her as a writer. For all I know, she may be capable of composing essays as incisive as anything ever penned by Bill Buckley, and was just slumming as a reality-TV personality.

What I was saying is that she was hired to be on camera because she looks good on camera — which is, I think it fair to say, a big part of how people get jobs on TV.

Also: She’s 25. When I was 25, I was driving a forklift. Perhaps I ought to go back to that.

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Category: Rule 5

Comments

  • Anonymous

    I thought Shakespeare was bald. Oh. I get it. He showed a lot of skin on top.

  • ThomasD

    There’s a fine line between cynical and bitter.

  • Anonymous

    “…soon to eclipse Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France among the most influential conservative treatises in history.”

    The only “Burke” you could be referring to is Brooke Burke from Dancing with the Stars, and I wasn’t aware that she authored a tome on the French Revolution. I heard in one interview that she was against the “Freedom Fries” rebrand, but was totally unaware of the depth of her expertise.

    I’ll definitely have to check this out- thanks for the tip RS!

  • Kinseyschofield

    You are obsessed with me and that creeps me out.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_JZIHFAPJYZ4FNAHUWDIMG77LUA Lisa noelle Lancia

    Before Kinsey Schofield made it to TV, she was a Myspace whore comparable to Tila Tequila. Boring.

  • http://twitter.com/leahblizz Leah Blair

    This is just rude. I’m sure most of the people leaving comments about Kinsey aren’t even familiar with her and are just taking your word about it…for some reason. The blog would be successful if your description fit the subject (pretty girl with no talent who recieves undeserved accolades)- but it doesn’t. If you were writing about Meghan McCain, it’d make sense, because she can’t write for peas, and the only reason anybody knows about her is because her dad is famous and she’s hawt I guess. Kinsey is a self made writer/media personality, and she’s good at what she does. So it doesn’t work. Also, you diss her for writing about stupid subjects, but…you just dedicated a whole blog post to THIS. Need I say more?

  • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/EU5DQWQTTHTPO4A4ZYSL3AAV2U Adjoran

    Hey, if talent for writing, reporting, or analyzing were a criteria, few of the legacy media stars and NONE of the television “personalities” would have a job. The last person on television who had ever really learned the craft was probably Howard K. Smith. Even David Brinkley started in television at its inception, his total prior experience being for NBC radio.

  • Anonymous

    Kinsey, who? I saw Kruiser’s PJTV episode. Didn’t know who the babe was. Never heard of her. Oh well.

  • http://theothermccain.com smitty

    I’ve known RSM for a couple of years. Obsessed with blog traffic, certainly. Regret your out-creeping here. Give RSM the abuse he merits, but not too much, lest he develop a fancy.

  • Anonymous

    Stacy: I’ve seen Miss Schofield a number of times on Red Eye and she is one of the few bright spots among young conservatives in the media. She’s funny, articulate, and does her homework. This is one of the reasons I featured her in my most recent Rule 5 Red Eye Gals posting, where I only put the spotlight on the ones who possess beauty and brains. If the future of conservative in the media contains just a few gals like Miss Schofield, there’s hope.

    To Those Who Are Attacking Stacy: Take a breath and re-read his words more closely. He’s an honorable man with a great sense of humor and happy talent for the truth.

  • Blog Dog

    Stephen Kruiser isn’t nearly as funny as he thinks he is. As for Schofield, I think the “asserted rather than demonstrated” covers it.

  • http://twitter.com/dustbury Charles G Hill

    My daughter drove a forklift during her teenage years. If nothing else, it taught her not to worry about what other people said they thought of her.

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  • http://twitter.com/stephenkruiser stephenkruiser

    “Blog Dog”-clever handle there, you uninformed, unimaginative troll. Grow a pair.

    Mr. McCain-you knew how to get in touch with me and could have done so to procure some facts before posting this catty bitch screed. You’ve been doing good investigative work long enough to know that things are rarely what they seem. Why you think it’s a good idea to do a tabloid-esque hit piece on two individuals who are on your side in a protracted political battle is beyond me. At best, it wasn’t well thought out. At worst, what Kinsey said.

    The fact that you’re still trying to smear Kinsey indicates that you really are dealing with some personal demons. Do that with someone else’s friends from now on.

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  • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/V67J4F6SL6GKC7R3BO2CXJLMP4 Mark

    What a bunch of humorless bedwetters we seem to have become.

  • Anonymous

    Lighten up.

  • David R. Graham

    Concur with Belvedere, lighten up.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=705855851 Joy McCann

    Stacy, implying that a woman must be an airhead based strictly on her good looks is sexist and ungentlemanly. You do, on occasion, cross the line from lighthearted fun to offensive–and in a hot Washington D.C. minute.

    The world of social media doesn’t necessarily prefer essayists over those who can “think on their feet.” You have to have a quick mind for radio, or the sort of thing PJTV does. Some people can do both, but it’s very different from writing in the long form.

    And no one is saying that this lady isn’t hot. But can you entertain the possibility that she’s more than a walking pair of breasts?

    If the girl is a regular on Red Eye, and she’s worked with Adam Carolla, she’s no lightweight–Gutfeld and Carolla are bright men. Get a grip, here: just because you’re fine with notoriety over respect doesn’t mean other people are as well.

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