CNN appropriately canned Rick Sanchez after the anchorman ranted about Jews like Jon Stewart controlling the media.
At face value, you'd think it's just one incident about a popular journalist over-reacting to a comedian's take. But something deeper lies beneath Sanchez's over-sensitivity to the latest from the Daily Show. I don't think anti-Semitism is the only factor at play here.
Stewart represents what David Frum describes as the de-professionalization of the news industry. People tune into the Daily Show for Stewart's take on events of the day. The Comedy Channel makes no pretense of the show being a "news show," but the issues Stewart takes on, the comedy's edge, and show's wide following have blurred certain lines between news and entertainment.
Whether that's good or bad is a separate debate I hope to expand on in a separate post. But it is the reality.
And instead of lightening up — as all the other subjects of Stewart's barbs do — Sanchez felt threatened enough to go overboard.
Credit CNN for swiftly dealing with the problem. Like Octavia Nasr and her Hezbollah tweet, the network took a no-nonsense approach with a mercifully quick axing.
