Bill Maher confronts Geraldo Rivera: 'You are the spin'

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

HBO host Bill Maher confronted veteran journalist Geraldo Rivera on Friday night for his work on Fox News, which he suggested had tarnished the former reporter's reputation.

The two immediately clashed over the network, which Rivera insisted was right-leaning and "not state-run TV," and suggested Maher had an outsized impression of the network's bias because of commentators such as Sean Hannity.

"You were one of the original crusading reporters and you care very much about your legacy being as a journalist, so I do have to ask: Why Fox News?" Maher asked during a "Real Time" talk on Rivera's new memoir "The Geraldo Show."

In defense of the show "Fox & Friends," a favorite of the president's where Rivera appears weekly, the journalist suggested that MSNBC was guilty of playing up the investigation into Russian interference in the presidential election.

But Maher pushed back against Rivera's characterization of the Russia investigation as merely an "illusion," saying MSNBC only "sticks to the truth."

"See, this is what I don’t get: I remember thinking of you as a crusading reporter who was fighting against the spin. I feel like now you are the spin," Maher said.

Rivera is a frequent guest on the talk show that Trump has frequently praised for its fair coverage of his administration. Maher echoed claims by many in the media that the president has recycled talking points from the show in his own statements, saying there was a "loop" between the two.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/382082-bill-maher-confronts-geraldo-rivera-you-are-the-spin

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. Geraldo said that since rump never lied to him, his lies dont matter.

I think he said that.

BTW Geraldo, rump lied to you EVERY time he talked to you.

[dem4decades]

2. It's funny that the Al Capone's vault era of Rivera's career

Was his most credible.

[dameatball]

3. I remember Rivera's early years and he did have a degree of earnestnous and integrity

Over time, it seemed like it became more about him and less about the story. "Jumped the shark" with Capone's vault.

[JHB]

6. Long ago I noticed a similarity between Rivera and fellow mustache-man...

...John Stossel.

I grew up in the NYC local broadcast market, so I saw both of them in their early careers on the local ABC affiliate. Both developed good reputations there, if sometimes a bit showy. Stossel, at that time, was on the consumer protection beat and doing a good job of it.

By the 1980s both were getting air time on ABCs national shows, 20/20 for Rivera, Good Morning America for Stossel. Both had ambitions of going higher, but wound up plateauing there. So they left for other venues to make “better use” of their talents.

And that’s when they went over to the dark side (and bigger paychecks). Tabloid showboating for Rivera, regulation-bashing for Stossel.

[dameatball]

7. I never saw those very early years. Interesting.

[John Fante]

4. Kudos to Maher for saying MSNBC sticks to the truth.

The notion that MSNBC is the liberal equivalent of Fox News is complete bullshit.

[hibbing]

5. "MSNBC as liberal and progressive as you could possibly be"

That statement alone demonstrated just how badly things have been skewed.



Peace

[Generic Brad]

8. Geraldo appears to genuinely believe the Fox spin

He mentioned that 9/11 drove him into the arms of FOX News. While he seemed to think it was an opportunity to be a war correspondent, it seems to me that fear of another attack on his family and friends was a bigger motivator for him. He has become a willing purveyor of propaganda and can justify it because the GOP, in his eyes, keeps us safe. That fear has blinded him to the point where he could state there was no existing evidence of any collusion with Russia and believe it.

For all his faults, I like Geraldo. But I understand how he and many conservatives have deluded themselves so much that they do not realize that they have become a threat to their very own safety. They want a perceived strong man to protect them because they are scared. Putin fits the bill and so does Trump.

I would pity him if he were not a public figure.

[oberliner]

9. He is trying to sell books