'Sean Hannity is Not a Legitimate Journalist': Letter to the Editor

Editor's Note: The following was submitted by Richfield resident Donna Connelly.

STOP TREADING ON MY CONGRESSMAN, FOX NEWS

by D.G. Connelly

If anyone should be blamed for that contentious televised interview between Keith Ellison and Sean Hannity that aired last week (on Tuesday, Feb., 26th), it’s me -- Minnesota resident and voter in District #5.

Blame me, not my Congressman. For the past five years, I’ve been phoning his office and complaining about that oxymoron that is Fox News. I’ve been leaving him messages like, “We ought to bring back the Fairness Doctrine.” And, “Somebody should do something about Fox News because it’s not a real news network. It’s just 24/7 Republican propaganda. “Well, now Rep. Ellison has done something: he has refused to play along with the shell game Hannity keeps disguising as “interviews.”

Only on Fox News could an elected official who embodies vox populi vox Dei get demeaned as the stereotypical “angry black man.” That’s what Sean Hannity tried to do, anyway. He didn’t succeed, though, because Keith Ellison refused to defer to him and his emotionally loaded questions. Rep. Ellison wouldn’t go along to get along.

So what really took place during that interview last Tuesday? Better check it out yourself on YouTube if you want the truth. At this point in time, no one in the mainstream media seems to care about the truth from last week. Accuracy is just sooooo boring! Also, too much factual information can interfere with a good media spin or scandal, you know. Besides, it’s a lot easier to just make up stuff than it is to deal with stuff that actually happened.

As for those inaccurate reports about Ellison’s rants, explosive anger, and unworthy behavior, I can only lament, “FACT CHECK, ANYONE?”
You can say a lot of things about Keith Ellison, but you can never say he ignores the voice of his constituency. Like a good public servant, Rep. Ellison was merely working for The People. And The People in his district do not want him to put up with Fox’s smears and Hannity’s b.s. any longer. Enough, already!

According to Hannity’s defenders, they tuned in for a fight, and an interview broke out. They subjectively decided Ellison was angry because of Hannity’s classic PSYCH 101 retort, “Why are you so angry?” -- a remark specifically designed to irk whoever is being questioned. Thoughout the exchange, however, Ellison’s so-called anger remained properly and appropriately contained. He stayed temperate enough, in fact, to channel contained emotion into reasonable responses. Calling Hannity “the worst excuse for a journalist I’ve ever seen” didn’t denote explosive fury on Ellison’s part.

No, my congressman was merely voicing what I, along with other constituents, have been continually telling him: Fox News is NOT a legitimate news organization, just as Sean Hannity is NOT a legitimate journalist.

The most striking thing about this incident isn’t Rep. Ellison’s behavior. It’s that so many players in so many media outlets blindly rushed to Hannity’s defense.
Respectable journalists and wise-ass DJ’s alike claimed Hannity as one of their own. They embraced him as a member of their extended news family. They even portrayed him as a thwarted truthseeker filled with purpose and integrity. (Talk about your Orwellian dramedies.)

Wake up and smell the coffee, buttercups. You’re standing up for a guy who thinks “Integrity” is a new body wash for men. His only connection to professional journalism is his freaky resemblance to Clark Kent’s illegitimate son Rolf. Stop giving Sean Hannity the credibility and reliability that real journalists deserve. He’s not a journalist. He’s just another overpaid talking head who’s beholden to boss Rupert Murdoch, penultimate media whore if ever there was one.

And, like too many overpaid hacks employed by Fox News, Hannity actually believes that he -- and not anyone he interviews -- is the only one entitled to Freedom of Speech. Surprise! At last, an elected official from our state has finally set him straight. Nice job, Mr. Ellison.