Two messages in my e-mail inbox this morning had very different takes on a controversy over Sean Hannity referring to Free Republic as a “fringe” site on his radio show yesterday. Audio here.
PunditGuy Bill sides with Hannity:
The freepers are freakin nuts. There are over 2,500 comments on [the FR thread on the Hannity comments] now. It’s getting seriously kooky over there.
Kevin McCullough disagrees:
He has big numbers on radio, He’s on the most watched – most trusted news channel on cable, He has two very big selling books to his name…but he’s gone and stepped in it big time. […] He doesn’t feel its necessary to reach out to those conservatives who do take their issues seriously (Freepers). […] This will not sit well with bloggers…
While “fringe” is an overused word, I would have to concur with Hannity and PunditGuy that FR qualifies, at least in the conversational sense of the word. It’s certainly not a forum for reasoned debate. Further, I don’t think FR is, in any meaningful sense, a blog. It’s a community message board.
I do agree with KMC, though, that Hannity’s calling his website “a blog” demonstrates a certain cluelessness.
