Brew Cityzen

Am I the only one who wasn’t particularly moved or astonished by the “expose” in this month’s Milwaukee Magazine on the working style of Charlie Sykes and others like him?  In case you haven’t heard (which probably means you are both a) not a Milwaukee Magazine subscriber and b) not a Sykes listener), the November issue of the magazine contains a piece entitled “Secrets of Talk Radio,” authored by Dan Shelley, the former news director at 620 WTMJ.  Although that issue hasn’t yet hit newsstands (subscribers should have received it last week), you can find it here.

I am not a Sykes listener, but anyone could have predicted that Charlie would rip the piece, and probably the magazine generally (for which he apparently previously worked), as part of the liberal conspiracy operated by the mainstream media.  Confirmation of this came yesterday in Magazine editor Bruce Murphy’s weekly column, in which I also learned that the ultra-defensive Sykes had posted a predictable blog post trashing the piece, complete with straw man (”Exhibit A in the Left’s case for the return of the fairness doctrine”) and the obligatory “crazy Daily Kos lunatics” reference.

All of this is good fun, sure–for Milwaukee Magazine’s ego (and probably its coffers, assuming as I will that most Sykes listeners aren’t MM subscribers) and for Sykes (more material!  more evidence of media conspiracy!).  But why such surprise?  In what sense is Shelley’s piece an expose?  Is anyone really shocked (SHOCKED!) to learn that Sykes isn’t interested in letting dissenting voices get on the air, creates straw men that he won’t let other knowledgable people come out and tear down, trades heavily in hypocrisy, participates in a GOP echo chamber, is intellectually dishonest, and has no real interest in actual news unless it suits his agenda?  Seriously?  Did we need the Shelley piece to confirm this?  Is the Shelley piece going to awaken a whole host of Sykes’ listeners to a sudden new reality?

I suppose it is reasonably newsworthy that a former insider is willing to take on his former co-worker; this isn’t Bruce Murphy telling us this, its Dan Shelley.  Some of that should be undercut by the McClellan-esque nature of this telling:  Shelley is now safely in another industry (digital media) in an entirely different city (New York).  But so far as I can tell, Shelley is doing little other than to preach to the choir here.  The MM gave him a nice, prominent pulpit, and for that reason he ruffled Sykes’ feathers enough to prompt a backlash.  But in the end, everyone will retreat to their corners and the silly game will continue.

Then again, maybe there is one important person out there who was somehow ignorant of Charlie’s bias, but who can now be expected to take some long overdue action.  That would be Steve Wexler, the general manager of TMJ-4, or whomever it is below him, who continues to give Charlie air time on his execrable Sunday morning show, Sunday Insight with Charlie Sykes.  As Bruce Murphy noted yesterday, Sykes himself admits to being an entertainer, and not a journalist.  Why then, does Milwaukee’s NBC affiliate continue to give Sykes a forum that lends him an air of legitimacy as news man by providing him with a prominent Sunday morning platform?    

Something tells me we’ll continue to see Charlie on TV on Sundays notwithstanding the Shelley expose, however.  If you’re curious, why not ask Wexler yourself:

Steve Wexler, General Manager – WTMJ-TV
720 East Capitol Drive
Milwaukee, WI 53212
Phone: (414) 332-9611, Fax: (414) 967-5255