European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 06, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                On the air Wien Michael Iti Bucks by Howard Kurtz Washington Post in a Small ground floor downtown office Christopher Matthews is doing what he does est talking on America s All talk net work ". " " the Clinton administration has basically been hit by a Neutron bomb he says. It s a disaster he says. The White House screws things up he says. But his guest Newsweek columnist Jona than alter refuses to follow the Standard script for televised punditry. All of us Are paid to sound As if we re certain about what s going to be happening alter says. The truth is we Don t have the foggiest  that is the question about talk television enlightening debate or meaningless blather for Matthews nightly program on the America s talking network is part of an exploding Media culture in which journalists play the role of entertainer spi Meister and political ringmaster. Their seat of the pants judgments up or Down yes or no who won and who lost have become a driving Force behind the shrill and often mean spirited politics of the 90s. Mouthing off for the cameras it turns out is also a sure fire ticket to celebrity status and lucrative lec Ture fees. As a one Man Washington Bureau for the san Francisco examiner Matthews is just another Beltway columnist for an out of town paper. But As co Anchor on Abc s new Cable network and regular commentator on Good morning America he com mands $5,000 to $6,000 a speech. Talk is hot and growing hotter. Twenty years ago there was just a handful of political talk shows on the air now there Are at least 30, with hosts ranging from Mary Matalin to Jesse Jackson plus four Cable networks a Span America s talking National empowerment television and multimedia talk Channel largely devoted to chewing the political fat. The exalted status of the pundit Cracy was under scored in a recent new yorker article that explored the propriety of Media people earning As much As $300,000 a year on the speaking circuit with much of the Money coming from corporations and Trade associations. Most of those contacted by author Ken Auletta either refused to comment or insisted their activities Are nobody s business an obviously uncomfortable posture for custodians of the first amendment. Network correspondents and commentators have always had Star Power. The difference these Days is that Many print journalists including More than a few at the Washington Post among them this writer have joined the talking i head Parade. The Way to become a major league Walkmeister is to peddle opinions the More provocative the bet Ter. And that has shifted the journalistic Center of Gravity from those who ask questions to those who seem to have All the answers. _ fire away Michael Kinsley and Pat Buchanan Are at it again. The topic is health care a subject on which Kinsley is Well versed. In july he wrote a finely nuanced piece for the new yorker lambasting re publican health care proposals and delving into Community rating mandatory alliances and insurance deductibility. There is no mention of such concepts tonight As can s crossfire is staged before a live audience at George Washington University. Kinsle hates All the hooting and hollering. The failure of the president s health plan he says Christopher Matthews suggests that Clinton has done a bad political Job but it also suggests the Campaign by republicans and special interests has been very  when Buchanan accuses the Clinto nites of writing their Bill in sextet Kinsley retorts that Buchanan s former Boss Ronald Reagan did the same thing. Wagging his Finger to scattered applause Kinsley says that is a perfect example of the phony Balo Ney Campaign you Guys Are  we had a Leader Buchanan says and you Don t have one the crowd erupts with the biggest Roar of the night. Widely viewed As the Best Liberal pundit of his generation Kinsley has relinquished both the Editorship of the new Republic and his syndicated column in the five years since he joined crossfire. When doing Oral Battle against Buchanan or John Sununu his face occasionally dissolves into a scowl. I have my moments of frustration but i Don t want to pretend i m too Good for what i do every Day Kinsley says. I m not a snob about it. No one forces me to do  it took Kinsley awhile to adapt. During a laconic discussion on his first show a producer shouted in his earpiece get mad get mad nowadays he needs no such prodding. Sometimes you just lose your temper at some preposterous fraud. What you want is Jovial disagreement. Of course that can be corrupting too we re All pals Here just moshing around in the locker room when i think they re expletive  v television has made Michael Kinsley a Star. He  a Mau and has just been profiled by vanity in like the fam and Fortune Kinsley says. I did t g0 on crossfire for self sacrificing reasons i be. Pay is great compared to the new  the gang s All Here. Margaret Carlson has a simple Rule for her Televik Rahtes the Lessy a know about string the better off you  a the time Raag a columnist be n can s capital Gas this has T i k ram measure of Fame she a gets mad about her hair and wardrobe and a slew of Page 20 sunday november 6, 1994