European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 06, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Dating invitations along with an awareness of the medium s limitations. Television can Only pay attention Long enough for you to skim the surface Carlson says. I want to talk in paragraphs about the thing i be written about and know the nuances of and on other subjects i la be talking off the top of my head which is a very dangerous place. What i write in time Magazine Are things i be thought through i be studied i be gotten every Point of View what do i know about Haiti i know what everyone else knows and maybe a Little bit More no body can be a specialist on five subjects every week. Most producers and hookers Are looking for the person who can sound Learned without confusing the matter with too much knowledge. I m one of the people without too much knowledge. I m perfect match Point Fred Barnes understands the dynamics of television As Well As anyone. He knows that his weekly sparring match on the Mclaughlin group pays far greater dividends than any Wisdom he conveys As a senior editor of the new Republic. You have a certain visibility and you get your Calls returned Barnes says. " on the other hand if you do a lot of to and speeches you have less time to commit real journal ism. Find it very a former Washington Star and Baltimore Sun re Porter Barnes now hosts a weekly radio show an appears on lbs this morning. On Mclaughlin he generally opens the program with a conservative Spiel and baits the House Liberal Newsweek s elea nor Clift. Other Mclaughlin regulars with plenty to say Are Morton Kondracke Clarence Page and Jack says such Candor is preferable to shows where a Bunch of Liberal journalists pretend they Aren t recently Mclaughlin asked Barnes for a one word answer on whether Clinton would Rue or relish an invasion of Haiti Rue and what Clin ton s approval rating will be in two months "41 per Centa. Television is the enemy of nuance or even full and Complete explanation Barnes says. But it does t bother him All that much. -. Airt out Chw Matthews is holding a cellular phone to his ear Ash slides into the makeup chair. It is 5 30 . Half an hour to air time and Matthews pumped full of Coffee and Coke is getting ready for his four Mont hold show in depth. On 1 this Day he has already Given a speech to the Cham Ber of Commerce written his column done some work on a new Book and talked to the producer about tonight s topics. I want the show to be like a dinner party 10 30 at night after you be had a few drinks Matthews says. I Don t spend any time thinking about it before i get Here. If anything comes into my head i basically can go with it it s first the rapid fire nature of his show reflects the Way people think today. People Don t hear slow talk any More. ". when you re Channel surfing you have to see an interesting argument going on with some kind of de a longtime democratic operative for tip o Neill _ Matthews signed on with the examiner in 1987 an quickly became a sound bite artist for hire. He soon landed a spot with lbs morning news. It was a fabulous contract a six figure contract he says. I was on every week " after taking Calls on the topic of Haiti the show turns to the . Simpson Case and an unconfirmed report that two killers might have been involved. As much As my skin crawls when someone says we re doing . Again the numbers Are incredible Matthews says off camera. Mark Shields Margaret Carlson Robert Novak Mona Charen and Al Hunt play politics on capital gang. File Fred barn i regularly fires away from the right on the Mclaughlin group against Morton Kondracke. File. Whereas from the left Eleanor Clift and Clarence Page usually sit in Harmony on the weekly show. November 6,1994 sunday Page 21
