In These Times (Almost) Makes the Big Media Leagues

The video below, featuring an absurd encounter between Nation Washington Editor Chris Hayes and clownish CNBC host Dennis Kneale, is many things: more proof that cable business news is bad for your mental health, and that this country is a long way from dealing with what "the greenies" now call "climate change," to name just two. But it's also proof that Hayes can suffer fools, maybe not gladly, but well. Watching him tolerate Kneale's blundering fact-free "questions" by actually responding with coherent answers is impressive and hilarious. It's also hilarious to watch In These Times brush with the media big leagues, as Kneale falsely identifies Hayes as an In These Times senior editor, which stopped being true in 2007. Halfway through Hayes' appearance, "In These Times Senior Editor" is replaced with "Nation Washington Editor." We pride ourselves on not being part of General Electric, but it would be nice if once in a while our name popped up on TV screens around the country, and it wasn't because of some idiot talking head's mistake. But much more importantly: It would be nice if we lived in a world where a man like Dennis Kneale could never host a television show.