Hannity, Olbermann: On Different Planets

Barack Obama has suggested voters are “seeing two different realities, a Sean Hannity reality and a Keith Olbermann reality”—and he’s right, Howard Kurtz writes in the Washington Post. "Adored by fans and derided by critics," Fox's Hannity is an unapologetic John McCain booster, while Olbermann uses his MSNBC pulpit to promote Obama.

The two shows “reflect the increasing polarization of the media world, where columnists, strategists, bloggers and radio talkers have built thriving careers catering to those who already agree with them,” Kurtz writes. Olbermann rarely books a conservative guest; Hannity “runs roughshod” over his nominally liberal co-host, Alan Colmes. Viewers “know what they’re getting,” and the two "provide a case study in the power of ideological punditry," Kurtz writes. (More television stories.)