The Ghettoization of the Right

I was disappointed to hear that George Will jumped over to Fox News, following his former colleague at ABC, John Stossel, who left for Fox in 2009. While it may seem tidy to group all the conservative and libertarian-leaning voices under the Fox banner, I think this is a bad situation. We need a diversity of viewpoints across media channels if we are to avoid furthering the "echo chamber" effect on the left and the right.

Sadly, it seems people see this sort of ghettoization as the expected norm. In an interview with Will, the Deseret News states, "Some questioned why he hadn't made the move to Fox News in the past, and he had said it was because Roger Ailes hadn't asked." Or as New York magazine put it, "George Will Is Finally Joining Fox News," where he gets to work with "a team more his speed."

Maybe I'm overstating the problem, since other conservatives (e.g. Ann Coulter, Peggy Noonan) do appear regularly on ABC's "This Week," where Will was a mainstay. But losing Will's contribution marks a big change. I doubt we are going to see a liberal with his stature joining the ranks at Fox News anytime soon—and just this week, Sally Kohn, whom the New York Times calls "one of Fox News Channel's most visible liberal pundits," left the network for MSNBC.