Blunt John Stossel on Why He left Liberal ABC News: 'It Sucked There'

Journalist John Stossel left the liberal confines of ABC News "because it sucked there."  The libertarian reporter talked to the Heritage Foundation's Rob Bluey in an interview posted Thursday and exposed the liberal culture at his former network: "They were hostile to these ideas that have made us prosperous and I consider so important."

He added that ABC "tolerated" him and his good ratings, "But by the end, they were sort of saying, 'Oh, you're predictable, Stossel. All you want to do is libertarian economics all the time. I don't want to watch that.'"

He joked that ABC preferred to do stories on how "[Michael Jackson's] still dead."

Stossel admitted that he was "not offered a job by Fox." He added, "I went over and begged, 'Please hire me. I can't stand it anymore.'"

On Barack Obama and his liberalism, Stossel derided, "It was like he's a magic politician who is going to do these things. And the promise is all people pay attention to."

A partial transcript of the interview can be found below. The full interview can be found here:

Heritage: In the Green Room
Posted: 4/12/12

ROB BLUEY: You've become a very popular person on the Fox network, both in terms of your show and segments you do with Bill O'Reilly. Why did you leave ABC though?

JOHN STOSSEL: Because it sucked there. They were hostile to these ideas that have made us prosperous and I consider so important. I mean, they tolerated me for years. I got good ratings, so they put the stuff on. They sort of held their nose and put it on. But, by the end, they were sort of saying, "Oh, you're predictable, Stossel. All you want to do is libertarian economics all the time. I don't want to watch that. You already did that."

I did a piece called Stupid in America, which got good ratings about school choice. Five years later, there was a real school choice movement. I said, "Let's do a follow-up." "Eh, we're not- Michael Jackson died and we want to interview his sister and his mother and we have to do a show on he's still dead." I was not offered a job by Fox. I went over and begged, "Please hire me. I can't stand it anymore."

...

STOSSEL: [on the Obama administration] They promise this stuff. Elect Obama and "Yes we can! We can cure poverty and stop the oceans from rising!" as he said in one speech. And our instinct, I think, is to believe in the central planners. I mean, it was nuts at the Obama election. It was like he's a magic politician who is going to do these things. And the promise is all people pay attention to. People have lives. And the failures, which are again and again, everything, you really have to pay attention to notice.


-- Scott Whitlock is the senior news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.