The back of Matthews’ “Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero” features advance praise from historian and frequent “Hardball” guest Doris Kearns Goodwin (“Chris Matthews is a masterful storyteller”); historian, writer and occasional “Hardball” guest Douglas Brinkley (“I give it ten gold stars!”); biographer and Aspen Institute president Walter Isaacson (“an awesome and delightful book”); and frequent MSNBC commentator and batty old aunt Peggy Noonan (“an insightful piece of work and a great time!” italics hers); My favorite blurb of all is from NBC anchor and amateur comedian Brian Williams: “Chris Matthews takes on a giant of American life—and triumphs.” So in this book, Chris Matthews … fights JFK? And beats him?

But blurbs are a necessary evil done out of a sense of professional obligation. Everyone in publishing debases themselves to solicit and write them. It is going above and beyond the call of duty, however, to write glowingly of your friend’s book after its publication, for no recompense.

There was Bob Shrum finding in the book an important political lesson for Rick Perry, who, like Richard Nixon, is bad at debates. (Except Nixon was actually good at debates, when he wasn’t ill and recovering from surgery, but whatever.)

In Chris Matthews’ lyrical new book Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero — which draws you into the character of that extraordinary man and time so you almost feel you are there — there is a riveting account of the first televised presidential debate in American history.

Lyrical and riveting!

And we have David Corn, MSNBC political analyst and constant “Hardball” presence, who calls “Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero” “a graceful and elegiac contemplation of the young president” that is “chock-full of poignant, harrowing, moving, and revealing moments.” Plus: “(Interest declared: I work with Matthews at MSNBC, but, still, the book is a damn good read.)”

Howard Fineman, MSNBC contributor and world’s blandest political analyst, reports out the news from the book: That JFK got his “ask not” line from … the headmaster at Choate. (The only problem with this theory is that Ted Sorensen didn’t go to Choate.) Because Fineman is merely reporting here, his praise is reserved: “The ‘Ask Not’ story is one of a series in the book that add new depth and sometimes surprising details to the Kennedy narrative.” Plus: “(Full disclosure: This reporter is a regular guest on his two shows, ‘Hardball with Chris Matthews’ on MSNBC and the syndicated ‘Chris Matthews Show.’)”

Bloomberg’s Jonathan Alter (an MSNBC analyst, natch) has not yet written a full column on the book, but he’s on notice for this tweet: “Just had dinner with Chris Matthews. His great book, ‘Jack Kennedy,’ tells what JFK was really like and how he saved the world in 1962. ”

This is how the game works. If you want to be on TV (and everyone wants to be on TV!), you love Chris Matthews’ book.

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But then I realized it was a new show hosted by Chris Hayes, a journalist whose work I’ve long admired. So I said yes. And crack-of-dawn fatigue aside, I’m glad I did, because to my surprise, I ended up getting the chance to participate in one of the best television programs on the air.

“Up With Chris Hayes,” which broadcasts Saturday and Sunday mornings, purposely rejects the manufactured red-versus-blue mallet that bludgeons every issue into partisan terms. Instead, the program’s host is creating a space for more expansive discussions with voices typically deemed too unconventional, provocative or dangerous to be allowed anywhere near a television set.

The panel I appeared on exemplified Hayes’ effort. Out of five in-studio guests appearing to discuss the death of Moammar Gadhafi, the Iraq war and the Arab Spring, one was Iraqi author Zainab Salbi, one was Libyan author Hisham Matar and one was Palestinian-American comedian Dean Obeidallah. (Arabs being asked for their opinion on events in the Arab world — what a concept!) Amazingly (and refreshingly), in a cable world dominated by crotchety Caucasians, NBC News’ foreign correspondent Richard Engel and I were the only white dudes on the panel.

Even more incredible was the show’s ideological openness. Just one example: We had a discussion about the notion of America as an empire — a concept pervasive throughout the globe that Engel nonetheless couldn’t believe was being discussed on American television. He was right to be surprised. Though it should be standard, a cable program that both explores hugely taboo questions and includes a diverse set of voices is something you rarely see in this country.

For American news consumers, Hayes’ show is a terrific, better-late-than-never development. But the fact that “Up” is groundbreaking is also something of a sad commentary on the larger media.

For the most part, TV remains exactly as Hunter S. Thompson once described it: a “cruel and shallow money trench through the heart of the journalism industry, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free …” In that hallway’s current cable form, “national news” is a euphemism for New York- and D.C.-focused content engineered primarily by a closed ecosystem of East Coast elites who believe the only things that matter are Manhattan gossip and Beltway games. This is why you almost always see the same vapid pundits and the same homogenized topics on TV — because this clique is hostile to diverse viewpoints and uses its privilege to make sure media debates represent only the elites’ myopic perspective.

By contrast, Hayes’ show joins a variety of programs, from Amy Goodman’s “Democracy Now!” to Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show” to Thom Hartmann’s “The Big Picture,” in rejecting this suffocating model. If it succeeds, it will play a huge role in creating a new model that will serve journalism and the citizenry far better than today’s vast television wasteland.

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