The Real War on Fox

[Erik van den Muijzenberg]

REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

Zeg Cees, wat is het verband met D66?

On 31-okt-2009, at 19:00, Cees Binkhorst wrote:

> REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl
>
> Een van oorsprong conservatief, die zich afkeert van de
> voorlichtingsmethodes van de conservatieven.
> Zelfs zich zodanig er aan ergert, dat hij fors tegengas gaat geven.
>
> Groet / Cees
>
> http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-10-30/the-real- 
> war-on-fox/
>
> The Real War on Fox
> The White House may be in a cold war with Fox News. But Media  
> Matters is
> on the front lines. Benjamin Sarlin on the latest ways David Brock’s
> group has hit the right’s house network—and aided the White House
> counterattacks.
>
> The White House's war on Fox News may be a new chapter in the
> administration’s relationship with the media. But bashing the
> conservative press has been an Olympic sport among liberals for years.
> And no one has done it better than Media Matters.
>
> Founded in 2004 by right winger-turned-liberal crusader David  
> Brock, the
> site and its staff of about 70 employees have relentlessly hounded Fox
> and other news outlets by deploying research teams to quickly fact- 
> check
> their hosts' claims and publicize their gaffes. Now with the White  
> House
> turning the debate over Fox’s objectivity and accuracy into a major  
> news
> story, Media Matters is putting its thousands of articles,  
> transcripts,
> and clips of the network's contributors to use in support of Team
> Obama’s effort.
>
> “We're the first line of defense for the progressive movement,” Brock
> says.
>
> As a 501c(3), Media Matters is prohibited from coordinating activities
> with the White House. But Brock takes credit for setting the stage for
> the White House's Fox wars indirectly and providing the ammunition for
> the network's critics to aggressively rebut conservative  
> counterattacks.
>
> “Obviously when the White House makes a case like this, it gets a lot
> more attention,” Brock told The Daily Beast. “But the factual  
> groundwork
> had been laid by us and the rhetorical case as well.”
>
> • Lloyd Grove: Shep Smith, Fox News’ Man of Reason In an effort to
> undermine Fox's claims that its editorial and news reporting are
> separate, Brock’s site has launched a video series of Fox clips Media
> Matters sees as anti-Obama—using the tagline, “Fox is not news. It's a
> 24/7 political operation.” That’s a problem he thinks has grown much
> more pronounced since the 2008 election. But perhaps most importantly,
> his group has played a major role in defending administration  
> officials
> from Fox attacks—sometimes more effectively than the White House  
> itself
> has.
>
> Earlier this month, White House Communications Director Anita Dunn,  
> who
> has spearheaded the anti-Fox effort, came under fire from Glenn  
> Beck for
> a recent speech in which she referred to Mao Zedong and Mother Theresa
> as her two “favorite political philosophers.” Anticipating the story
> could have legs, Media Matters staffers raced into action, frantically
> scouring the Internet for examples of conservatives citing Mao
> themselves, and published their first quotes within a half hour of the
> show ending. By the time Beck tried to extend the attack later that  
> week
> to another Obama official who had cited Mao, “manufacturing czar” Ron
> Bloom, the list of similar Republican quotes included John McCain,  
> Newt
> Gingrich, and Ralph Reed. Beck's story bounced around the right-wing
> press for several days but failed to migrate to the mainstream media.
>
> Brock believes that effort helped contain the story’s spread.  
> “Speed was
> of the essence here,” he said. “We're the first line of defense for  
> the
> progressive movement.”
>
> Earlier this month, Media Matters rallied around another one of Fox
> News' top White House targets, education official Kevin Jennings. Sean
> Hannity called for him to be fired for reportedly failing to report a
> statutory rape case to the authorities when a 15-year old gay student
> asked for Jennings' advice on a relationship with an older man. But
> Media Matters quickly confirmed with the student in question himself
> that he was 16 at the time, the legal age of consent in the state, and
> that he denied any sexual contact with the person in question. The  
> group
> then posted a Facebook exchange between the student and a Fox News
> reporter in which the network inquired about his age. Fox issued a
> correction and without a criminal angle the story failed to gain
> traction outside of the conservative press. The Atlantic's Chris Good
> reported that Media Matters' reporting was the key to deflating the
> attack—especially given the White House's reluctance to rebut the Fox
> accounts directly.
>
> “What you saw in the Kevin Jennings case is that it can be done,” said
> Brock. “It is not impossible to defend against these right-wing  
> attacks.
> You just have to do the work.”
>
> Brock knows a thing or two about right-wing attacks. He leveled a  
> few of
> his own, when he was a conservative cub reporter for the American
> Spectator. Brock’s reporting on Paula Jones and “Troopergate” helped
> trigger an investigative tide that eventually led to impeachment
> proceedings against President Clinton. But in subsequent reporting on
> Hillary Clinton, Brock had a crisis of conscience; after being  
> lambasted
> by the right for failing to dig up sufficient dirt on her, he came to
> believe that much of what had been alleged against the Clintons was
> baseless—and became a liberal convert.
>
> Today, Brock and his team—fueled by millions in donations from big- 
> name
> Democratic donors like producer Steve Bing and cable TV giant Leo
> Hindery—are hard at work to limit the damage done by the right. “We've
> always had a 'containment' strategy regarding Fox,” Brock  
> explained. “We
> don't necessarily think you can change their behavior, but you can
> change the behavior of the rest of the media in relation to Fox. I  
> think
> that's the important subtext to this White House/Fox story.”
> Of course, many members of the media have come to Fox News’ defense
> since the White House began singling the network out. ABC's Jake  
> Tapper,
> for example, challenged White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on  
> the
> issue, calling Fox “one of our sister organizations,” and asked “why
> it’s appropriate for the White House to decide that a news  
> organization
> is not one.”
>
> Brock says he’s not surprised. “It does seem like there’s been a  
> little
> circling of the wagons around Fox by some people in the press and I
> guess that’s to be expected, in the sense that the press is always
> uncomfortable when politicians seem to be attacking them,” he said.  
> “But
> the idea that this is some kind of unprecedented White House attack or
> pushback on the press is just baloney.”
>
> A representative for Fox declined to comment on Media Matters'
> criticisms. But the group has come under fire throughout its existence
> for its openly liberal angle and combative approach to its subjects.
> Bill O'Reilly, a frequent target of their ire, once described them on
> his show as “a far-left swamp pit,” and “a disgusting Web site that  
> just
> attacks people with whom they disagree and takes things out of context
> all day long.”
>
> Fox News contributor Tucker Carlson, who has also worked for CNN and
> MSNBC and has been criticized many times by Media Matters for his  
> on-air
> comments, says he believes the group is disingenuous.
>
> “I don't have a problem at all with lefties critiquing the news from a
> left-wing point of view,” said Carlson, who has also written for The
> Daily Beast. “What sets Media Matters apart is it's doing the  
> bidding of
> a political party and specific politicians. That's by definition
> dishonest.”
>
> Carlson says he admires the group’s industry. But he feels they go too
> far in their sensitivity to perceived racism and sexism on-air quotes.
> The site called out Carlson at one point for saying on MSNBC that "It
> takes a lot of guts for a rich, privileged white lady who is one of  
> the
> most powerful people in the world to claim that she is a victim of
> gender discrimination."
>
> “They were outraged by anybody criticizing Hillary: You don't like
> Hillary, you don't like women,” he said. “I got three daughters and a
> wife, I don't like women? It's so ludicrous.”
>
> Brock contends that his site's biases are out in the open and that its
> factual reporting is consistently accurate.
>
> “Unlike Fox, we're not trying to have it both ways; we are a  
> progressive
> organization and there's no fig leaf,” he said. “We're here to defend
> progressive ideas and progressive leaders in a climate that's very
> hostile.”
>
> Benjamin Sarlin is a reporter for The Daily Beast. He previously  
> covered
> New York City politics for The New York Sun and has worked for
> talkingpointsmemo.com.
>
> For More of The Daily Beast, become a fan on Facebook and follow us on
> Twitter.
>
> For inquiries, please contact The Daily Beast at
> editorial at thedailybeast.com.
>
>
>
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>                                 Clinton
> Comments (–)
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>
> Desertpenguin
> I applaud Media Matters for their conscientious work.
>
> Right-wing tv and hate radio spew out an enormous amount of lies and
> it's good to see someone doing something about it.
>
> Flag It
> |
> Permalink
> |
> Reply
> 2:35 am, Oct 30, 2009
>
>
>
>
>
> UltimateFitz
> Crazies versus crazies. Yawn.
>
> On a more important FOX note, I wish they would bring back Terminator:
> TSCC because that was a good show.
>
> Flag It
> |
> Permalink
> |
> Reply
> 4:59 am, Oct 30, 2009
>
>
>
>
>
> connie47
> Sarlin seems to think there's something wrong with fact checking cable
> news.
>
> Huh?
>
> Flag It
> |
> Permalink
> |
> Reply
> 5:51 am, Oct 30, 2009
>
>
>
>
>
> Aramingo
> I think a more telling article would be to compare and contrast MMFA
> with it's right-wing counter part, Newsbusters.
>
> I did notice in the above article that O'Reilly responded to MMFAs  
> fact
> checking with name calling. IMHO, that's a sure indicator that they
> (MMFA) hit the nail on the head.
>
> Flag It
> |
> Permalink
> |
> Reply
> 6:16 am, Oct 30, 2009
>
>
>
>
>
> PUPITO
> BLAH BLAH BLAH Politics as usual. Same as it ever was. No wonder the
> country's in a funk!
>
> Flag It
> |
> Permalink
> |
> Reply
> 6:49 am, Oct 30, 2009
>
>
>
>
>
> Ozone69
> Did Media Matters have anything to say about CBS when Dan Rathers
> attempted to discredit President Bush (weeks before his re-election)
> with a forged document? Or NBC's Dateline when they rigged Ford  
> vehicles
> with incendiary devices and showed how they burst into flames upon
> impact? Or the NY Times when they gave a full page ad to MoveOn.org  
> (at
> a below market price) be-littling US Army General David Petreus, or
> Jason Blair for making up reports from other cities while writing from
> his apartment in Brooklyn. He invented quotes, wrote about scenery  
> from
> published photographs and stole material from other news  
> organizations.
> I don't recall Fox having to fire anyone for fabricating a story or  
> data
> nor do I recall Fox having to apologize for such journalistic fraud.
>
>
> Flag It
> |
> Permalink
> |
> Reply
> |
> (–)
> Show Replies
> Collapse Replies
> 6:52 am, Oct 30, 2009
>
>
>
>
> Aramingo
> Do the words "Indonesian Madrassa" ring a bell?
>
> Flag It
> |
> Permalink
> |
> Reply
> |
> (–)
> Show Replies
> Collapse Replies
> 7:57 am, Oct 30, 2009
>
>
>
>
> Ozone69
> Loudly rung. The claim that Barrack Hussein Obama attended a  
> madrassa in
> the largest Muslim country in the world was started by "Insight"
> Magazine" and Fox then reported on it. Fox never fabricated  
> anything and
> they cited "Insight Magazine" as the source.
>
> Flag It
> |
> Permalink
> 8:48 am, Oct 30, 2009
>
>
>
>
> Aramingo
> Too lazy to fact check. CNN sent a reporter to find out the truth.
>
> Flag It
> |
> Permalink
> 10:11 am, Oct 30, 2009
>
>
>
>
> amanda07070
> Just like Fox, MM can report on anything they feel like reporting. The
> fact that they choose not to report on something is irrelevant. Fox
> picks and chooses what THEY report, only they argued in a Florida  
> court
> that they had the right to falsify the news (see link below)
>
> http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php? 
> az=show_mesg&fo
> rum=385&topic_id=375393&mesg_id=375442
>
> Please site a case where Media Matters has falsely reported something.
>
> Fox apologizes for nothing.
>
> Flag It
> |
> Permalink
> |
> Reply
> |
> (–)
> Show Replies
> Collapse Replies
> 8:00 am, Oct 30, 2009
>
>
>
>
> Baddchild
> ok:
> http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tim-graham/2009/10/22/media-matters- 
> wont-ap
> ologize-spreading-fake-limbaugh-slavery-quote
>
> http://deathby1000papercuts.com/2009/10/kevin-jennings-nambla-media- 
> matt
> ers-wrong-on-kevin-jenning-nambla/
>
> http://foundry.heritage.org/2009/05/19/fact-check-media-matters- 
> wrong-on
> -card-check/
>
> http://blog.heritage.org/2009/04/09/hannity-right-media-matters- 
> wrong-on
> -missle-defense-and-budget/
>
> http://patterico.com/2007/01/06/media-matterss-eric-boehlert-gets- 
> the-fa
> cts-wrong-again/
>
> that was just 2 minutes of searching.
>
> Look, Media Matters is a keft wing hack site and can mischarachterize
> all they want because this is America and dumbass liberals are free to
> believe their bullshit, right amanda. The problem is when lazy  
> reporters
> in the MSM use their talking points without fact checking them which
> happens way to often.
>
> Flag It
> |
> Permalink
> 9:02 am, Oct 30, 2009
>
>
>
>
> amanda07070
> Right wing, unprovable garbage!
>
> Flag It
> |
> Permalink
> 2:02 pm, Oct 30, 2009
>
>
>
>
> DellDolly
> MMFA didn't spread any fake Limbaugh quote. Neither were they  
> guilty of
> being wrong about the false linkage of Kevin Jennings with NAMBLA.  
> They
> weren't wrong on card check, or on the defense budget, and your link
> about Eric Boehlert goes nowhere. Your assertion that you easily found
> evidence of MMFA falsely reporting anything falls flat. In fact, MMFA
> debunked the misleading posting by the Heritage Foundation the very  
> next
> day with facts. http://mediamattersaction.org/blog/200905200008
>
> FoxNews and MSNBC are not similar in hardly any ways. We debunk the
> false equivalency argument on MMFA every day!
>
> Flag It
> |
> Permalink
> 4:15 pm, Oct 30, 2009
>
>
>
>
> bhavanibbana
> "Unlike Fox, we're not trying to have it both ways; we are a  
> progressive
> organization and there's no fig leaf," he said. "We're here to defend
> progressive ideas and progressive leaders in a climate that's very
> hostile."
>
> You caught this part, right? Be sure to read the entire article before
> deploying red herrings.
>
> Flag It
> |
> Permalink
> |
> Reply
> 8:34 am, Oct 30, 2009
>
>
>
>
> Reason
> Ozone,
>
> Reporting on Dan Rather, the Ford incident or any of the other stories
> you mention are not what MM was founded to do. They are a progressive
> watchdog for conservative misinformation and they are upfront about  
> it.
>
> Here is the first paragraph of the About Us on their website:
>
> "Media Matters for America is a Web-based, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3)
> progressive research and information center dedicated to  
> comprehensively
> monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation  
> in the
> U.S. media."
>
>
> Flag It
> |
> Permalink
> |
> Reply
> 10:14 am, Oct 30, 2009
>
>
>
>
> NorCalGladiator
> You don't recall Fox firing anybody because it's their job to  
> fabricate
> news.
> MM is left (no pun intended) with the job of calling them out on it.
> The reason you hear about people being fired from CNN and MSNBC for
> fabricating news is because they aren't paid to do it. They are  
> paid to
> report news, a lot of times leaning left. John Stewart has a
> entertaining show twisting the news, and calls it comedy. Fox has
> entertaining shows for the right that twists news, but tries to  
> call it
> "fair and balanced" news reporting.
>
> "Fox then reported on it. Fox never fabricated anything and they cited
> "Insight Magazine" as the source."
> .......
> "stole material from other news organizations."
>
> seems to be contradicting..
>
>
>
> Flag It
> |
> Permalink
> |
> Reply
> 11:01 am, Oct 30, 2009
>
>
>
>
> AlanD2
> Ozone69: If Fox News had to fire people for fabricating a story, they
> would go out of business (no Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity,
> etc., etc.).
>
> Flag It
> |
> Permalink
> |
> Reply
> 12:02 pm, Oct 30, 2009
>
>
>
>
>
> markfrommanhattan
>
> PEW Rearch Poll
>
> October 29, 2009
>
> Fox News Viewed as Most Ideological Network
>
> But how can that be, they say we are Fair and Balanced.
>
> So America does not agree with FOX.
>
> So FOX hates America.
>
> Flag It
> |
> Permalink
> |
> Reply
> 8:54 am, Oct 30, 2009
>
>
>
>
>
> Reason
> There is no logic in Carlsons statement, "What sets Media Matters  
> apart
> is it's doing the bidding of a political party and specific  
> politicians.
> That's by definition dishonest."
>
> Just because one has an agenda, liberal or conservative, it does not
> automatically follow that, "That's by definition dishonest."
>
> Dishonesty would be if MM claimed to be "Fair and Balanced".
>
> Flag It
> |
> Permalink
> |
> Reply
> |
> (–)
> Show Replies
> Collapse Replies
> 9:59 am, Oct 30, 2009
>
>
>
>
> coltraning
> Yup...and is it not the definition of unintentional irony at best, and
> hypocrisy at worst, for utter GOP hack Carlson, working for the most
> blatantly ideological network in the history of this country, to call
> out media matters for what he, Beck, Hannity, Coulter and O'Reilly do
> every single day?
>
> Flag It
> |
> Permalink
> |
> Reply
> 8:25 pm, Oct 30, 2009
>
>
>
>
>
> periscope
> Fake News is by far America's biggest fraud
> Their wacko audience needs lies it can applaud
> so Hannity's insanity
> and O'Reilly's inanity
> are dished daily with Beck's psychotic discord.
>
> Flag It
> |
> Permalink
> |
> Reply
> 10:08 am, Oct 30, 2009
>
>
>
>
>
> Dillon
> On Halloween night you will find
> Reminders that time you rewind
> They've done it at Fox
> Who set back their clocks
> So far they're four decades behind.
>
> News Short n' Sweet by JFD8
> http://twitter.com/JFD8
>
>
>
> Flag It
> |
> Permalink
> |
> Reply
> 11:03 am, Oct 30, 2009
>
>
>
>
>
> JackHughes
> David Brock's "Blinded by the Right," the story of his crisis of
> conscience and conversion from right-wing media hit-man to liberal  
> media
> critic, is an insider's report about the right's vicious anti-Clinton
> propaganda campaign of the 1990s.
>
> It's a great read.
>
> Flag It
> |
> Permalink
> |
> Reply
> 12:57 pm, Oct 30, 2009
>
>
>
>
>
> sophia5
> FOX leans to the biased right. MSNBC leans to the biased left.
>
> Good for CNN's Campbell Brown challenging Valerie Jarrett
> on bias that exists both on the right and left networks.
>
>
> Flag It
> |
> Permalink
> |
> Reply
> |
> (–)
> Show Replies
> Collapse Replies
> 1:37 pm, Oct 30, 2009
>
>
>
>
> AlanD2
> sophia5: The problem is not the bias of Fox News.
>
> The problem is that Fox News tells lies.
>
> None of the other cable networks consistently lie like Fox.
>
> Flag It
> |
> Permalink
> |
> Reply
> 3:15 pm, Oct 30, 2009
>
>
>
>
> DellDolly
> As others have said, the problem is not the bias. The problem is the
> lies, distortions and omissions of critically relevant data by  
> FoxNews.
> It's their unfair attacks on Obama, and their unfair praise of Bush.
> It's their lack of critical investigative reporting of Bush, and their
> virtual refusal to publish a positive story about Obama. It's their
> promotion of the Tea Parties - for cripes sake, do you think that's an
> appropriate thing for a legitimate news organization to do? It's the
> bias that bleeds from their opinion shows into their 'straight' news
> shows, and it's the inflammatory "questions" they ask with their
> scrolling messages and chryons. It's the 'accidental' placement of "D"
> instead of "R" after Republicans who get themselves in trouble.
>
> On top of all that is the fact that despite having some prime time  
> hosts
> whose personal political preferences lean left, MSNBC doesn't let that
> affect the way they cover news stories. FoxNews does. MSNBC has  
> several
> center politicians, and they have a former conservative Republican
> Congressman who has 3 hours in the morning. FoxNews has no such  
> counter,
> and they have some real crazies like Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity.
>
> Flag It
> |
> Permalink
> |
> Reply
> 4:24 pm, Oct 30, 2009
>
>
>
>
>
> pacheco3
> What happens with Beck's ??? its he mentally stable??
>
> Flag It
> |
> Permalink
> |
> Reply
> 2:37 pm, Oct 30, 2009
>
>
>
>
>
> periscope
> The most insidious aspect of Fake News and the right-wing in  
> America, is
> the fact that they don't really care about the welfare of the country.
> They're only interested in their agenda, regardless of it's effect on
> anyone else.
> More tax cuts for the rich? You bet. Private healthcare insurance
> maintained at it's horrendous status quo, while it crushes or kills
> American citizens? You bet.
> Denying women the right to choose when to become mothers? You bet.
> Block science and stem cell research? You bet.
> Go to war, senseless or not? You bet.
> Fake News is cheerleading their gullibe audience right off the  
> cliff as
> the Republican Party plays the marching music.
>
> Flag It
> |
> Permalink
> |
> Reply
> |
> (–)
> Show Replies
> Collapse Replies
> 6:33 pm, Oct 30, 2009
>
>
>
>
> AlanD2
> You tell 'em, periscope!
>
> Flag It
> |
> Permalink
> |
> Reply
> 8:11 pm, Oct 30, 2009
>
>
>
>
>
> mzkitti
>> From CJ
> Beck or Fox News fair and honest and on what planet would that be?
>
> By legitimizing Fox News as a news organization, reporters and
> commentators are enabling the network to continue conducting a massive
> conservative political campaign under the guise of journalism. In the
> process, they are permitting Fox News to dominate the national
> discussion by spreading smears and lies -- smears and lies that become
> conventional wisdom. They are also defending an organization that has
> nothing but contempt for journalistic standards -- hence undermining
> their own profession and the public interest at the same time.
>
> Criticizing Fox News has nothing to do with criticizing the press. Fox
> News is not a news organization. It is the de facto leader of the GOP,
> and it is long past time that it was treated as such by our nation's
> media.
>
> The evidence supporting such a reality is overwhelming. To begin with,
> Fox News CEO Roger Ailes has described his station's confrontation  
> with
> the Obama administration as "the Alamo." Fox News senior vice  
> president
> Bill Shine said Fox was "the voice of opposition." In other words, the
> entire operation has an explicit political agenda, not just a few  
> hosts.
> There is no separation between Fox News' "opinion" programming and its
> "news" programs. Bret Baier's Special Report, the closest show Fox  
> News
> has to a straight newscast, portrays Obama in a negative light 77
> percent of the time, according to a recent study by the Center for  
> Media
> and Public Affairs.
>
> But the story goes well beyond the conservative bias Fox News has
> historically reflected. Like all major political entities, Fox News is
> now coordinating grassroots (or, more accurately, astroturf) political
> activities, lobbying for or against legislation, and fundraising for
> conservative causes. The network called April's protests "Fox News Tea
> Parties." It encouraged people to attend town halls last summer and  
> then
> broadcast only the statements of those who opposed Democratic health
> care proposals. The 9/12 rally in Washington was the work of Beck, who
> claimed that 1.7 million people showed up (it was actually closer to
> 70,000). A video soon emerged of one of the station's producers  
> coaching
> marchers before a live "report" from the scene.
>
> Fox news routinely implores its audience to call Congress and oppose
> progressive legislation. Fox's Dick Morris and Mike Huckabee have both
> used Fox News airtime to encourage donations to conservative political
> action committees.
>
> Again, these are unambiguous campaign activities, not the work of a  
> news
> organization. It is no wonder that Fox's new website,  
> FoxNation.com, has
> repeatedly cheered legislative developments it favors as a "Fox Nation
> Victory!"
>
> Fox News relishes its newfound activism. "The conservative media is
> winning now," Bill O'Reilly said on September 17. "They're damaging  
> the
> president of the United States." But the damage Fox News causes isn't
> just political. Every day, it undermines serious journalism, misleads
> millions of Americans, and distorts our national discussion on crucial
> issues. Fox News represents an attack on democracy itself.
>
> Much of the channel's "reporting" takes the form of obsessive and
> factually inaccurate efforts to smear progressive organizations and
> discredit Obama administration officials. To give you a sense of
> priorities: over a three-year period, shows hosted by Sean Hannity and
> Beck mentioned ACORN 1,502 times, saying it was a corruption  
> scandal. By
> contrast, their programs mentioned Halliburton, KBR, Blackwater, Jack
> Abramoff, and Bob Ney 109 times combined.
>
> Fox is currently conducting a witch hunt against administration  
> members.
> After Van Jones resigned, Hannity told a crowd, "We got rid of one,  
> and
> my job starting tomorrow night is to get rid of every other one."
>
> Exposing improper conduct is one thing. Inventing it is another. Fox
> News breathlessly reported claims that an ACORN employee had murdered
> her husband without confirming the story. It wasn't true. Similarly,
> Hannity reported that Department of Education official Kevin Jennings
> had concealed the "statutory rape" of a high school student. It was  
> soon
> revealed that the student was 16 at the time (the age of consent), and
> by his own account had not engaged in sexual activity with his
> fictitious assailant. Hannity never apologized.
>
> Fake stories like these are what Fox News is built on. Health care
> reform will create death panels? False. Cass Sunstein believes in
> mandating that people become organ donors? False. John Holdren  
> advocates
> for "compulsory abortion and sterilization," as Hannity put it? False.
> Fox reported them all as fact -- and the list goes on.
>
> Never in American history has a media organization this powerful  
> been so
> willing to misrepresent reality in order to achieve a political goal.
> The right-wing press ran a similar campaign targeting Bill Clinton in
> the 1990s, but for most of that time period, it lacked the national,
> real-time reach and impact Fox now possessed.
>
> The impact of Fox News' long campaign of misinformation should concern
> any citizen. Fox has repeatedly misinformed its viewers on everything
> from the non-existent connection between Saddam Hussein and Al  
> Qaeda to
> the contents of health care reform legislation. Such misinformation  
> can
> have serious consequences, and Fox News should be called out for
> propagating it.
>
> There is nothing wrong with the White House standing up to its most
> powerful, unprincipled, and self-declared political opponent, one that
> clearly started this fight. And beyond politics, there certainly isn't
> anything wrong with exposing an organization that unapologetically  
> harms
> our democracy by poisoning our national discourse with falsehoods  
> on an
> hourly basis.
>
> The channel knows what it's up against. "If they repeat this long
> enough," said Fox News' Bernie Goldberg on Monday, "and often  
> enough --
> that Fox News is not a real news organization, it's an arm of the
> national Republican Party, it's not to be taken seriously -- if  
> they say
> that long enough, it might become part of bloodstream of the American
> culture."
>
> Fox News' own media analyst got the story right, while so many  
> others in
> the media are still getting it wrong. For once, the channel was  
> actually
> breaking news, even if it is merely the simple truth.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Flag It
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> Reply
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> Show Replies
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> 9:00 pm, Oct 30, 2009
>
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