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White House Steps Up Attacks on Fox News
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by Hugh Askew | October 19, 2009 at 06:25 am
762 views | 41 Recommendations | 34 comments
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Yesterday, the Obama oligarchy stepped up it's retoric against dissident Fox News on Sunday morning talk shows. Continuing the Obama campaign tactic of feeding compliant networks only the news they see fit to print, Senior Administration Adviser David Axelrod called on media outlets to join the administration in declaring that Fox is "not a news organization."
Rahm Emanuel said on CNN that Obama doesn't want "the CNNs and the others in the world to basically be led in following Fox."
On Sunday, Rahm Emanuel, President Barack Obama's chief of staff, said, "It is not a news organization so much as it has a perspective."
In response to the criticism, Fox News executive Michael Clemente on Sunday accused the White House of continuing to "declare war on a news organization" rather than focusing on issues such as jobs and health care.
"The door remains open and we welcome a discussion about the facts behind the issues," said Clemente, senior vice president of news, in a written statement.
Karl Rove, a Fox News contributor and former White House adviser to President George W. Bush, said the Obama administration is trying to demonize Fox News for asking questions officials do not like. He compared Obama's approach to that of President Richard Nixon, who included journalists on an "enemies list."
"This is a White House engaging in its own version of the media enemies list," Rove said. "And it's unhelpful for the country and undignified for the president of the United States to so do."
Appearing on ABC television's "This Week," senior Obama adviser David Axelrod said Fox News shouldn't be treated as a news organization. "And the bigger thing is that other news organizations
, like yours (ABC), ought not to treat them that way, and we're not going to treat them that way," he said.
Axelrod said. "The only argument Anita was making is that they're not really a news station. ... It's not just their commentators, but a lot of their news programming. It's really not news. It's pushing a point of view."
Emanuel appeared on CNN's "State of the Union
Wise move?
Several critics have questioned the wisdom of Obama's approach."Whether or not you like Fox News, all of us in the press need to be concerned about the administration of President Barack Obama trying to `punish' the cable news channel for its point of view," wrote television critic David Zurawik in the Baltimore Sun.
"I would think that what this reflects is a pent-up frustration or rage at the coverage they get, not only from Fox but elsewhere," said David Gergen, a CNN commentator and former White House aide."My experience has been when the White House engages in personal or organizational attacks, it elevates the other side to virtually the same level of the White House, which is not their intent," he said. "It's going to spike Fox's ratings," which are already high this year.
The White House has been angry since Chris Wallace of "Fox News Sunday' had the audacity to fact-check controversial assertions made by Tammy Duckworth, assistant secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, in August.
White House communications director Anita Dunn said fact-checking an administration official was "something I've never seen a Sunday show do."
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (34)
at 06:40 on October 19th, 2009
This is unbelievable. I think the White House needs to chill out.
Former DNC Chairman McCullough (sp) was on FOX yesterday with Chris Wallace and debating Karl Rove.
They pointed out to him, supported by a video clip, that he called FOX Fair and balanced when they pushed his candidate Hillary Clinton ahead of Obama.
My how things change.
at 15:05 on October 19th, 2009
ACP: It Seems like the Obama Administration is up on it's Saul Alinsky! HA! They need to chill out alright! Members of the Obama administration are making utter fools out of themselves and some of them sound like they're caught in a '60s hippie time-warp when they bring names like Mao Zedong up in public.This is scary stuff that's going on in the Obama Administration.
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calebm12 (not verified)at 15:52 on October 19th, 2009
Fax the Whitehouse for free and defend Fox News! www.questionobama.com/faxcampaign/1082/defending-fox-news
at 06:49 on October 19th, 2009
The Republicans and Democrats started the fire by repressing the Libertarians and Greens which they still do on a continuing basis. What is happening goes farther than what Nixon did. It appears that the current administration wants to close down FOX News in the same vein that Chavez closed down RCTV in Venezuela.
Whether you agree with FOX or not, society in order to survive needs to have choices in opinions. The response would be a dictatorship or civil war.
at 07:12 on October 19th, 2009
Shutting down media, because it critiques you is just plain wrong. It makes you wonder what they have to hide. Maybe that is why FOX is now using the motto, Fair and Balanced and Unafraid.
at 07:10 on October 19th, 2009
"Whether you agree with FOX or not, society in order to survive needs to have choices in opinions."
Well said, Mr. Galloso! Well said.
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truthteller (not verified)at 08:19 on October 19th, 2009
"Whether you agree with FOX or not, society in order to survive needs to have choices in opinions."Including that of Mr. Emmanuel and the Obama administration?Give it a break! They're not calling for FAUX News to be shut down they're stating their opinion about it, and it's an opinion shared by anyone who knows the difference between real news and the made-up, gobbledegook, religionized nonsense that the cretins at FAUX try to pass off as news.
at 08:51 on October 19th, 2009
To tell the truth, truthteller, it appears that you failed to read the article.
They are not simply "stating their opinion" of it, they are calling for a campaign against Fox News.
Given the admission that (quote) "....very rarely did we communicate through the press anything that we didn't absolutely control.", perhaps it may be the Obama administration that is guilty of a little "faux" news themselves, eh?
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truthteller (not verified)at 09:43 on October 19th, 2009
FAUX and its GOP enablers set the bar down in the sewer and kept it there. They attacked MSNBC and anyone else who wasn't a true believer, and they did so with slander and innuendo. They can dish it out but as all such hypocrits behave, they sure can't take it! A grass roots movement against the FAUX Cartoon Network passing itself off as anything other than nonsense? Where do we sign up!
at 15:47 on October 19th, 2009
MSNBC! The station that instantly turned a black man that was carrying a gun at a health care rally into a white man simply to satisfy its ideology! LOL!
at 15:34 on October 19th, 2009
HUGH: It's obvious that the Obama Administration wants to shut up anyone that dares to criticize or question its policies. I have no doubt, at this point, that if the Obama administration could get away with issuing an excutive order today to shut down FOX and all right-wing talk radio shows it would do so in a heart beat. Obama is making Richard Nixon look like a choir boy and if he continues, he'll be the left's modern-day version of Joe McCarthy. If members of the Obama Administration have the best interests of the American people in mind, then they need to open themselves up to scrutiny on all mainstream media outlets and not just on the ones that are sympathetic to the administration's policies. FOX has millions of viewers and continues to gain more everyday. If the millions of Americans that watch FOX thought that it was a right wing fringe media outlet they wouln't tune in and FOX's ratings would go down the tubes. It's obvious by now that the Obama administration can't take the heat . . . it needs to get out of the kitchen . . . .
at 15:44 on October 19th, 2009
I don't think Obama has descended to any where near Nixon's level......that will take another few years, should he prove that foolish. I don't believe he is foolish, just un-experienced. Perhaps he believes that it is his prerogative to denigrate his opponents. Hopefully, he'll learn from FDR and Ronald Raygun.
I think the man is intelligent, but his decision making leaves something to be desired. Can't say i like his political agenda much, either, but that is another subject.
at 15:57 on October 19th, 2009
Hugh: I don't care how inexperienced a U.S. president or his administration is. Common sense dictates that you don't engage in an obvious campaign to shut up media outlets and personalities that have opposing viewpoints. Nixon had an enemies list and apparently so does Obama. This is not the type of person that I want running our country.Who is the Obama Administration going to go after next? Joe the plumber . . . or did it already do that?
at 09:46 on October 19th, 2009
What's the campaign? I read the article. I saw the point by Axelrod suggesting that other networks not treat FOX as a news outlet. And there's Karl Rove saying he thinks the WH has an "enemies" list like the Nixon WH. Now that is just comical, considering the source.
Here's a bit more background on the "fact check" issue: SUMMARY: Purporting to "fact check" an interview with assistant secretary of Veterans Affairs Tammy Duckworth from the previous week's edition of Fox News Sunday about an end-of-life educational booklet used by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Chris Wallace falsely claimed, "The VHA handbook specifically mentions only one document, 'Your Life, Your Choices,' " which he noted "critics call the death book." Wallace's "fact check" segment in no way addressed several distortions and falsehoods he and former Bush administration aide Jim Towey advanced during an interview on the booklet that also aired during the August 23 broadcast.
at 13:01 on October 19th, 2009
Nice straw man, nanute.
We (with an exception here and there) were talking about White House treatment of FOX News. and the apparent orchestrated attempt to feed a propaganda line to ABC, CNN, NBC, etc. The "fact check" line is simply hilarious, from my perspective. I mean, my gosh, we can't have people running around FACT CHECKING, to see if the adminstration is telling the truth, now can we?
Full quote from Anita Dunn:
DUNN: "In the round of Sunday shows, Chris Wallace from the Sunday shows. And I told Major quite honestly that we had told Chris Wallace that having fact-checked an administration guest on his show, something I've never seen a Sunday show do, and Howie, you can show me examples of where Sunday shows have fact-checked previous weeks' guests.
We asked Chris for example where he had done that to anybody besides somebody from the administration in the year 2009, and we're still waiting to hear from him. When they want to treat us like they treat everyone else -- but let's be realistic here, Howie. They are -- they're widely viewed as, you know, part of the Republican Party. Take their talking points and put them on the air. Take their opposition research and put them on the air, and that's fine. But let's not pretend they're a news network the way CNN is."
When it becomes obvious that they (the administration) are making a concerted effort to denigrate Fox, then it is time to push back............to coin a phrase.
If the booklet in your comment is the question, then why didn't Anita Dunn bring it up, instead of whining about unfairness?
In fact, why are Obama and his cohorts whining about FOX at all? If he has the leadership, the vision, and the arguments, what does he care? He very obviously has ABC, CBS, CNN, and NBC in his camp.
What, 4 to 1 odds aren't good enough?
.
at 13:25 on October 19th, 2009
I don't see your point Hugh. I'm sorry. How is the administration 'denigrating" FOX? By claiming that the administration is not treated the same as any other guest? Whining about unfairness? I didn't see any whining. Except from FOX. The administration has no upside in engaging a mouthpiece of the opposition party. Pointing out the obvious bias, is what really upsets Roger Ailes, Karl Rove and Rupert Murdock. Has Wallace responded to the reasonable request? I don't think so.
at 13:57 on October 19th, 2009
Here, from Webster:
denigrate
1 : to attack the reputation of : defame <denigrate one's opponents>
2 : to deny the importance or validity of : belittle <denigrate their achievements>
"...but let's be realistic here, Howie. They are -- they're widely viewed as, you know, part of the Republican Party. Take their talking points and put them on the air. Take their opposition research and put them on the air, and that's fine. But let's not pretend they're a news network the way CNN is.""
Now, which parts of that, isn't whining about, or denigrating FOX?
"Take their opposition research and put them on the air, and that's fine..."
Oh my, can't have that, why the REAL networks work for us, not against us! Why, it is UNFAIR!
no? Then maybe:
..."But let's not pretend they're a news network the way CNN is."
Shootfire man, that sure ain't denigrating CNN. CNN is a REAL network, not like that cheezy FOX.
Evidently you don't think she was attempting to deny the importance of FOX, or their validity as a news network? She in no way was attacking their reputation?
at 17:39 on October 19th, 2009
What reputation? She is clearly pointing out what FOX news is famous for. Definition 2 fits. Though I'm not sure of FOX's importance or validity. Some people find their style of "reporting" valid. I've seen enough of FOX news, contrary to what others may think in their own mind, to know that there is an obvious bias in favor of Republican and conservative viewpoints. FOX has every right to frame its "news" in this fashion. And their critics, including the administration have every right to point this out. It's not news. It's editorializing dressed up to appear as news. Anyone that is critical of the network is labeled as an ideologue or some other term that could be construed as denigrating. FOX reminds me of that schoolyard bully that finally gets punched in the nose, and starts crying like a baby. Bwaaaaah!
I don't know about CNN. Never watch it. It might be a real network, it might not be. It's her opinion, and she didn't say FOX was cheezy, you did.
at 17:52 on October 19th, 2009
Nanute, they all frame the news and editorialize. My god Chris Matthews on MSNBC even has a triggle run down his leg when he sees Obama.
I agree that criticism is justified for all of them but for the White House to single out FOX on it , is suspect. Are they that weak that they can.t take critical reporting on their policies. I think the White House needs adult supervision and deal with Unemployment, Afghanistan and Healthcare, in that order. Why would they even get into a fight with a cable network? It's a no win situation.
at 08:15 on October 20th, 2009
APC,
Chris Matthews doesn't do reporting. He's got a show that is a mix of politics and opinion. It is clearly editorializing, as opposed to journalism and reporting the "news." If I remember correctly, Matthews had a similar "triggle" (what the f'ck is a triggle?), down his leg when commander cod piece had his Mission Accomplished moment. Or, maybe that was the crazy Jesus Lady, I can't remember. The point I'm trying to make, without much success, is that not only FOX, but they're the worst in my opinion, but all the major "news" outlets have lost sight of what reporting and journalism is supposed to be about. The industry as a whole has turned into a bunch of stenographers, and advocates for the respective parties positions. The profession, once upon a time in America, had an obligation to represent the citizens interest. Not just one group of citizens, all citizens. Now it is all about "the Republicans say this, and the Democrats say that", without giving the viewers enough factual information to make an informed opinion as to who has the facts right and who is just creating fiction. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle, but you'd never know it by listening to the so called mainstream media, and FOX is the most egregious cheerleader for the conservative point of view. It is just my opinion, and nothing I've read on any of the different threads on this issue has convinced my otherwise.
at 18:35 on October 19th, 2009
nanute:
That was an attempt at this thing called "sarcasm", in case you hadn't noticed. I can post a definition, should you wish.
I don't watch CNN either, nor FOX (don't even subscribe to them).
While i certainly agree with you on the right of others to criticize FOX, it is not acceptable for the president to send out the goon squad to lean on the other networks, in order to validate the presidents views.
Rahm Emanuel said on CNN that Obama doesn't want "the CNNs and the others in the world to basically be led in following Fox."
David Axelrod called on media outlets to join the administration in declaring that Fox is "not a news organization................And the bigger thing is that other news organizations, like yours (ABC), ought not to treat them that way, and we're not going to treat them that way," he said.
There, they said it, not me.
at 18:04 on October 19th, 2009
at 21:23 on October 19th, 2009
nanute: If I didn't know better, it's almost as if you believe that FOX News is part of some "vast right wing conspiracy" . . . where have we heard that one before? LOL! I honestly don't believe that all newscasters on FOX are right-wing Republicans. Indeed some of them may actually be Independents or even Democrats. Imagine that! And perhaps it would be beneficial if someone were to do a little investigation into the political beliefs of FOX personalities.
But even if FOX News was made up entirely of Republicans, what difference does it make? Are you implying that a journalist or newscaster can't be "fair and balanced" simply on the basis of their personal political beliefs? I don't believe that for a minute! And if you do believe that, then how can anyone take the news personalities and jornalists over at CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and NBC seriously? And I have no doubt that there are plenty of journalists and newscasters out there that make an earnest and sincere effort to be totally objective when it comes to reporting the news in spite of their own personal political views and that they succeed in getting the facts straight throughout their stories and newscasts.
In light of recent events, it is apparent that President Obama and his administration is engaged in an earnest and all-out campaign to stifle free speech in America and to, therefore, shut up as many of his political opponents as he and his administration possibly can. Quite frankly, I don't like what Obama and members of his administration are saying about certain media organizations and certain talk radio hosts. There is something deeply disturbing about a U.S. president singling out certain media outlets and radio talk show hosts and then having members of his administration openly criticize them over the public airwaves.
at 02:44 on October 20th, 2009
I don't give a rat's ass what party these "journalists" belong to. What these folks at FOX, by and large, are practicing is not journalism. (Unless it is of the yellow variety.) The history and tradition of journalism in this country is best noted by this quote from Jacob Weisberg at Newsweek :What's most distinctive about the American press is not its freedom but its century-old tradition of independence—that it serves the public interest rather than those of parties, persuasions, or pressure groups. Media independence is a 20th-century innovation that has never fully taken root in many other countries that do have a free press. The Australian-British-continental model of politicized media that Murdoch has applied at Fox is un-American, so much so that he has little choice but go on denying what he's doing as he does it. For Murdoch, Ailes, and company, "fair and balanced" is a necessary lie. To admit that their coverage is slanted by design would violate the American understanding of the media's role in democracy and our idea of what constitutes fair play. But it's a demonstrable deceit that no longer deserves equal time.
at 12:03 on October 19th, 2009
Here is a link to "Your life your choices".
at 13:19 on October 19th, 2009
Here is an article from the New Yorker in 2004
Bush's Press Problem Q & A
DANIEL CAPPELLO: All Presidents complain about the press. How is the Bush White House different?
KEN AULETTA: In two ways. They are more disciplined. They reject an assumption embraced by most reporters: that we are neutral and represent the public interest. Rather, they see the press as just another special interest. The discipline flows down from President Bush, who runs the White House like a C.E.O. and demands loyalty. This is a cohesive White House staff, dominated by people whose first loyalty is to Team Bush. When Bush leaves the White House, most of his aides will probably return to Texas. They are not Washington careerists, and thus they have less need to puff themselves up with the Washington press corps. In fact—and this leads to the second difference—from Bush on down, talking to the press off the record is generally frowned upon and equated with leaking, which is a deadly sin in the Bush White House (unless it is a leak manufactured to advance the President's agenda).
http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=3812
This article gives some presidential, historical perspective since Reagan on how the presidency interacts with the press. It's called In Control.
at 15:01 on October 19th, 2009
...it's an opinion shared by anyone who knows the difference between real news and the made-up, gobbledegook, religionized nonsense that the cretins at FAUX try to pass off as news. Now this is what you are talking about truth-teller? You just lost your credibility!
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calebm12 (not verified)at 15:52 on October 19th, 2009
Fax the WhiteHouse for FREE and let them know that they need to re-evaluate their priorities and leave Fox News alone. www.questionobama.com/faxcampaign/1082/defending-fox-news
at 16:19 on October 19th, 2009
calebm12 (not verified): FOX news needs to keep on doing what it's doing. Personally I rarely tune into FOX. The same goes for CNN and MSNBC. They all have their biases and any claim to the contary is absurd. I much prefer C-SPAN, for it's less distracting and it affords me the opportunity to formulate my own opinions. Most of the people that beat up on FOX don't even tune in. The same goes for those that beat up on right-wing talk radio. Often times, they only know what they're told by their fellow ideologues. And is so often the case with ideologues, they engage in hyperbole and embellishment of the facts in the hopes of swaying people to their ideological point of view. Those type of tactics rarely, if ever, work . . . .
at 02:55 on October 20th, 2009
and some of us are simply too cheap to pay for their news.