The White House is at war with Fox News. Yesterday the administration attempted to ban Fox from the White House press pool only to run into objections (finally!!) from other members of the pool. The White House relented on the press pool issue.
President of Media Matters for America, Eric E. Burns wrote in the Huffington Post that “Fox News Channel is twisting American politics in an unprecedented way.” He goes on to say that “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.”
Obama strategist David Axelrod told This Week’s George Stephanopoulos that Fox News Is ‘Not Really A News Organization.’
I have no doubt that Fox News reports from a conservative, highly anti-Obama, perspective. The Obama administration and Obama’s supporters have a right to dislike Fox News. The administration’s war on Fox News however, is misguided at best and symbolic of the reason’s for Obama’s policy failures to date, as identified by Saturday Night Live. The President, in his administration’s war on Fox News, continues to demonstrate his inability and inexperience.
Fox News is the, “smoke” not the, “fire.” The fire is the state of our news media, the biased coverage, errors of fact, and the ommission of important facts and stories for what appears to be errors and bias. That Fox News thrives in this current media environment is testimony to the distrust; justsified distrust, Americans have for their sources of news.
Folks, if you don’t see these problems in our news media then I have a challenge for you; here are three sites that examine news coverage. Make these sites part of your regular reading. The Media Research Center and Honest Reporting are media watchdogs. Best of The Web Today is a Wall Street Journal daily newsletter that often points out issues with media coverage. Again, if you don’t see these problems in our news media then make these part of your regular reading.
The White House should do the same. Because their war on Fox News is a terrible idea, a waste of time, and a boost to Fox News ratings and credibility. Instead of war, the administration should encourage far better coverage of the administration by the other members of the media. If the administration wants to fight bias in the media they should fight bias in the media, not just the bias they don’t like.
If the President really believes that his agenda is good and just then he believes that his agenda will hold up to honest, thorough media scrutiny; the kind of media coverage that will make our nation stronger by enabling a more informed electorate. This President won the election as a media darling, a rock star. The loving coverage has certainly eased but the media, with the exception of Fox News and a handful of other outlets, gives the President the benefits of any doubt.
If the President wants to weaken Fox News he has to attack the problem; distrust of the way the media covers the President. War on Fox News is not a solution, it is just another in a long line of failing policies.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
The reality is the Whitehouse is getting desperate. The media should not side with any administration. A pathetic attack on Fox News and this administration has brought shame and dishonor.
Why WH goes and tells the truth. Beat them on own game. In addition, stop waste are time there is important issue out there.
Robert S. Siegel said, fail this, and fail that.
Funny thing is, that’s what Fox News does.
I like that Obama and Dems attack Fox. Fox is only 15 years old or so. Their credibility is lacking at best. Unfortunately Fox has a huge network so they get to make lots of Americans as ignorant of the facts.
Republicans look bad when they can’t show leadership. Fox News and the other right-wing propaganda machines simply fill the void.
“Nature abhors a vacuum, and there is no vacuum in nature as empty as the leadership of the Republican Party today.”
Conservative columnist Richard Viguerie
“A man who is aggressive and bombastic, cutting and sarcastic, who dismisses the concerned citizens in network news focus groups as ‘losers.’ With his private plane and his cigars, his history of drug dependency and his personal bulk, not to mention his tangled marital history, Rush is a walking stereotype of self-indulgence – exactly the image that Barack Obama most wants to affix to our philosophy and our party.”
Conservative David Frum, editor of NewMajority.com.
I’m amazed that anyone takes the whining and crying of Faux News seriously. I’m amazed that anyone takes Faux News seriously at all. It’s like Pravda for the big corporations.
I like this qoute and think it applies in this situation…
The spread of evil is the symptom of a vacuum. whenever evil wins, it is only by default: by the moral failure of those who evade the fact that there can be no compromise on basic principles.
Ayn Rand (1905 – 1982), Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, 1966
You do realize that Ayn Rand was mentally ill and that her “philosophy” was a rationalization of her Narcissistic Personality Disorder, don’t you?
Does that invalidate the principle she voiced?
What outrageously libelous things liberals say. Laughing, it sounds like you have about as much integrity as our president: none.
“To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history.” Sound familiar? Yes, Obama said that. Ironic, isn’t it, that these are the tools of his governance?
Watch for contempt, as in Laughing’s post above or the entire Bill O’Reily show. They are of the same ilk. Rarely are those holding views opposed to yours worthy of contempt as most people are looking for the best solutions available.
Jefferson called it the “morbid rage of debate”, where anger and sensationalism rule the day, rather than a calm statement of position and sincere consideration of the opposing view. Next time you find yourself afflicted with it, try this: attempt to make the argument of your opponent; state it BETTER than he can, if possible. Listen for corrections and make them, making sure you understand the opposition completely before answering or refuting. It takes courage and is much more difficult than the “Laughing” or “O’Reily” approaches, but it plumbs the painful depths of an issue far more effectively.
I don’t see why everyone is excited about this, except Fox. Axelrod was just stating the odvious. He specifically stated whe would not cut them off. For the WH to trust Fox would be stupid, given their history.
Apparently you are “Not Really A News Organization” if you do not hump the proverbial leg of the Obama Administration.
Apparently, Pres. Obama’s behavior goes back to before he was elected. Per the AP, “Yet publicly singling out one news organization is but the most highly publicized push-back from an Obama White House that began back during last year’s campaign building a reputation for aggressively confronting reporters over stories it doesn’t like and using hardball tactics to try to get its way. ”
It all comes as part of the job of being one of the most visible politicans in the world. Grow a harder shell and stop being Nixon.