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Media Matters: Fox News’ ever-expanding ethics nightmare
Faux News Strikes again. The following story is hot off the press about Fox News folks being too firmly entrenched in the various conservative political movements. I am not aware of any scandals but why would I be? I keep Faux News on a lot. I consider it to be a fairly good source for what ^&*() is going to hit the fan next which I need to keep the blog up.
On another note, Jon Stewart seems to be running a one man show with the same objective. Stewart is calling them out left and right. He makes fun of the hypocrisy he sees. Maybe that is the best way. I watch. It is like turning your face away from a train wreck. I can’t do it. See Jon Stewart’s Punching Bag, Fox News. (New York Times)
So, my challenge is, for the conservatives here to disprove this story. I know that Media Matters is scoffed at because it is liberal. You all help me understand if these ethic nightmares are valid or not. There is not a soul who isn’t aware of my opinion of Fox News. I am biased. No fair shot from the Moonhowler.
Media Matters: Fox News’ ever-expanding ethics nightmare
Another week, another handful of ethical scandals that should permanently sink Fox’s claim of being a legitimate news organization.
To recap: Last week, they gave us twin scandals starring Fox News stalwarts Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity. “Furious” Fox News execs pulled Sean Hannity from his planned show filming/fundraiser for the Cincinnati Tea Party after numerous news veterans and watchdogs called foul.
O’Reilly spent last week reminding us of his willful ignorance by repeatedly falsely asserting that “no one” on Fox promoted the falsehood that “jail time” was a penalty for not buying insurance under the health care reform bill. He was outrageously wrong.
Though Howard Kurtz reported that Fox plans to “keep a tighter rein on Hannity and others” in the wake of the tea party scandal, we remain skeptical. Fox has a long history of promising change in the wake of damaging ethics scandals, then failing to deliver on those promises.
Indeed, despite cancelling Hannity’s tea party event, Fox News has yet to cancel a planned appearance by Fox Business host John Stossel at a paid event for a nonprofit organization with very close ties to the energy industry. If history is any indicator, Fox will hold its breath and hope that everyone forgets about the Stossel fundraiser.
Of course, this being Fox News, Stossel’s planned fundraiser wasn’t even the cable channel’s biggest ethics scandal this week.
While a great deal of attention has deservedly been given to Rupert Murdoch’s statement that Fox News “shouldn’t be promoting the tea party,” the rest of his comment — “or any other party” — is equally notable. So, how’s Fox’s supposedly frowned-upon promotion of that “other party” — the GOP — going? In a word: lucratively.
As we detailed last week, Fox News hosts and contributors have raised millions of dollars for Republican candidates and causes using PACs, 527s, and 501(c)(4) organizations.
In a follow-up report this week, we detailed the massive scope of Fox’s fundraising for the GOP:
In recent years, at least twenty Fox News personalities have endorsed, raised money, or campaigned for Republican candidates or causes, or against Democratic candidates or causes, in more than 300 instances and in at least 49 states. Republican parties and officials have routinely touted these personalities’ affiliations with Fox News to sell and promote their events.
In their defense, they did miss Wyoming.
Were Fox an actual news organization that cared about journalistic standards, all of these ethics scandals would be excellent fodder for its weekly media criticism show, Fox News Watch. Unfortunately, as we noted last weekend, they ignored the O’Reilly and Hannity scandals in favor of such pressing stories as media coverage of the new Oprah bio. Forthcoming coverage of the Fox Newsers’ fundraising seems unlikely.
Media Matters reporter and senior editor Joe Strupp pointed out that while Fox News Watch was once a source of legitimate media criticism, the show has increasingly transformed into yet another megaphone for GOP talking points. Strupp quoted former Fox News Watch host Eric Burns (no relation to Media Matters President Eric Burns) saying: “The show was getting to be more and more of a struggle to do fairly. There was a progression of interference to try to make the show more right-wing. I fought very hard against it.”
As Media Matters President Eric Burns pointed out on MSNBC this week, “When you have a famed, well known Republican hitman — Roger Ailes — running a news network, this is what you’re going to get.”
Fox News has a slightly different take, however. As Fox News Watch put it in the promo for its segment on Ailes’ new ratings high, “Fairness plus balance equals success.”
Take note, CNN.
Newt Gingrich Declares Tea Party the Militant Wing of the Republican Party
Is this nomenclature helpful or is it off-putting? Is this the kind of press the Tea Party wants? Would it fare better being a third party? Is it possible for a third party to win in America?
If the Tea Party became a third party, would they just continue to court old Republicans who sang the right music? How would that work? Maybe Newt has better thing before he inserts his foot. I have heard people do not like what he said.
