October, 19 2009, 01:19pm EDT
Fox News Avoids a Tea Party?
Bowing to pressure from White House and progressive organizations, network airs no live coverage of protest
WASHINGTON
Facing intense criticism from the
White House and progressive organizations about its political activities, Fox
News bowed to pressure and aired no live coverage of the October 17 tea
parties. This weekend's events were intended to protest "journalistic
malpractice" but Fox News' silence was the real story, standing in
stark contrast to its relentless promotion and live coverage of previous tea
party protests.
"A protest of journalistic
malpractice clearly hit too close to home for Fox News," said
Eric Burns, President of Media Matters for
America. "Fox's silence
during this weekend's protests is a clear sign that the criticism coming
from the White House, journalists, and progressive organizations is having an
impact."
BACKGROUND:
Following White House communications director Anita Dunn's recent
critique of Fox News serving as an "arm" of the Republican Party, Fox
News did not devote
any live coverage to what it had previously referred to as the October 17
"tea part[y]" protests by Operation: Can You Hear Us Now?, an
organization that planned "to show the MSM [mainstream media] that we as
the American Public are absolutely fed up with their journalistic
malpractice." By contrast, Fox News devoted significant promotion and live
coverage of the April 15 tax day tea party and the September 12 "March on Washington."
As Media Matters has
noted, Fox News has come under increasing fire not just from the White House,
but also from journalists and progressive leaders:
- Aravosis: Fox is "a political operation and
not a news network"
- Axelrod: Fox News "really not news, it's
pushing a point of view" and other outlets shouldn't treat them as
news
- Weisberg: "Respectable journalists ...
should stop appearing" on Fox News
- NPR's Folkenflik reports on White House
"taking direct aim" at Fox, notes how network's stories move
from "opinion" to "news" shows
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.
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