Obama’s war on Fox News
This is disturbing:
Appearing on CNN [Sunday] morning, White House Communications Director Anita Dunn said Fox News exists simply to further the agenda of the GOP.
“Fox News often operates almost as either the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican Party,” Dunn said.
This is the second time in a week that Dunn has blasted Fox.
She was quoted in Time Magazine on Thursday blasting the cable network as “opinion journalism masquerading as news.”
These statements (and others; see here: “they are undertaking a war against Barack Obama and the White House”) are no accident; Dunn is an official White House spokesperson. And they go along with the curious fact that Obama himself has repeatedly taken time out from his busy day to personally blast pundits on the Right such as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity in a way that used to be considered un-Presidential.
It seems that having all three networks, plus CNN and MSNBC (have I left anyone out?), as well as most of print journalism (AP, the Times, Time, Newsweek) firmly in his pocket isn’t good enough for Obama. He must have a Pravda/Izvetzia/Tass situation; no dissidents allowed!
I noted early on that Obama is no fan of free speech—if that speech happens to be critical of him. So will he be following in the footsteps of admirer Hugo Chavez some day? If not, it will only be because he can’t, not because he wouldn’t want to:
Venezuela will pull the plug on 29 more radio stations, a top official in President Hugo Chavez’s government said on Saturday, just weeks after dozens of other outlets were closed in a media clampdown.
Infrastructure Minister Diosdado Cabello closed 34 radio stations in July, saying the government was “democratizing” media ownership. Critics say the move limits freedom of expression and has taken critical voices off the airwaves.
The powerful Chavez ally has threatened to close over 100 stations in total, part of a long-term campaign against private media that the government says are biased against Chavez’s government.
Whether Obama’s attempt to clamp down on the media that dares to challenge the party line will be through the mechanism of the so-called Fairness Doctrine, or through some other means such as actions resembling Chavez’s pitch for “democratizing” media ownership, or whether Obama will just continue to use himself and/or surrogates to attack media voices that happen to disagree with him, it’s a dangerous—and dare I say un-American—move.
Here’s a video of Dunn explaining herself with almost laughable projection (“Let’s not pretend [Fox] is a news network the way CNN is”):
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I never watch Fox News, but this almost makes me want to!
Thank you for the clip. I don’t get CNN.
Maybe they want American media to be more European. Soeren Kern at PJM has a great article on how the European press is covering our health care debate. Such depth and erudition. I only hope that Obama soon apologizes that Chris Matthews has not reached the standards of our betters.
Neo, are you saying that Obama should not criticize Fox News just because it disagrees with him?
Sounds like you want an affirmative action program for them. Hey dude, hands off the minority news show!
Are you kidding? I mean, have you actually watched Fox before picking up a pitchfork in defense of Murdoch Inc.? No offense but your post is nonsensical. I think they may have slipped you some uber-potent New England cider!
Zion Gadol’s post demonstrates the mindset of many lefties on this issue. The rationalizations go something likes this: “CNN says things I like, therefore they are a fair and impartial news outlet. Fox News gives airtime to people and ideas I don’t like, therefore they are a propaganda machine.” For CNN, you could plug in The New York Times, LA Times, All Things Considered, the BBC, etc. without changing the equation.
I know lots of smart conservatives who watch Fox to hear debates they won’t hear anyplace else. It’s refreshing not have to listen to the same old tired lefty talking points hour after hour presented as “news.” Most of us know the difference between news and opinion, and resent being “spun.” Bias exists everywhere, and only naive people expect not to find it on television, where it thrives.
Perhaps a good “objectivity test” would be to compare how much coverage various news organizations gave to the Van Jones controversy. For example, the WaPo had one article on him before he resigned. The NYT had no articles on the Van Jones controversy until after he resigned.
I don’t watch Fox, but my understanding is that it has a certain amount of liberal/conservative, Democratic/Republican interplay, an airing of contrasting views. One time in commenting on Hugo Chavez in a European blog, a commenter made the reply that I got my news from Fox. My reply was that I did not, that I got it from various English language Venezuelan blogs, such as Devil’s Excrement.
Here is an example of the “objectivity” of CNN. Recall the CNN honcho who was recorded at Davos several years ago claiming that US armed forces in Iraq targeted journalists. he resigned over it. Also note that the “objective” press kept that recording off the news.
Regarding free press intents: IIRC , the White House’s recently giving a point-by-point refutation of a Saturday Night Live skit is the first time the White House has ever replied to a SNL COMEDY skit in the three-plus decades of its existence.
Yes, I am concerned. Scared, even.
I may be wrong but I just don’t remember Bush complaining that the MSM was carrying water for the Democratic party, even though in my opinion it was then and is continuing to do so today. It has debased itself into being nothing more than a cheerleader for Obama, and they and the public are on to this game. But, that’s one of the benefits of a free press, that your political opposition has the right to criticize you in public. That Obama does not like the criticism from FOX, which I believe is watched more by Democrats than Republicans, is more than disturbing, it is downright scary. To date, other than put it to our allies, the only “enemies” Obama has been willing to take on in the whole wide world are conservatives here at home. Does Dunn even begin to realize that she is tentatively stepping into the shoes of Joseph Goebbels? Do you think she even knows who Goebbels was or what he stood for?
It almost goes without saying, that every news outlet BUT Fox is for the liberal democrats. Where would those who only get their news from the boob tube be without Fox? They would have NO alternative view or opinion.
Fox is one network – out of many. Yet they are always getting jumped on for being on the other side of opinion. Speaking of opinion, it is my opinion they are far too kind to the left wing.
The White House shouldn’t be going after Fox News, not because they’re “critical”, but for two reasons:
1) It’s anti-free speech for a government entity to wage this sort of campaign against a news outlet.
2) It’s going to backfire on them, the same as it did with Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck. All they’re going to do is raise the ratings and PR profile of Fox News with this current campaign.
I agree with neo. The White House would like nothing better than to implement the Chavez method with regard to political dissent. They haven’t done it because they can’t.
A Whitehouse administration going after a news outlet that is critical. How Nixonian……….
It still is.
How’d that work out for Nixon?
Where did Bush ever go after a news outlet (although God knows he had reason to)?
Obama needs to man up. We all suspect why his handlers won’t let him go on Fox: they’re afraid he’ll step in the dog’s business when they can’t control the forum and the content. Someone might kick the plug out from the teleprompter, and then all unshirted hell could break loose.
To Gringo:
Did the White House also fact check the skit? I thought it was just CNN (Blitzer).
Occam’s Beard, sorry if I was not clear in my writing. I was poking fun at Obama’s administration and their Nixonian like paranoia. I guess it lacks the punch it once did since Nixon has been relegated to EVIL WHITE GUY # 3 at this point, behind Cheney and GWB. Time was, there was no greater insult to a liberal than a comparison to Nixon. I always found that rather funny considering how liberal Nixon actually was in terms of domestic policies.
Sorry, I misinterpreted, and your point is fair enough.
The funny part is that Nixon was paranoid, but the media really were out to get him (payback for Alger Hiss?), whereas Obama is paranoid because not every single member of the media sings his praises from on high.
I’m now waiting for Jay Rosen and his fellow journalism professors to scream bloody murder about Obama’s war on the First Amendment. [Those of you who want to wait with me might want to keep a pillow and some snacks handy. Might be a long wait.]
Not being a fan of either censorship or the Obama administration, I hope they go after FOX, big time.
Not only will it greatly increase FOX’s viewership but more importantly, it will expose many Americans to a conservative rendering of the news and for many Americans that will be an eye opener. As many, if not most Americans get their news from ABC, NBC and CBS.
Finally, they will start to ‘C’ the BS.
I would also encourage FOX, in response to the Obama administration’s labeling of FOX as ‘public enemy #1’, to run ads for FOX News, touting the independence of it’s reportage. As an example of the type of news unavailable elsewhere…
Show brief clips of the more controversial statements by Obama radical czars, (there are many) clearly identified, followed by the rhetorical question: “What, Mr. President is going on? Are these your views? If not, why did you appoint to such important and powerful positions, people so deeply out of step with the mainstream of American opinion?”
Then run the video of Obama stating that we should judge him by the company he keeps…
End the ad with the tag line: “FOX News, where you get the whole story, fair and balanced. Not just what one side wants you to hear.”
Even if Fox were deeply biased, along the lines of Pacifica radio or something, it would be deeply troubling for administration officials to go after it in this way.
Absent from the complaints from the WH are much evidence beyond a few anecdotes. Out of a sea of information, anecdotes are always available to most sides of an argument. They may mean something, but one can never be sure how representative or proportionate the anecdotes are.
In contrast, I recall at least two decades of conservative watchdog outfits running the numbers when discussing MSM bias, noting what percentage of stories were favorable or unfavorable to various public figures or ideas, tracking the general bias of sources cited, comparing the coverage of equivalent events from the left and right sides of the political divide.
“To crooked eyes, the truth may wear a wry face” – Gandalf.
Consider Bush’s reaction (non-reaction) of the CBS/Rather/Mapes attempted use of forged documents to sink his re-election chances. Imagine if Bush had suggested that CBS would be shut out for that heavy handed attempt at impacting the election?
For that matter, why not shut out the entire MSM? Reporters and producers make mistakes (particularly when they’re hunting their own Moby Dick) but it was the aftermath that incriminated CBS and the entire MSM. CBS stonewalled until it was impossible to do so, and Rather spent the next year picking up lifetime achievment awards from various journalistic organizations. Obviously the MSM still treats Rather like a member in good standing. Apparently attempting to use fraud to influence an election doesn’t disqualify one from the journalistic community.
Further evidence that ∅bama is not smart.
You don’t pick a fight with an organization that has a 24 hour per day 7 day a week 52 week a year MICROPHONE !!!
Say your beef and be specific maybe – ala Dan Rather’s made up story – but then move on ! What did Fox News say in error?
The White House can even have a Fox News error of the day piece on it’s website. But to be VAGUELY against Fox News does not do ∅bama any good.
zion gabol said : “No offense but your post is nonsensical.”
I wonder if he /she cares to elaborate ?
Go into specifics if you make that kind of allegation. “X does not makes sense because of this…..”
zion gadol said “…picking up a pitchfork ”
Peasants pick up pitchforks. Unlike liberals, we conservatives do not see ourselves as near helpless wards of the state, that the state is somehow doing us a favor by not taxing us more…..Glenn Beck’s “grab your pitchforks and torches” comedy routine notwithstanding….
Recruiting Animal:
Dubya got plenty of press criticism. Clinton got pleny of press criticism. Neither Dubya or Clinton spent time like ∅bama does railing against news media that disagreed with them. Seems as if ∅bama is a little thin-skinned there. Last year ∅bama told his supporters to “get in their face,” but he doesn’t like it when it is done to him. Turnabout is NOT fair play when ∅bama is concerned. ¿Entendés vos?
Fox is not asking for any government support, as in affirmative action. Rather, Fox’s attitude towards the government, echoing that of Malcolm X, is “get off our backs.”
rbnyc: I believe you are correct that it was CNN that did the fact checking, not the White House. Which confirms the supposition that CNN follows the government line.
It’s not just Obama, of course, but the entire left that thinks this way. They actually think that CNN, MSNBC, etc all shoot straight down the middle, and Fox is off in neo-fascist land. They’re not intellectually honest enough to admit that all networks have their biases, and viewers should just keep that in mind while watching.
Liberals really cannot stand dissenting opinions.
[A]re you saying that Obama should not criticize Fox News just because it disagrees with him?
Yes. He should man up, and act Presidential. George Bush could give him some pointers on how to take criticism without lashing out at his critics, who actually have a better point than Bush’s.
MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews, and Rachel Maddow railed against Bush during the totatlity of his second term and even before – yet he gave them full access and never once complained – not once.
There were numerous anti-War protests where Bush was threatened and burned in effigy and yet neither he, nor any leading Republican (nor anyone in the media – certainly not Chris Matthews) referred to these people as racists or unAmerican.
Either Obama is much, much more sensitive than Bush, or he’s making a Venezuelan style power media power grab.
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Dear Liberal,
We acknowledge that you are well intentioned.
We acknowledge that you want good things, education, good environment, no racism, etc.
Please acknowledge that we who are center right (want government to stop growing or shrink a little) love people too and want to reprioritize so that the safety net isn’t diluted by free loaders and so that the economy is strong – not hammered by government.
Now…
Please let us know if you are for free speech. Are you threatened by the free exchange of ideas?
Signed,
Concerned loving American.
“[T]he fifth rule: Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. It is almost impossible to counterattack ridicule. Also it infuriates the opposition, who then react to your advantage.”
-Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals”
It’s worth considering that the administration’s accusations are intended to be self-fulfilling: that they want to provoke Fox into becoming the seething anti-Obama crusaders the administration claims they already are.
Many pundits on the right and left alike wonder why the administration–especially one filled with such savvy people–would start a fight that would almost certainly increase Fox’s viewership and, by extension, its power. If a smart man pours gasoline on a fire, it’s likely not because he doesn’t know the fire will grow. A more alarmistly-inclined person might suggest that an increasingly powerful Fox News can only bolster, in the minds (and service) of people like Mark Lloyd, Nancy Pelosi, and, of course, Obama, the argument for mandated media “diversity”.
If Rupert Murdoch’s purported attempts to buy NBC succeed, the aforementioned alarmist might also wonder if Obama-pal Immelt wasn’t contributing to some grander agenda. But, lest Occam be dishonored, perhaps such speculation is best withheld.
This is really stupid and unprofessional, watched closely tonight and it is game on, noticed a significantly different tone from Bob Beckel, who usually very accurately states the party line, tonight it was deny deny deny, claimed nobody said criticism of Obama was racist, then admitted he had talked to Jimmy Carter about it.
A much different tone, it seems they know new people were going to be watching, it was a much different act than he usually plays.
This is going to backfire big time, and for all the people criticizing fox news, dare you to watch it for a while, then comment.
Classic Glenn Beck:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vauAK-FP7dc
Instead of attacking and defending the message, they attack the messenger, very telling, nothing we didn’t already know.
Can anyone spare a ?
in communist terms peace is defined as a world in which there is no more opposition to communism anywhere… if one really believes that, does one need more of an explanation for eradication of all other points of power. family, social groups, gatherings, invention, religion, clubs, pets, firearms, travel, capital, etc…
The Metamorphosis
In which our liberal author awakens one morning from uneasy dreams . . .
By David Kahane
article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=NzYyNGNlNTBkNmFlMjJiNzU1MzA3NzllMGM2NzgzMzU=
There are so many things wrong with this that it’s hard to know where to start. First, what happened to the man who was going to be President of not just the red states, not just the blue states, but the United States? He has made himself, instead, into President of the Blues and Enemy of the Red.
Second, by according such strength to a critic, he diminishes himself. He looks (and apparently is) so insecure, thin-skinned and weak that he can’t handle criticism. A President should present himself as bigger and stronger than that. He should not reveal that he sees himself as so weak that a communication outlet could be on his own level and worthy of notice.
Finally, of course, it backfires. Obama has acknowledged the strength of the Fox network and thereby strengthened it even more. As a result, the network will gather more clout and more viewers — especially from those who are beginning to think that Obama sees himself as President only of those who agree with him, and believes that everyone else should shut up.
For a Chicago pol, he’s really not very good at this politics thing.
I can’t figure the White House strategy here.
My guess is that it is red meat for their base and distraction from their current weaknesses — dithering over Afghanistan and Iran, being stalemated over healthcare and climate change, and failing to improve the economy and employment numbers.
Or maybe it’s just an Alinskyite reflex that they can’t control.
Or perhaps they are alarmed by the remarkable gains Fox has made since Obama was elected. Fox News now has a larger viewership than CNN and MSNBC combined.
Fox News has pulled off another dominant quarter, claiming the top 10 cable news programs in 3Q 2009 and growing against 3Q 2008, while CNN and MSNBC lost substantial portions of their election-boom audience.
Fox News averaged 2.25 million total viewers in prime time for the third quarter, up 2% over the previous year. That’s more than CNN (946,000, down 30%) and MSNBC (788,000, down 10%) combined.
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/30/fox-news-dominates-3q-200_n_304260.html
I can’t figure the White House strategy here.
because they dont fit what you want it to be…
if you accept them for what they are, it becomes very easy to see what they are doing.
same as in germany. the inability to fathom whats going on from a prior frame of reference keeps everyone talking and turning the square block imagining there is a way to put it in the round hole as there always was a way before.
given refusal to accept or to consider the complete lanscape of solutions, leaves them in more and more of a quandry as time passes. as their refusal to reject their safe reasonable place prevents them from taking action when action is quite benign and instead wait for an overt signal.
given how this works historically, some are still working on the overt signal of the purges of last century and still havent accepted that.
Or maybe it’s just an Alinskyite reflex that they can’t control.
or maybe its none of those smoke screens and is exactly what they said it was going to be.
a FUNDEMENTAL change…
at what point are those trying to arrange the pieces going to allow themselves to arrange them in such a way to draw the only conclusion that can be made.
funny thing about puzzles… if you dont like the image they will create when assembled, you can move the pieces aroudn forever denying that you can find the key clue to arranging them in order.
the puzzle never goes together as each time the pieces start elucidating an image that is not wanted, they scramble up the pieces again truing to get a different outcome.
i tend to have good predictions way ahead from everyone as i dont care as to outcome… i dont fret as to what i cant change, but i refuse to assess things falsely and reduce my ability to adapt and live with the changes beyond my control
for my proper analytical attitude i copy the turtle from the never ending story.
he doesnt care at all, and even more so he doesnt care if he doesnt care.
what do i care if the US changes, i cant stop it. especially when one would have to get others to put the pieces together and see what they have been making for 70 years and refuse to be responsible for it.
I suspect a liberal did this
http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO126794/
just saying… It looks a little suspicious…. in Massachusetts even
I completely agree baklava..
the image makes no sense from a fascist view point.
and it makes no sense from a far right small state thing.
nope…this was a communist attempting to manufacture history.
pretty much what they have claimed makes them different from the rest of reactionaries.
Both the Joint Chiefs and the rather ruthless FBI apparatus was spying on Nixon. The whole play was engineered using media puppets. They weren’t the originators, but the tools. Just like Leftists in Khomeini’s revolution: tools.
You people are a perfect example of how well the FOX NEWS propaganda machine works. You actually believe that it stops at merely presenting an oposing viewpoint. But the bottom line is that they lie. They lie. Glenn Beck has admitted that he is not a journalist. He is a “commentator” which is apparently his code word for lying sack of dog vomit. Fox spreads fear and misunderstanding by lying about what goes on in the government. Beck does it. O’reilly does it. Hannity does it. They lie, exagerate, and have double stendards that intentionally mislead those dumb enough to watch and not check to see if what they spout is actually correct.
And it’s become the common practice of the right to lie and hope that everyone who hears their fabrications is sheep enough to not verify the claim. And the most unfortunate aspect of all of this is that YOU are sheep enough to follow your leaders without ever questioning their motives or their words. And the worst part is that the Republican party is not looking out for you. They are looking out for themselves and anyone with money. If you are a blue collar worker and a right wing devotee you are only hurting yourself.
The bottom line here is that the lying liars at Fox NEWS, whether you agree with their political affiliation or not, should be made to tell the truth. If they want to take up a possition in opposition to what I believe is right, I don’t care. But if they want to lie to those ignorant enough to listen and spread hate and fear, I take offense.
And by the way, CNN is not part of the leftist agenda. There are tons of views on CNN that I take offense to. MSNBC is the true voice of the American Democrat.
Voice of Reason: Anita? Is that you?
Neo, it looks like Al Franken is reading your blog now. That’s good news: we’ve missed having a left-wing clown around.
Now, Mr. self-styled Voice of Reason, what lies have got you in such a lather? And how do you know they are lies? Links, or citations that can be verified, please. That’s the standard around here.
Anita/VOR,
Are you the one who decides what is truth?
If you raise taxes and cause a nation to be poorer, are the poor better off?
If you see the results of liberal policies over decades and the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results… are you insane? 🙂
Respectfully,
Loving and concerned American wishing for a prosperous and free America
I don’t think there is much point in arguing with someone like VOR. When VOR says “should be made to tell the truth” it is scary. Pravda.
But the bottom line is that they lie. They lie. Glenn Beck has admitted that he is not a journalist.
You lie to yourself every morning.
So Beck lies. Thus we believe he is lying when he says he is not a journalist. Thus he is a journalist.
And your point would be…
Are you the one who decides what is truth?
Baklava, you took the words right out of my mouth/out of my fingertips.
I once taxed Angela Davis with precisely this point re free speech. She replied that of course communists supported free speech. Under communism, everyone would be free to tell the truth, but not to spread lies. Who decided which were which? No prizes for guessing.
Interesting that “Voice of Reason” repeatedly claimed that Fox and the right LIE, but could come up with no examples of lies. That is not very reasonable.
Such as Beck’s documenting all the BS that came out of Van Jones’s mouth.
Lie= something that VOR doesn’t want other people to know, even though it is very well documented.
We’ll have to have an election every 10 years for the “ONE” who decides truth. That won’t be Anita/VOR in this lifetime….
If you have the power, yes you can decide the truth. Because since there is no objective truth to the Left, only what you make of it, the only thing that matters is might. Might makes right in the Leftist world.
Don’t tell me people have yet to learn this.
There is nothing wrong with a president who is trying to make a brutal american economic nightmare better for the people whose heads are below water (the MAJORITY of us) constantly by working towards making sure the corporate mafia that is REALLY running things is at least held minimally accountable for their whole sale criminal and disastrous actions over the last eight years. George W. Bush DID lose TWO elections and managed to screw the ENTIRE pooch, militariily, ecnomically and socially- You , from your rich girls castle tell me I’m wrong- go ahead, tell that to the dead of Katrina and an idiotic war in Iraq that did no good except to remove a tin pot dictator- one that the U.S. placed there in the first place-
What I really don’t get is people who make up their minds before the facts ( I don’t mean tv facts, people magazine or any of the other garbage you people in corrupt ol new england seem to ingest on a daily basis)- facts are found through hard study, numbers and research – and truth be told- there isn’t a single statement in your little hissy fit above that is based in fact- reading your screed, i can feel the emotion dripping from the paragraphs- and this emotion taints your “opinion”-
I DO NOT need Fox, Msnbc or any other of the cookieland morons that populate what they call television telling me what to think or how to live- nor is it their job to scream like little children just because they know nothing about the rules of writing an actual INFORMATIVE AND FACTUAL news report- The repeal of the fairness doctrine has DESTROYED news in this country just so slime merchants and robotic idiots can step from their limosene doors and crush the heads of the homeless people underneath their 900 dollar boots on their way into their precious skyscraper.
People like you are sad. Sad and depressing and pathetic with your pointless, stupid, boring materialistic little lives- you live like insects, attacking each other over your stupid little labels while the world becomes sicker and sicker and while the united states becomes more and more stupid by the minute- it’s sad really and I thank my dendrites on a daily basis that I’m not like you and the mindless robots on the “left” and “right”- The only thing that will save this country will be wholesale dismantling of the corporate system- unfortunately, that will never happen. So I will bide my time and laugh at you robot idiots – F this place. I’m outta here———-
So you been to school
For a year or two
And you know youve seen it all
In daddys car
Thinkin youll go far
Back east your type dont crawl
Play ethnicky jazz
To parade your snazz
On your five grand stereo
Braggin that you know
How the niggers feel cold
And the slums got so much soul
Its time to taste what you most fear
Right guard will not help you here
Brace yourself, my dear
Its a holiday in afghanastan
Its tough, kid, but its life
Its a holiday in afghanastan
Dont forget to pack a wife
Youre a star-belly sneech
You suck like a leach
You want everyone to act like you
Kiss ass while you bitch
So you can get rich
But your boss gets richer off you
Well youll work harder
With a gun in your back
For a bowl of rice a day
Slave for soldiers
Till you starve
Then your head is skewered on a stake
Now you can go where people are one
Now you can go where they get things done
What you need, my son.
Is a holiday in afghanastan
Where people dress in black
A holiday in afghanastan
Where youll kiss ass or crack
jaimerobert: it’s always nice to read an objective, fact-based, unemotional analysis of the situation, such as yours.