Patterico's Pontifications

10/19/2009

Administration Still Attacking Fox News

Filed under: Media Bias,Obama — DRJ @ 1:09 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

It’s a dog-bites-man story at this point but the Obama Administration is still attacking Fox News:

“Appearing on ABC’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, ought not to treat them that way, and we’re not going to treat them that way,” he said.

Still, Axelrod said administration officials would appear on the channel. He shrugged off News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch’s remark to shareholders on Friday that since the White House began criticizing Fox News commentators their ratings have risen.”

Hewing to this week’s talking points, Rahm Emanuel also claimed Fox isn’t really a news organization:

“Iit’s not so much a conflict with FOX News,” White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel sad in an appearance this morning on CNN’s State of the Union – the cable network where Anita Dunn, the White House communications director, last week lashed out at FOX as “an arm of the Republican Party,” leading to a new assault against the administration from Glenn Beck.

“The way to look at it and the way we — the president looks at it and we look at it — (it) is not a news organization so much as it has a perspective,” Emanuel said of FOX. “And that’s a different take. And more importantly does not have the CNNs and others in the world basically be led and following FOX, as if that — what they’re trying to do is a legitimate news organization in the sense of both sides and a sense of value (and) opinion.”

This is red meat for leftists but, as Hot Air notes, even the New York Times questioned the wisdom of this approach. Juan Williams on Fox News Watch said the Obama Administration needs an enemy because there is no recognizable GOP leader to demonize. That makes sense but I wonder if there isn’t a simpler answer: The Administration is attacking Fox News because it’s hurting them, not only on the facts but also in the polls.

Of course, it could also be the Obama Administration has control issues.

— DRJ

59 Responses to “Administration Still Attacking Fox News”

  1. It seems like Barcky and his minions say worse things about Fox news than Iran, North Korea and the Taliban. Plus, Barcky’s willing to meet with the latter, but not appear on the former.

    Testicular fortitude, The Chicago Way!!!!

    daleyrocks (718861)

  2. Don’t discount the fact that this is a warning to the other news organizations not to criticize The One. CNN and the rest have set themselves up for this by demonizing Fox News. Now any criticism they make that is also made by Fox News must be seen as false and extremist by their own definition.

    Idiots the entire lot of them.

    Heck (1e2a18)

  3. “They are not a news organization like it’s-hard-to-talk-when-you’re-teabagging-CNN”.

    Yeah, no shit, sherlock. They have a ‘perspective’, which is to report both sides of the news and have conservative editorialists instead of liberal ones.

    This is a very short sighted strategy for the democrats. One of the best factors they have is that republicans deal obliged to show up on left leaning shows. They routinely go on suicide missions while democrats go on milkruns. If the GOP refuses to show up on Couric’s show, saying they are following Obama’s precedence and think CBS has a ‘perspective’, what is the left going to say? What if Palin had been smart enough to do that?

    This is how Obama is uniting us. By shutting up everyone who isn’t united.

    [note: released from moderation filter. — Stashiu]

    Dustin (bb61e3)

  4. Heck – Absolutely. It tells the others they lose access if they are critical in any way. CNN is familiar with that, though, with the way they whitewashed their coverage of Sadaam to preserve access.

    daleyrocks (718861)

  5. If Obama’s officials can deny that FOX NEWS is a real news organization, then FOX NEWS is certainly free to deny that Obama and his Administration represent the people of the United States.

    ropelight (1ccd07)

  6. “The way to look at it and the way we — the president looks at it and we look at it — (it) is not a news organization so much as it has a perspective,” Emanuel said of FOX.

    I guess Rahm thinks the NY Times, The Dog Trainer, CNN, etc. don’t have a perspective and that is what makes them news organizations. Does he really think the American people are that dumb?

    Stu707 (0981d5)

  7. What’s Rahm been smoking? He doesn’t think that CNN has a perspective?

    Rochf (ae9c58)

  8. Hugo Chavez doesn’t like criticism, either. I’m sure Obama would like to use Chavez’s methods to quiet criticism but that will come after 2012. If we are very unlucky.

    Mike K (2cf494)

  9. The crucial strategy here is that if they can minimize Fox as “unserious,” they never have to respond to anything from Fox. The recent ACORN scandal was a perfect demonstration as to how this will work. Breitbart insists that the point of that fiasco was to expose the entirety of the MSM as partisan Democratic entities. He proved his point, and by their actions, the MSM showed the White House they can be reliably counted upon. All that was left to be done was to discredit and isolate Fox.

    Ed from SFV (f8f689)

  10. Anything that does not stick to Teh Narrative must be demonized.

    JD (957e20)

  11. They are simply digging deeper and deeper.

    Whatever animosity existed by the Voting Public to GWB and the Republicans is being turned right around.

    I predict landslide elections for Republicans in the next two elections.

    Folks are not well informed but they can sense the elitist stink a mile away and the constant stream of lies and distortion for the sake a exhalting a flawed POTUS and flawed policies.

    Can’t wait.

    HeavenSent (01a566)

  12. Obamabi and Goebells share the same play book it seems.

    HeavenSent (01a566)

  13. This is the worst unforced error yet from these clowns – good grief, do they not even understand that by criticizing the one national TV outlet that doesn’t pledge fealty to them, they only further legitimize it in the end? Anyone who’s not a dogmatic Dem will be intrigued enough to tune in, just to see what they’re so freaked out about. Incredibly dumb move.

    Dmac (5ddc52)

  14. Considering that their communications director is a big fan of Mao (and Mother Teresa–who combines those in the same sentence?), more attacks on Fox are no surprise. It makes you wonder if the White House has a top 10 dictators list, or something.

    Rochf (ae9c58)

  15. If only Obama and his attack dogs would show the same initiative to attack the Taliban as they do Fox news, we might actually see some progress in Afghanistan.

    Stan Switek (d9d8ce)

  16. The White House propaganda machine is based on control and misinformation. The blog it set up is just chock full of lies and bullshit. In an entry today on ObamaCare, you find the following pure crap:
    “Talking Points: Republican Leaders’ Plan to “Delay, Define, and Derail” Reform Unmasked……

    It also sheds light on their intention to continue joining the insurance companies in misleading Americans about what reform will mean for them.
    o Republican leaders intend to repeat their claims that reform “will raise insurance premiums on individuals and families, while failing to lower the overall amount of money that the U.S. spends on health care… even though the nonpartisan CBO predicted the [Senate Finance Committee] bill would reduce the deficit and lower the cost curve, even as it extends coverage to millions of uninsured Americans.””

    As Karl points out in his post below, the Baucus Vapor Bill is deficit neutral un part because Medicare spending provisions have been stripped out to be considered separately, but also because of accounting gimmickry designed to fit the mold of how the CBO scores bills most favorably, which have been widely discussed and exposed at least on conservative blogs. The White House also continues to repeat the false talking point that Republicans have no plans to offer and only want to preserve the status quo.

    [note: released from moderation filter. –Stashiu]

    daleyrocks (718861)

  17. Let’s just supposed you thought Mao was a great man on par with Mother Teresa, that Rev Wright was a great person to teach your children, and Bill Ayers was a potential candidate to write your personal menoirs. You think the Taliban should have a role in government, that Zelaya is the correct ally for the USA, and Chavez is a nice man. You like cocaine and like to use your middle finger subtly when talking about Hillary or Palin. Your idea of a news organization is CNN.

    Now… why wouldn’t such a person want to tell other news organizations to treat Fox News differently from other news tellers? I’m surprised he’s not banning them from doing business yet.

    Dustin (bb61e3)

  18. This is so not surprising. John Stossel spoke on FOX today about his move. He is literally relieved that now he can freely speak, and broadcast the shows that ABC simply would not air. He noted, specifically, his expose’ on healthcare was deep-sixed for a Michael Jackson special. I fully expect Dobbs, Scarbrough, and anyone else with a conservative/liberterian slant to be gone by year’s end. I hope FOX welcomes them with open arms.

    sybilll (5c6fb9)

  19. THE UPSIDE DOWN WORLD OF BARACK OBAMA

    The undocumented president challenges the legitimacy of the one television network that dares to offer even mild criticism of him. Obama may have been born in the United States but he sure as hell doesn’t act like an American.

    Terry Gain (4045b4)

  20. I fully expect Dobbs, Scarbrough, and anyone else with a conservative/liberterian slant to be gone by year’s end. I hope FOX welcomes them with open arms

    Hear hear. I’d take Dobbs over Sheppard Smith in a heartbeat.

    Terry Gain (4045b4)

  21. Hear hear. I’d take Dobbs over Sheppard Smith in a heartbeat.

    That whiner needs to go. There are times when I think he is going to pop a vein in his head during a fauxrage.

    Gina (eb0d5c)

  22. No, keep the whiner. He sounds authentic, a true believer in Stuck-in-Stupid. The more he whines, the worse O looks.

    #14 Stan — Amen.

    htom (412a17)

  23. The way this administration is going, I’m wondering if the scriptwriters for the Simpsons aren’t setting policy.

    Rochf (ae9c58)

  24. The democrats don’t orchestrate the MSM “news”?

    via American Thinker The morning conference call and Democrat media manipulation

    jeff (d10404)

  25. The biggest voices against the administration’s actions should be every other news network, newspaper and radio station. Implicit in what Dunn and others have said is that the other news organizations are nice little lap dogs for Obama. Well MSNBC is fine with that but if the others had any integrity they would complain louder than Fox.

    Not only does Fox have more viewers than any other cable news network, Nielsen showed they were more diverse than CNN or MSNBC. Since when are liberals against diversity?

    MU789 (718eef)

  26. When liberals talk about diversity, I think they mean race, sex, etc–it’s pretty clear they don’t mean diversity of opinion.

    Rochf (ae9c58)

  27. In a backhanded way, the Admin aer being internally consistent in their logic: They believe they controls all news organizations, therefore that which they do not control cannot be a news organization at all. How could it be if it’s out of their control?

    And yeah, I know it’s really about bullying, but the above is still the tack I’d take in rebutting them, regardless: When someone acts the knave, better to let them play the fool.

    ras (20bd5b)

  28. Rochf,

    When liberals talk about diversity, I think they mean race, sex, etc

    More specifically, I think they mean diversity of immutable attributes. Narcissism is rooted in insecurity. By basing identity and self-worth on immutables, the ever-insecure narcissists insulate themselves from rebuttal.

    That’s how I see it, anyway.

    ras (20bd5b)

  29. of course they’re attacking Fox…. that’s a helluva lot safer than doing something about Afghanistan or Iran.

    Ear Leader is such a wuss he makes Jimmy Carter look like an MMA champion.

    redc1c4 (fb8750)

  30. How ALL Americans are not up in arms over this blows me away. The apathy is quite concerning.

    And I keep trying to give this Administration the benefit of a very small doubt, but this stinks to high Heaven.

    Crazy? Or crazy like a fox?

    em (11cf60)

  31. Why is this administration so against freedom of speech and diversity? They make the left look bad are showing the true colors of the left and progressives: an intolerant, narrow-minded group of bigots.

    Fox is certainly the little engine that could. And how funny that it alone can make an entire administration shake in it’s boots. Really funny, actually.

    [note: released from moderation filter. –Stashiu]

    Dana (863a65)

  32. Isolate, marginalize, ridicule….it’s their playbook and they think it will work. I think they’ve bitten off more than they can chew this time though. Taking on a news channel like FOX is nearly suicidal politically.

    I’m going to enjoy watching Murdock and comany take them apart, bit by bit over the next several months. They will figuratively bleed from a thousand cuts that they don’t even realize are hitting them.

    Steve Evans (fe55f6)

  33. Something that’s bothered me from the get-go: how does this administration find the time to take on another perceived ‘war’ when their plate is already overflowing with the economy, Afghanistan, health care, etc., Iran, etc.

    Shouldn’t someone in the WH be focused on doing *real* work? And shouldn’t someone inform them that image isn’t everything and that people are watching and waiting for real outcomes regarding these very real issues that face us.

    I will take the press critics in the West Wing like Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod seriously when they condemn MSNBC for the same sins and worse than Fox.

    And I will take this administration more seriously when it starts doing the real work of governing instead of worrying primarily about its image and trying to silence anyone who would be critical of it.

    There is something wrong with President Obama running from TV interview to TV interview with everyone except Fox, while his highest-paid and most trusted presidential advisers spend their time on Sunday morning TV trying to take down Fox instead of building up the country. Maybe they should spend a little more time on the reality of where this country finds itself today instead of trying to use the media to polish the president’s image and punish any outlet that doesn’t co-operate.

    Dana (863a65)

  34. Very strange development today.TV streaming sites “BlinkoTV” and TikiTV” both dropped Fox News from their channel selections.Blinko replaced it with CNN.How is that for ominous coincidence?

    Dr. Carlo Lombardi (ab0c61)

  35. Bush stood tall in the face of the full MSM onslaught for two terms. Crackhead Barry is freaked out by a single outlet shining a dimly lit lamp on him for nine months.

    POTUS Barack Hussein Obama is a pussy.

    Matador (e01f85)

  36. A deeply silly pussy I think.

    ohnoes Fox News. No. That doesn’t resonate. It’s a cable channel, douchebag. Just a cable channel. Get a grip.

    happyfeet (f62c43)

  37. Maybe the administration should pay more attention to its own incompetence and less time focusing on critics that they have no asnwer to.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  38. “Appearing on ABC’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, ought not to treat them that way, and we’re not going to treat them that way,” he said.

    Pathetic and digusting.

    Even the conservative and/or Republican White Houses, including paranoid Nixon (ie, “you won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore…”), never whined about the biases of the MSM in such a manipulative, blunt, scummy way. And that’s in spite of the right having more justification in bellyaching about the one-sided nature of the media.

    If people like Alexrod are willing to be this devious in the open, imagine how much worse they are behind closed doors. Therefore, I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to say that shades of Hugo Chavez are hovering over the current White House.

    Well, goddamn America.

    Mark (411533)

  39. Not saying that RMN wasn’t paranoid, but the Nixon quote you use is from his unsuccessful run for CA Gov in 1962, when he was a private citizen.

    AD - RtR/OS! (2f0f4a)

  40. I hate to sound like a broken record, although, often I do, but I really don’t get the strategy behind this tactical political attack against Fox News.

    I mean it could be part of an Alinsky strategy to isolate and demonize the enemy. And that makes sense in the context that there is no real “individual” enemy to the President at this point.

    But average people don’t look at Fox News, or any other news, that way. They look at the news as a place to get, you know, news.

    If they channel-hop, they may make the connection that MSNBC is the liberal alternative to Fox, but again, they’ll say: So what?

    I can’t speak for all the people in flyover country. I’m just one. But, I do know the people I know. And the people I know could really care less.

    However, when the word filters down to them that the Obama administration is bad-mouthing and boycotting Fox News, the first they will do is turn on Fox News to see what the fuss is about. And they will likely say, again: So what?

    Rahm and Axelrod are smart. Also, Axelrod recently met with Ailes during the U.N. Assembly.

    So, I don’t for a minute think that there is not an over-arching strategy. I just can’t figure out what it is.

    That’s why they’re rich and looking forward to their dachas and I’m looking forward to my next paycheck.

    Ag80 (2a7a2a)

  41. This White House is scum and vermin.

    HeavenSent (01a566)

  42. These clowns make Nixon look like Mother Teresa.

    Mike Myers (710e8b)

  43. Fox is not news.

    NBC and MSNBC are news.

    ABC’s health care propoganda is news.

    CBS fabricating memos is news.

    CNN is news.

    Incredible.

    I have never wished personal ill will towards any POTUS — this one is now the exception.

    It is clear to me Obama has a Messianic Complex and his sycophants will do anything for him.

    Country Clubers, you watching this?

    HeavenSent (01a566)

  44. Juan Williams is now on the enemies list?!?!!

    Seriously, Juan Williams?!

    I enjoyed him on Fox News Sunday and he is probably one of the fastest liberal commentators on his feet (has to be, given where he works) and he is far from a docrinnaire down the line liberal, but still, he IS a liberal, and he strongly supported Obama. He didn’t drink the Kool-Aid though, maybe that’s his thoughtcrime, perhaps?

    Sean P (50f5d9)

  45. Ed from SFV said:

    The crucial strategy here is that if they can minimize Fox as “unserious,” they never have to respond to anything from Fox. The recent ACORN scandal was a perfect demonstration as to how this will work. Breitbart insists that the point of that fiasco was to expose the entirety of the MSM as partisan Democratic entities. He proved his point, and by their actions, the MSM showed the White House they can be reliably counted upon. All that was left to be done was to discredit and isolate Fox.

    Sounds good. Let’s see how it works out.

    Ag80 (2a7a2a)

  46. I don’t think this is as stupid as it appears. I think they are preparing the ground for a hate crimes accusation or some other FCC move to silence the opposition or seize their megaphone.

    I think these veiled threats should be taken seriously.

    Mr. Lloyd [FCC Diversity Czar] praised Mr. Chavez during a June 2008 conference on media reform
    http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/23/diversity-czar-takes-heat-over-remarks/

    Amphipolis (b120ce)

  47. I started to attack Obama’s policy myself, but decided to allow President John F. Kennedy speak for me in this moving video. He points out that the Press is the only industry specifically protected by the U.S. Constitution.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhZk8ronces&feature=PlayList&p=C656BB7A19C08C15&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=3

    Arch (73e14a)

  48. I think he truly sees himself as a victim. He disregards how the other networks have treated previous presidents or how they still treat Republicans on Capitol Hill. He ignores the fact that the tougher that Fox News gets on him and his administration, the softer that the big three networks, CNN, and MSNBC get in their coverage of the “maligned” Chief Executive. He feels mistreated and misrepresented, and he wants the world to know that Fox News is the one in the wrong here. He is absolutely blind to the cover he has been / is provided by the Popular Rule on a daily basis. He wants to focus on the “biased” coverage he receives from one network while he takes for granted through his divine providence the favorable coverage he receives from everybody else.

    What the president seems to overlook here are two glaring points that he either ignores or is blissfully ignorant to. One is that maybe – just maybe – Fox News is providing a valuable service to the nation by offering balance to the News world that has been Left-Leaning for so long that it began to hardly even notice; and two that maybe Fox News is simply a shining example of capitalism at work. There is obviously a demand for their version of news reporting and if there were not, Fox News would likely be filled with programs chasing Hollywood actors around town with the hopes of catching a bad hair day.

    I am not foolish or naive enough to believe that Fox News is “Fair and Balanced.” I can see their Right-Leaning message for what it is. What Liberal Progressives like President Obama cannot now (or ever) begin to understand is that we as Republicans or conservatives have the ability to perform this clever little trick where we see the tilt in the news we get from media outlets. We developed it through years of filtering through all the Leftist propaganda that was pumped down our throats by the other networks before we had Fox News to turn the dial to.

    T Christopher (c3770d)

  49. UPDATE: The Administration Takes on the Evil Empire that is FoxNews…

    “Very rarely did we communicate through the press anything that we didn’t absolutely control,” said Dunn.
    “One of the reasons we did so many of the David Plouffe videos was not just for our supporters, but also because it was a …

    REPUBLICAN REDEFINED (186713)

  50. The reality is that Fox News has a more distributed viewership than CNN, MSNBC etc. More Democrats watch Fox News than watch CNN.

    This push by the White House is designed solely to appeal to the extremists in their own party.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  51. Poor Juan Williams–first some liberal idiot tells him to get back on the porch, and now he’s on an enemies list–must be disheartening for him.

    Rochf (ae9c58)

  52. Juan should re-read Irving Kristol…
    Juan has been a Liberal, and he definitely has been mugged by reality.
    All it will take is for him to realize his true position vis-a-vis the Progressives.

    AD - RtR/OS! (3b92f0)

  53. Nacht Und Nebel:

    No one should be surprised that Obama would order an assault on FOX NEWS. He attacked his own grandmother rather than explain why he sat in Reverend Wright’s church listening to racial hatred and religious bigotry for 20 years.

    A classy guy like that isn’t about to respect the independence of pesky journalists asking inconvenient questions. Nor does Obama respect the Constitutional provisions which were designed to protect not only journalists, but also by direct extension, the American people, from the strong-arm of official transgression. Don’t kid yourself, this guy isn’t shy about going after his perceived enemies. That’s a trait common to totalitarian regimes.

    Clearly, the thugs on Pennsylvania Avenue are already attacking FOX NEWS on the public airways. How long can it be before certain individuals, like Beck or Hannity, simply disappear in the fog and the night?

    ropelight (cc01c0)

  54. How long can it be before certain individuals, like Beck or Hannity, simply disappear in the fog and the night?

    …. but that would be OK b/c Pinochet did not do it and Beck or Hannity are really bad, evil guys.

    HeavenSent (01a566)

  55. FLASH NEWS UPDATE

    Fox news viewers were stunned today as they witnessed a live on air arrest of a man police say has been impersonating the popular afternoon talk host Glenn Beck for the past 1 ½ years.  William H Lawson, a Glenn Beck look-alike, was arrested during the late afternoon program as he was ending  a segment on “Obama the anti-Christ”  and about to begin an interview with a man who says he was President Obama’s Kenyan love child.
    Lawson has been identified as an escapee from the Rhode Island Home for the Hopelessly Insane where he was receiving treatment for severe paranoia and delusional seizures after an incident in which he attacked several clerks with a liquorish stick in a candy store where he  claimed to have found  alien messages written on the wrappers of Mars candy bars.
    Viewers reacted to the news with a mixture of shock and disbelief some saying that it was all a liberal conspiracy to hide the truth about the Mercury Dime and Communist symbols on Rockefeller Plaza while others said it was an effort to  squelch the ongoing Fox poll “Anti-Christ as President: Good or evil?  We ask. You decide”
    Upon hearing the news, one woman broke down in tears saying, “This man, whoever he is, has given us so much inspiration and hope.” She sobbed, “He told whatever it is like it is, but how can I know now what the “whatever” is or what the “is” really is or whatever it ever really was?”  Others expressed outrage, one man charging, “This arrest is an attempt to cripple those who struggle against  fascism, Communism and  intellectualism.”
    Police say the hoax might have continued unnoticed had it not been for an alert viewer who discovered that much of the material Lawrence presented  was pirated from a British comedy show called “Liar Liar Pants on Fire”  and Monty Halls Flying Circus.
    A spokesperson for Fox News said that although the network regretted the incident, it was noted that the impostor  has received critical acclaim from numerous conservative sources including World Net Daily which last month described the program as “leading the way for Conservatives everywhere” and Sean Hannity who in the past said  it “was an inspiration to himself and other clear-eyed  Conservatives everywhere” and Rush Limbaugh who has praised the program many times as “a example of what America could become if Conservatives were given another chance.”
    The real Glenn Beck will be returning on Monday with guest Michele Bachman and they will discuss the topic: Man in the Moon: Always over us. Always Watching. Beck says he will not dwell excessively on the fact that the man in the moon is black.

    VietnamEraVet (9f20cf)

  56. What in the hell are you smoking, VeV?

    JD (83e967)

  57. That’s some deep crazy there.

    carlitos (35ae51)

  58. […] the use of “Fox Entertainment” instead of “Fox News.” ACORN got the White House talking points that Fox News isn’t real media, didn’t […]

    Patterico’s Pontifications » ACORN-Philadelphia Video (e4ab32)


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