Republican Bias at Fox News Documented in New Film, Featuring Former Employees

[Grojlach]

Republican Bias at Fox News Documented in New Film, Featuring Former Employees

Former Fox Journalists, Internal Memos to Blow the Whistle
on Fox Partisan Bias

Progressives Call for Media Reform

NEW YORK, July 9 /PRNewswire/ -- At a New York press conference this
coming Monday, four former Fox News employees will go on the record to expose
Fox's persistent Republican partisan bias, while releasing internal
memorandums from Fox News Channel showing executive level instructions to Fox
on how to bias the news.
The four Fox whistleblowers appear, along with three others, in Robert
Greenwald's new documentary "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism,"
excerpts of which will be shown at the news conference. The film is a
devastating indictment of the Fox News Channel's purposeful disinformation in
the pursuit of partisan objectives. Also at the news conference, Common Cause
and MoveOn will outline their forthcoming campaign OUTFOX, starting with
thousands of house parties to show the film taking place on Sunday, July 18th.

On Tuesday, media are invited to the official film premiere and to a panel
on media consolidation and reform hosted by The Center for American Progress,
with media authors and critics such as Arianna Huffington and Eric Alterman.

WHAT: Press Conference with FOX Whistle Blowers

WHEN: Monday, July 12, 2004, 12 NOON

WHERE: Emery Roth Salon I, Ritz-Carlton NY, 50 Central Park South, New
York, New York (59th Street between 5th & 6th Avenues)

WHO: Former Fox employees; Eric Alterman (The Center for American
Progress); Robert Greenwald (filmmaker); Chellie Pingree(Common
Cause, spokesperson for coalition)

To RSVP for the press conference (at which copies of the full film will be
available), please contact Trevor Fitzgibbon or Kawana Lloyd at 202-822-5200.

At Tuesday's panel, The Center for American Progress' Media and Democracy
Project will explore the impact of today's media ownership structure on news,
journalistic standards and democratic dialogue, as well as explain why
progressives must include media policy in their political agenda. How has
media concentration affected the accuracy of news and the diversity of
viewpoints? What does it portend for informed debate and democratic
participation? Five leading writers will answer these questions and explore
issues presented in Greenwald's film. A reception will follow.

WHAT: Panel Discussion and Film Premiere

WHEN: Tuesday, July 13, 2004, Panel discussion: 5 - 6:15 p.m. Film
premiere: 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.

WHERE: Tishman Auditorium, 66 W. 12th Street, New York, New York

WHO: Eric Alterman (What Liberal Media?), Arianna Huffington
(Fanatics and Fools), John Nichols (Our Media, Not Theirs), Nicholas
Lemann (dean of the Columbia University School of Journalism) and Paul
Starr (co-editor of The American Prospect and author of The Creation of
the Media).

To RSVP to the panel discussion and film premier, call (212) 229-5808,
ext. 101, or e-mail dover@newschool.edu to reserve seating. If you require
special accommodations, please RSVP five days in advance.

SOURCE MoveOn.org; Center for American Progress


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And if you have to believe Matt Drudge's pitiful excuse for a news source, Fox is going to respond by playing it (equally?) dirty; but, as with 90% of Drudge's output, it's probably just bogus (I mean, instead of defending themselves against accusations of bias, they're going to attack CNN and MSNBC for that same bias? I *do* hope they start responding in a somewhat more subtle manner, other than "yeah maybe we're biased, but so are they!").

XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX FRI JULY 09, 2004 17:05:38 ET XXXXX CABLE WAR: FOX NEWS VOWS TOP FIGHT BACK AGAINST RIVALS WHO TOUT DOCUMENTARY **Exclusive** A new documentary claiming to show Republican bias at FOX NEWS will debut in New York City on Monday. But FOX NEWS executives are preparing to hit back hard -- if rivals self-servingly hype the film! The DRUDGE REPORT has learned that FOX NEWS executives are lining up a parade of employees who formerly worked at CNN & MSNBC and have been downloading information on how editorial decisions are made at these networks, including the agenda for how stories are supposed to be covered. A senior FOX NEWS executive tells DRUDGE: "We have enough ammunition to nail both MSNBC & CNN." Sources say FOX is prepared to go public with these accounts if necessary. Developing...

[ 07-10-2004, 05:17 AM: Message edited by: Grojlach ]

[Khazadman Risen]

Oooooo! Republican bias at ONE news station! Why aren't these people getting worked up over the bias at the rest of the networks (CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS)? They are just panicing over the popularity of Fox.

[Davros]

Also what is the fuss - like surely anyone with an IQ above 30 could notice that FOX is rabibly republican. I don't think they should be taken off air or chastised or change the way they do things. The only change that should be made is via abose of definition, where they should be forced to remove the word NEWS from their broadcasts and replace it with the word COMMENTARY.

[Ziroc]

Originally posted by Khazadman Risen: Oooooo! Republican bias at ONE news station! Why aren't these people getting worked up over the bias at the rest of the networks (CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS)? They are just panicing over the popularity of Fox.

EXACTLY. I TOTALLY agree. I keep smiling seeing all the liberals whining
"OHHHH NOOO, THERES ONE STATION NOT IN OUR POCKET"... Pleeezzzze.

If ya don't like the channel, don't WATCH it!

[Aerich]

I'll watch it if I can get it up here, but I'll be on the lookout for bias in the other direction, too. Being as it's *former* employees they are featuring, I'd be concerned about the sour grapes/revenge possibilities.

Watch it, learn from it, critique it, take it with a grain (or several) of salt.

[Chewbacca]

I am curious to see more evidence of "purposeful disinformation in the pursuit of partisan objectives" and I would love to see evidence of this at other networks as well.

The repeated claims of "vast liberal media bias conspiracy" with little or no credible evidence to back them up grow more stale each time they are repeated.

And Davros I agree- Considering the slant is so blantantly obvious like it is at Fox it would not be unfair to ask for clear labeling of some or most of the 'news' programs as 'commentary'- I would begin with the "Fox & Friends" morning show. Those three yockels pass the time most mornings mocking the Dems and everyone else who doesnt toe the Bush line. Nothing even remotely like that on the other cable networks, who are busy actually reporting the news instead of injecting color commentary.

To Fox's credit- people like Cavuto (4:00 business news program) make it clear they have a conservative stance and opinion even though he does parrot the "fair and balanced" line as much as the rest of them. The greatest fallacy is O'Reilly's claim of "No-Spin"- That is indeed the biggest and most obvious spin there is in all of spindom.

[ 07-11-2004, 04:08 AM: Message edited by: Chewbacca ]

[Timber Loftis]

Originally posted by Ziroc: quote: Originally posted by Khazadman Risen: Oooooo! Republican bias at ONE news station! Why aren't these people getting worked up over the bias at the rest of the networks (CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS)? They are just panicing over the popularity of Fox.

EXACTLY. I TOTALLY agree. I keep smiling seeing all the liberals whining
"OHHHH NOOO, THERES ONE STATION NOT IN OUR POCKET"... Pleeezzzze.

If ya don't like the channel, don't WATCH it! [/QUOTE]Amen. The Republicans need at least one TV channel. Now, if the Dems could just get one radio show...

[John D Harris]

Originally posted by Timber Loftis: quote: Originally posted by Ziroc: quote: Originally posted by Khazadman Risen: Oooooo! Republican bias at ONE news station! Why aren't these people getting worked up over the bias at the rest of the networks (CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS)? They are just panicing over the popularity of Fox.

EXACTLY. I TOTALLY agree. I keep smiling seeing all the liberals whining
"OHHHH NOOO, THERES ONE STATION NOT IN OUR POCKET"... Pleeezzzze.

If ya don't like the channel, don't WATCH it! [/QUOTE]Amen. The Republicans need at least one TV channel. Now, if the Dems could just get one radio show... [/QUOTE]They tried NOBODY listened to it, they had to PAY radio stations to carry it. Now the Radio stations PAY the conservative talk show hosts to get their shows.

[John D Harris]

Originally posted by Aerich: I'll watch it if I can get it up here, but I'll be on the lookout for bias in the other direction, too. Being as it's *former* employees they are featuring, I'd be concerned about the sour grapes/revenge possibilities. Watch it, learn from it, critique it, take it with a grain (or several) of salt.

I'd be suspious of it also, Allen Combs is one of the biggest Liberals that ever walked the face of the earth and He makes up the other HALF of Hannity & Combs. AC doesn't seem to have any problem speaking his mind.

[Davros]

Originally posted by Ziroc: If ya don't like the channel, don't WATCH it!

I hear ya Z - I don't like the channel, and I don't watch it. Mind you - even as a non-watcher I feel a sense of outrage when they use terms like "Fair and balanced one" and "news". Things like that that are blatantly untrue should be open for a lawsuit and public challenge.