Comments on: Obama’s anti-Fox News strategy ripped from the GOP playbook

By: First Family’s love of Glee helps Obama White House and Fox TV get back together - Michael Roston - Newsbroke - True/Slant

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:09:50 +0000

[...] then I argued that Fox News should be honored that it was being held up by the Obama White House as a propaganda network the way that the Bush [...]

By: Michael Roston - Newsbroke – Why Fox News is spreading the Rogers Ailes for president rumor - True/Slant

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:21:13 +0000

[...] goose, sauce for the gander, right? It’s kind of funny to think that in all the years when President Bush was dueling with the New York Times, no one ever suggested that Arthur Suzlberger Jr. should run for president (then again, Sulzberger [...]

By: Joseph Childers

Joseph Childers — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:05:29 +0000

Only 36 percent of Dems view Fox unfavorably? What the heck is wrong w/ the other 64?

By: Jerry Lanson

Jerry Lanson — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:24:10 +0000

Absolutely legitimate points, Michael. I appreciate the example of a well-reported blog and love the cobra piece on Fox and Friends.
And though you don’t say it explicitly, Obama clearly could agree to be interviewed by Fox if the network would agree to send a real reporter or producer (whom he could stipulate). I think the only place we disagree on this one is that I don’t believe, taken as a whole, Fox News can be compared to The New York Times. The Times can be arrogant, it can be careless, it can be elitist but more often than not it reports stories. Somewhere in a piece the reader will find varied perspectives. Fox does this, too, sometimes. But I’d call it the exception rather than the rule. That is the distinction I’m trying to make. Should that be the basis of Obama refusing to talk to the network? Likely not.

By: Michael Roston

Michael Roston — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:32:50 +0000

Jerry, I'm with you that anyone relying exclusively on Fox News is going to have problems with understanding the world around them akin to the problems one has with one's health if they consume a diet of only Kraft mac n' cheese, Coca-Cola, and Hostess cherry pies. I might also say the same if you only read the Times that you're missing a big chunk of the world. But FNC has established itself as an important outlet for a particular segment of America's population. You may not like it, but there's no questioning that. That said, while Fox and Friends is a horrifically produced program (and this is probably my favorite clip ever), and O'Reilly and Beck have successfully brought the standards and practices of talk radio onto television, FNC does have real news producers who engage in actual journalistic conventions. They may be collateral damage in the battle between Ailes's ideology and the White House, but they are real journalists. Have a look at the White House news team's blog as an example.

By: Jerry Lanson

Jerry Lanson — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:10:06 +0000

This is an interesting piece Michael. But drawing a parallel between The New York Times and Fox News doesn’t wash. One example. Yesterday morning I watched “Fox and Friends,” the networks morning show. It had a segment on health care. Invited was a single “expert commentator,” Newt Gingrich, former Republican speaker of the House. His attacks on “socialist” Democrats was scripted and predictable. No Democrat was invited onto the same segment.

You have not and will not see a parallel in The New York Times. It reports the news. Most often, Fox is merely propaganda as chronicled some time ago in the excellent movie, “Outfoxed.”

My point. It is absolutely legitimate to question the strategy or even the motivation of the Obama White House in singling out Fox. It is interesting to give an historical perspective. But in the process don’t legitimize Fox News by comparing it to The New York Times. They stand at absolutely opposite ends of the journalistic spectrum when it comes to standards, even though The Times has made plenty of mistakes.

By: Tweets that mention Michael Roston - Newsbroke – Obama’s anti-Fox News strategy ripped from the GOP playbook - True/Slant -- Topsy.com

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 05:02:22 +0000

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