Spring Break
Obama's War on Fox News
Issue date: 10/29/09
Even before President Obama was sworn into office, there was a visible tension between the infant administration and the monolithic Fox News network. Fox is known for its conservative team of anchors who tend to be somewhat critical of the liberal Obama Presidency. The White House has retaliated in a passive manner over the last few months by giving interviews with the President to other, "friendlier" news networks, ignoring requests for appearances on Fox programs, etc.
Yet earlier this month, in a highly unsuitable move for an Administration trying to unite the opposing parties of the nation, the White House declared war against the network. White House representative Anita Dunn spoke out on CNN without subtlety and announced this assault on Fox News: "Let's not pretend they're a news network."
To put it short, Fox is now Public Enemy Number One.
Obama has been the media's golden boy since well before he took office in January. The media outlets, with the exception of Fox News, has tended to lean more liberal than conservative, which is nothing new, and Republicans know that they are taken with a grain of salt.
But Obama has set new records as not only a highly publicized politician, but even as a full-blown celebrity. It's not only his stance on health care that matters; we also care about what's on his NCAA bracket.
Granted, we may be in a much more connected world than even the days of the 1990s, but the amount of publicity that Obama is getting is on the high end of the spectrum. The media masses gloat over him, champion him as America's savior. He will cure the economy, fix health care and education, reform every aspect of social life that was built up in the tyrannical Bush era. Oh yes, and crush any media outlet that stands to oppose him.
The White House's attack on Fox News is a testament to the unhealthy extent to which Obama is revered by the mainstream media. Passive avoidance of Fox's reporters is one thing, but going out directly and blacklisting the entire organization is, as one Baltimore Sun article mentioned, almost about to cross a line into a violation of the First Amendment.
Yet earlier this month, in a highly unsuitable move for an Administration trying to unite the opposing parties of the nation, the White House declared war against the network. White House representative Anita Dunn spoke out on CNN without subtlety and announced this assault on Fox News: "Let's not pretend they're a news network."
To put it short, Fox is now Public Enemy Number One.
Obama has been the media's golden boy since well before he took office in January. The media outlets, with the exception of Fox News, has tended to lean more liberal than conservative, which is nothing new, and Republicans know that they are taken with a grain of salt.
But Obama has set new records as not only a highly publicized politician, but even as a full-blown celebrity. It's not only his stance on health care that matters; we also care about what's on his NCAA bracket.
Granted, we may be in a much more connected world than even the days of the 1990s, but the amount of publicity that Obama is getting is on the high end of the spectrum. The media masses gloat over him, champion him as America's savior. He will cure the economy, fix health care and education, reform every aspect of social life that was built up in the tyrannical Bush era. Oh yes, and crush any media outlet that stands to oppose him.
The White House's attack on Fox News is a testament to the unhealthy extent to which Obama is revered by the mainstream media. Passive avoidance of Fox's reporters is one thing, but going out directly and blacklisting the entire organization is, as one Baltimore Sun article mentioned, almost about to cross a line into a violation of the First Amendment.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 3
T Daniels
posted 11/01/09 @ 12:41 PM EST
You are absolutely correct that every news corporation has the right to present its journalism, biased or not. The question the White House has raised, "Is Fox really a news corporation?", is what seems to be missing from this debate. (Continued…)
RL
posted 11/01/09 @ 2:00 PM EST
"In 2009, the new Administration can leave Fox News out of press events and almost breach the First Amendment, but expect that the mainstream media will still support it. (Continued…)
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