Fox and the right wing blogs have been pushing a claim that the White House tried to restrict Fox’s ability to interview the pay czar. If true, this might have been a real issue. It is easy to laugh at the Fox apologists when they compare people in the Obama administration simply telling the truth about Fox to Nixon’s enemy’s list. After all, the Obama administration is not practicing the dirty tricks of the Nixon administration such as auditing the tax returns of journalists who investigate wrong doing. People in the Obama administration, just like everyone else in the country, are entitled to freedom of speech–including the freedom to honestly describe how Fox is far more a propaganda organ of the Republican Party than a true news organization.
Fox, like many on the far right, loves to portray themselves as victims. I guess we are supposed to feel sorry for the right wingers who can’t get away with imposing all their reactionary views on the rest of the country. If it was really true that Fox was being restricted when they are engaged in the pretense of reporting news they might have a legitimate complaint (or ate least the appearance of a legitimate complaint). As with most claims coming from Fox, this turned out to be a lie. Christina Bellantoni looked into the story:
Feinberg did a pen and pad with reporters to brief them on cutting executive compensation. TV correspondents, as they do with everything, asked to get the comments on camera. Treasury officials agreed and made a list of the networks who asked (Fox was not among them).
But logistically, all of the cameras could not get set up in time or with ease for the Feinberg interview, so they opted for a round robin where the networks use one pool camera. Treasury called the White House pool crew and gave them the list of the networks who’d asked for the interview.
The network pool crew noticed Fox wasn’t on the list, was told that they hadn’t asked and the crew said they needed to be included. Treasury called the White House and asked top Obama adviser Anita Dunn. Dunn said yes and Fox’s Major Garrett was among the correspondents to interview Feinberg last night.
Simple as that, we’re told, and the networks don’t want to be seen as heroes for Fox.
TPMDC spoke with a network bureau chief this afternoon familiar with the situation who was surprised that Fox was portraying the news as networks coming to its rescue.
“If any member had been excluded it would have been same thing, it has nothing to do with Fox or the White House or the substance of the issues,” the bureau chief said. “It’s all for one and one for all.”
A Treasury spokesperson added: “There was no plot to exclude Fox News, and they had the same interview that their competitors did. Much ado about absolutely nothing.”
