j_b Posted November 4, 2003 Posted November 4, 2003 http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82~1865~1740252,00.html Former producer blows whistle on Fox News Executives allegedly issue daily memorandum to bend reporting to conform with management's political views By Tim Rutten, Los Angeles Times A veteran producer this week alleged that Fox News executives issue a daily memorandum to staff on news coverage to bend the network's reporting to conform with management's political views, refocusing attention on the partisan bias of America's most-watched cable news operation. The charges by Charlie Reina, 55, whose six years at Fox ended April 9, first surfaced Wednesday in a letter he posted on an influential Web site ( www.poynter.org/column maintained by Jim Romenesko for the Poynter Institute, an organization that promotes journalistic education and ethics. [...] In his letter, Reina wrote that, "The roots of (Fox's) day-to-day on-air bias are actual and direct. They come in the form of an executive memo (written by John Moody, the network's vice president for news, and) "distributed electronically each morning, addressing what stories will be covered and, often, suggesting how they should be covered. To the newsroom personnel responsible for the channel's daytime programming, The Memo is the bible. If, on any given day, you notice that the Fox anchors seem to be trying to drive a particular point home, you can bet The Memo is behind it. The Memo was born with the Bush administration, early in 2001, and, intentionally or not, has ensured that the administration's point of view consistently comes across on (Fox). . . "For instance, from the March 20 memo: 'There is something utterly incomprehensible about (U.N. Secretary-General) Kofi Annan's remarks in which he allows that his thoughts are 'with the Iraqi people.' One could ask where those thoughts were during the 23 years Saddam Hussein was brutalizing those same Iraqis. Food for thought.' Can there be any doubt that the memo was offering not only 'food for thought,' but a direction for the FNC writers and anchors to go? Especially after describing the U.N. Secretary General's remarks as 'utterly incomprehensible'?. . .. "One day this past spring, just after the U.S. invaded Iraq, The Memo warned us that anti-war protesters would be 'whining' about U.S. bombs killing Iraqi civilians, and suggested they could tell that to the families of American soldiers dying there. Editing copy that morning, I was not surprised when an eager young producer killed a correspondent's report on the day's fighting -- simply because it included a brief shot of children in an Iraqi hospital. . .. "These are not isolated incidents at Fox News Channel, where virtually no one of authority in the newsroom makes a move unmeasured against management's politics, actual or perceived. At the Fair and Balanced network, everyone knows management's point of view, and, in case they're not sure how to get it on air, The Memo is there to remind them." [...] Quote
rr666 Posted November 4, 2003 Posted November 4, 2003 They are just like the rest of them, not fair and balanced but with a view point. It just so happens that their viewpoint is different than the rest of the networks. Being in the media must be a hard job to do, especially as the master editor. Their job is to decide what goes in and what is not in. I know of no one who would be able to do this job and not put a bit of bias in it. I praise Fox for being different and being slanted to the other side. However, they should be chastised for touting their fair and balanced slogan, when they know that they are not. The best way to get unbiased news is to read from at least 20 different sources, and take out the facts from each, not the opinions, and then make the conclusions for yourself. Quote
j_b Posted November 4, 2003 Author Posted November 4, 2003 i wouldn't say they are like the rest of them. i don't believe there are many newsrooms where it is deemed acceptable to receive a daily memo from the boss on how to cover the news. this said, i concur on your point about objectivity and they can do whatever they want as long as people are aware of what's going on. Quote
allthumbs Posted November 4, 2003 Posted November 4, 2003 I wonder if j_b has his resumes in at all the major news agencies? He's certainly become quite the Jimmy Cub Reporter, hasn't he? Quote
rr666 Posted November 4, 2003 Posted November 4, 2003 j_b said: i don't believe there are many newsrooms where a daily memo from the boss on how to cover the news is deemed acceptable. I don't know the answer, but how are normal newsrooms run. Doesn't the boss, or head editor tell each person to go do a story on XX or XX? i.e. go do a report on how many civilians are being killed. I do not think (I also don't know for sure) that the boss would say go do a story on the Iraq issues. Then have it played on TV that night without much prior knowledge of how it is going to turn out. Maybe it is just me, but I do not believe that the actual reporters have enough clout to do any real reporting, but are always making stories based on their bosses needs. The TV channels have too much to lose (advertising dollars) by letting the reporters report as they would really want to. Anybody out there with real experience that can show me otherwise? Quote
Metalhead_Mojo Posted November 4, 2003 Posted November 4, 2003 and the far left still cant figure out why fox news is #1 in the ratings Quote
whirlwind Posted November 4, 2003 Posted November 4, 2003 Metalhead_Mojo said: and the far left still cant figure out why fox news is #1 in the ratings cause there own almost all the major news out lets and, sports chanels. duh Quote
Dru Posted November 4, 2003 Posted November 4, 2003 Metalhead_Mojo said: and the far left still cant figure out why fox news is #1 in the ratings Simpsons Quote
vegetablebelay Posted November 4, 2003 Posted November 4, 2003 Metalhead_Mojo said: and the far left still cant figure out why fox news is #1 in the ratings He said FOX News is #1. This is separate from FOX Sports and FOX programming. Quote
j_b Posted November 4, 2003 Author Posted November 4, 2003 foxnews is the most watched cable news channel (or at least it was in march .... gasp) Quote
nonanon Posted November 4, 2003 Posted November 4, 2003 vegetablebelay said: Metalhead_Mojo said: and the far left still cant figure out why fox news is #1 in the ratings He said FOX News is #1. This is separate from FOX Sports and FOX programming. The Baby O'Rielly told him so. Quote
j_b Posted November 4, 2003 Author Posted November 4, 2003 rr666 said: I don't know the answer, but how are normal newsrooms run. Doesn't the boss, or head editor tell each person to go do a story on XX or XX? i.e. go do a report on how many civilians are being killed. I do not think (I also don't know for sure) that the boss would say go do a story on the Iraq issues. Then have it played on TV that night without much prior knowledge of how it is going to turn out. Maybe it is just me, but I do not believe that the actual reporters have enough clout to do any real reporting, but are always making stories based on their bosses needs. The TV channels have too much to lose (advertising dollars) by letting the reporters report as they would really want to. Anybody out there with real experience that can show me otherwise? i assume there is a big difference between being assigned a story and being told what goes in it, or editorializing about a news item (examples in initial post) instead of presenting all the facts. from article above, the comments of Av Westin, a longtime ABC news executive who is now executive director of the National Television Academy: "Roger runs the place with an iron hand and he was put in place there by Murdoch, who selected him for his politics. In that sense, what's happened at Fox is a carry-over from all Murdoch's print publications, where the publisher's politics and editorial preference is reflected in the news hole to an extent that isn't true anywhere else in American journalism." Quote
allthumbs Posted November 5, 2003 Posted November 5, 2003 hey j-b, around 11:30 today I went down to the 7-11 and shot me a raghead. I brought him home, skinned him out and had a nice camel-jockey sandwich with sweet pickles and ketsup. Quote
rbw1966 Posted November 5, 2003 Posted November 5, 2003 trask said: . . . I brought him home . . . Another coming out thread? Quote
Jim Posted November 5, 2003 Posted November 5, 2003 trask said: hey j-b, around 11:30 today I went down to the 7-11 and shot me a raghead. I brought him home, skinned him out and had a nice camel-jockey sandwich with sweet pickles and ketsup. I think I saw this on Fox! Quote
j_b Posted November 5, 2003 Author Posted November 5, 2003 Jim said: I think I saw this on Fox! was it the new reality tv show: lunch time at the trailer park Quote
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