Media Matters: Fox News can't take a punch

[ProSense]

Tue, Mar 13, 2007 1:54pm EST

Fox News can't take a punch

by Eric Boehlert

The cheese has really fallen off the cracker at Fox News over the Nevada Democratic Party's decision to http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-na-debate10mar10,1,4413056.story?coll=la-news-politics-national">break its presidential debate partnership with the cable news channel because the outlet is not seen as being fair. On Saturday night, Beltway Boys co-host Morton Kondracke completely lost it while discussing the snub and http://thinkprogress.org/2007/03/11/kondracke-stalinists">compared Nevada Democrats to communist propagandists. On Monday night, Fox News talker Bill O'Reilly went one better and http://thinkprogress.org/2007/03/12/oreilly-nevada-debate">likened the "radical" Nevada voters to Nazis.

The bizarre outbursts were just the latest in long line of wild-eyed Fox News denunciations that always come whenever there's a high-profile, albeit logical, observation that Fox News broadcasts a conservative-friendly version of the news and that the partisan news operation does not always employ the traditional checks and balances of mainstream journalism. In fact, Kondracke's own flare-up closely followed a name-calling press release in which Fox News itself http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2007-03-10T043336Z_01_N09187428_RTRUKOC_0_US-CAMPAIGN-DEBATE.xml&src=rss">denounced Nevada Democrats for being controlled by "radical fringe" special interest groups.

Of course, a real news organization wouldn't issue a nasty statement like that, nor would it give the statement exclusively to Matt Drudge, which Fox News did. And Kondracke's wild on-air denunciation of Democratic activists simply proved the activists' point about Fox News and its purposefully slanted programming. (See FoxAttacks for http://foxattacks.com">details.)

More importantly, the latest confrontation simply highlights the fact that Fox News can't take a punch. Then again, isn't that always the case with bullies?

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[NYCGirl]

1. Oh, that is so good. Bravo to Boehlert!

:applause:

[ComerPerro]

2. This is why they are the number one cable news network

because if you don't let them cover you or your event, they will fucking destroy you.

[Johonny]

3. Clearly

Nothing is destroying than a nasty letter to Matt Drudge.

[mvd]

4. This is one thing I disagree with Dennis Kucinich on

There's a difference between being willing to go on FAUX and explain our positions and having our debates with them. First of all, the debates are how we introduce ourselves to voters. Most FAUX-watching voters won't be swayed to begin with, and why should we get an unfair hearing. Also, it's great to see FAUX whining because they can't bully us anymore. They were hit with the truth.

[PreacherCasey]

7. I agree. I support Dennis but he is wrong here.

[ourbluenation]

5. they need to just say it. "we are NOT a news channel, we are a commentary network....

and a biased one at that.

[Vincardog]

6. When their tag line is FAUX the fairly unbalanced COMEDY channel Maybe we should go on

[sakabatou]

8. Cry babies.

[judaspriestess]

9. Its impossible for me to be a Nazi

I'm Hispanic. idiots

[badgerpup]

10. They had their pitfalls, pungee sticks, snipers and booby traps

...and "pundits" :sarcasm: all set up and ready to go...

And now those whiny-ass Democrats have decided that they're NOT going
to stick their necks in the guillotine lunette play in FAUX's backyard after all.
And after FAUX has gone to all that expense too, to provide fair and balanced...:spray::rofl:

I'm sorry. Can't keep a straight face on this and still type.

[BuyingThyme]

11. I think the Dems should negotiate another debate on Fox.

And then pull out again.