Free Republic

Nothing to fear—yet Gene Lyons Nobody should be surprised to see the nation’s esteemed celebrity news media align with FOX News against the White House, although even a cynical observer like me found the unanimity mildly shocking. Don’t they remember what journalism was supposed to be? Supposedly, the press regulates its own behavior. In reality, that’s been a joke for two decades. “Claiming the moral authority of a code of professional ethics it idealizes in the abstract but repudiates in practice,” I wrote in 2003, “today’s Washington press corps has grown as decadent and self-protective as any politician or interest...

To some who rarely watch it, it's both mysterious and outrageous that the Fox News TV channel dominates its cable TV rivals in ratings, and keeps growing. The prejudice and mind-set against Fox is mainly among those who consider themselves intellectually elite but who, in fact, are less informed about what's going on in the world than ... than Fox viewers. Fox's supremacy over its main competitors, CNN and MSNBC, grates on the lib-left. But for most of this 21st century, Fox News has proven the fairest and balanced of TV channels, both in hard news coverage and commentary. Those...

The White House is tapping out in its war with Fox News Channel. Obama's press secretary Robert Gibbs met with FNC senior vice-president Michael Clemente today, and agreed to call a truce. The White House will no longer criticize cable's top-ranked news channel.

When the news reporters becomes NEWS themselves. Here’s the Shep Smith/Shannon Bream video in context, per Hot Air’s request. Not sure it makes a difference. It starts with Shep revisiting the McDonnell Thesis and why oh why the Deeds attacks didn’t work (old news?) with Carl Cameron. Carl explains … well Shep, its the economy silly. Shep moves on to Shannon Bream who is at an event with Chris Christie, the Republican running in New Jersey. The money stuff is about one minute from the end where Shep jumps ugly on Shannon for not having Corzine too.

The stories about what the Obama White House has to say about Fox News Channel keep coming. There was White House communications director saying telling Howard Kurtz of The Washington Post and CNN "let's not pretend they're a news network the way CNN is." Also last week it was NPR's David Folkenflik reporting that "the White House is taking direct aim at Fox News, the news organization that is the home to the most potent collection of its conservative critics." This week it's ABC News' Jake Tapper asking why the Obama team was treating one of the "sister organizations" so...

Bret Baier just said on Special Report that senior officials are telling various news outlets that Obama is going to ask for 20,000 more troops for Afghanistan. Nothing up on the website yet or anywhere else- just reported. Expect to hear the offical announcement within the week.

Congressman Alan "you are a whore" Grayson is a nut job who's lack of class should keep him from leaving the "padded room," but unfortunately he is a member of congress. In the spring Neil Cavuto had Grayson as a guest on his Fox show and pulverized him. It was arguably the most entertaining interview of the the year. It was a classic on the level of O' Reilly/Frank. Grayson is on Barney Frank's banking committee. He sponsored the "Pay for Performance Act of 2009." It would impose government controls on the pay of all employees (not just top executives)...

Ever since long-time radio talker Don Imus inked a deal with the Fox Business Network to simulcast his morning radio program, he said he has been getting pushback from several acquaintances. And as he explained and showed on his Oct. 28 program, he's not particularly pleased with the reaction about his deal with Fox News. "I get this email and the e-mail says, ‘Sorry to see you've sold out to Fox Business, or whatever. But I am not surprised you sold out to Fox Business, disappointed.' Could you explain to me exactly what does that mean? When you walk in...

This needs Freeping badly, folks.

Great news...ridiculous analysis. There have been a lot of bad days recently for what’s come to be known as the mainstream media — or MSM — but Monday was one of the worst. New circulation figures showed that big city papers had lost as much as a quarter of their circulation in the past six months. And new TV ratings showed that CNN, the cable network that prides itself on news coverage down the middle, finished dead last in prime time against more partisan rivals like Fox News and MSNBC. Are the two connected? Yes, but not at all in...

Hat tip: Hot Air ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Well bravo to Cambell Brown for asking about how the White House feels about MSNBC. Notice Valerie did not have an answer for that one. That is why she quickly starts talking in generalities rather than about Fox directly. The White House is clearly losing the war on Fox News. The latest Nielsen ratings show what we all could have guessed, Fox’s ratings are up! If there is one thing I really cannot stand about this administration, it is the way they act like they are the keepers of the truth. They label everything that...

Here is video of White House Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett on CNN telling Campbell Brown that Fox News is biased. Campbell Brown asked Jarrett "do you think Fox News is biased?" She answered "of course they're biased." Brown then asked her "do you also think that MSNBC is biased?" She avoided the question and would not say that MSNBC is biased.

On last night's O'Reilly Factor (Oct 27, 2009), Bill O'Reilly sat stupidly while Lis Wiehl made several conspicuously false statements regarding the facts related to Obama's birth documentation. Referring to the "birthers", Ms. Wiehl stated that "It's this whole movement that says that Obama was elected from a bad, unconstitutional point of view because he was not born in the United States. That's been litigated. Congress investigated. His birth document from Hawaii was shown." First, regarding "That's been litigated" this case has never actually been heard in open court (because the plaintiffs have been denied standing). Second, regarding "Congress investigated."...

Journalism has a special, hallowed place for stories of its practitioners' persecution. There is no higher claim to journalistic integrity than going to jail to protect a source. And the Newseum in Washington, D.C., establishes the profession's legitimacy with a memorial to fallen scribes, thus drawing an implicit connection between the murdered abolitionist editors of long ago and the struggling outfit that gave you this morning's page-one story about cute pets in Halloween costumes. But no journalistic operation is better prepared to sing the tragedy of its own martyrdom than Fox News. To all the usual journalistic instincts it adds...

The term "narcissistic rage" gets 26,000 citations in Google Scholar. It is a common feature of extreme or pathological narcissism. While psychiatrists often say they can't do long-distance diagnosis, it really isn't that hard if you have a lot of information about a person and can watch how he operates from day to day. Intelligence agencies around the world have psychiatric staffs for exactly that purpose. While most people are pretty hard to predict, extreme narcissists are comparatively simple. They constantly hunger for ego gratification, they are immature, constantly need to demonstrate their own superiority, often need endless sexual conquests...

Did anyone see this live? HuffPo and Weasel Zippers picked it up but I’m having a hard time believing the video edit didn’t omit some important detail. Is this really how it happened? If so, what exactly is Shep’s problem? Does “fair and balanced” now mean interviewing both candidates at the same time? If Carl Cameron nabs an interview with Harry Reid about the public option, I’m pretty sure he’s not required to go sprinting down the hall to make sure he gets some comment from Mitch McConnell before the bit airs. And given the left’s demagoguery of Fox, how...

Here is video of White House Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett on CNN telling Campbell Brown that Fox News is biased. Campbell Brown asked Jarrett "do you think Fox News is biased?" She answered "of course they're biased." Brown then asked her "do you also think that MSNBC is biased?" She avoided the question and would not say that MSNBC is biased...(Video)

If you didn’t notice it, Bret Baier of Fox News added a little zinger when he signed off tonight. Instead of “Fair and Balanced,” it was “Fair, Balanced and Unafraid.” It was an obvious reference to the threats coming from the White House.

Here is video of Shepard Smith apologizing for "lack of balance." Shannon Bream interviewed Republican Chris Christie. After the interview Shepard Smith asked "when will you be interviewing Jon Corzine?" Shannon Bream answered that they have multiple requests in and they will interview him "when it comes through." Shepard Smith reacted by saying "wow, I didn't that was about to happen my apologies for the lack of balance there, if I had control it wouldn't have happened." (Video)

Credit CNN here. Not only did Campbell Brown follow up with a question about MSNBC after this sorry hack went into Fox-bashing mode but CNN.com actually posted a write-up noting her lame retreat when confronted. Say, did you know that the White House is “calling everybody out,” not just Fox News? Keep watching those Sunday morning chat shows; I’m sure Axelrod and Emanuel will be on again soon to lay out their arguments against CNN and MSNBC. The money line? “We’re going to speak truth to power.” The ultimate expression of self-righteous victimhood, offered here by … a senior advisor...

Every time the White House has a new enemy, left-wing Web-based media outlets take up the cause to defend the Obama administration. Earlier this year when CNBC personalities criticized the Obama administration, the Huffington Post and other components of the left-wing noise machine watched every word said on the financial network - an effort that has since petered out. The Huffington Post also asked readers to supply reports to undermine the credibility of the tea party protests that were critical of the Obama administration. ...more...

STAND UP AMERICA, GET OUT OF THE FETAL POSITION AND MAKE YOUR VOICES HEARD. Welcome to the GLENN BECK television thread...Shake the cobwebs out of your brain...We are another day closer to the REVOLUTION that will change the 2010 elections. All comrades, infidels, sick twisted freaks and lurkers are welcome and are encouraged to participate in the thread! Join us Friday for a full hour of Lord Monckton and John Bolton! What is Bawney Fwank up to? Join us today and find out won't you!

Grayson: “You know…FOX News and their Republican collaborators are the enemy of America. They’re the enemy of anybody who cares about health care in this country, the enemy of anybody who cares about educating their children, the enemy of everybody who wants energy independence, anything … good for this country. And they’re certainly the enemy of peace, there’s no doubt about that. They ARE the enemy.”I’ve seen people like Alan Grayson, the Democratic Representative from Florida’s 8th Congressional District, before. For example, I once attended an event held by Michigan Congressman John Conyers in the southern, suburban, part of his...

Barack Obama's war on Fox News Channel is paying huge dividends. For Fox News. While Obama's approval numbers are sinking below the 50 percent mark, FNC's ratings are higher than ever. Two weeks ago, the Obama White House began its assault on Fox News Channel, with communications director Anita Dunn calling the channel a "research arm of the Republican Party." Since that time, FNC's ratings are up almost 10 percent. Even more important, the ratings leaped 14 percent in the coveted 25-54 year old demographic. Glenn Beck, who is particularly despised by the thin-skinned Obama administration, now owns the second...

Yesterday, Doug Ross at Director Blue issued a challenge to those who have proclaimed that Fox News is not really a news organization. He’s offering a solid gold Kruggerand (today’s value: $1,040) to the person who can document one single lie made by a Fox News reporter.

An AWESOME image of Obama as a baby...

Let's say, hypothetically, someone was to make a disparaging statement about Fox News and conclude as a news outlet it is way outside of mainstream political thought. Well, then the follow-up appropriate question could be where does that put Fox News' competitors who get just a fraction of the cable news juggernaut's ratings? Michael Wolff, a contributing editor and columnist Vanity Fair and CNBC regular, told MSNBC's "Hardball" host Chris Matthews on his Oct. 26 program the White House strategy was to marginalize Fox News the same way conservatives once did to liberals, making "liberal" a word with negative connotations....

Harry Reid was caught red-handed and red-faced in a bold-faced lie yesterday by Fox News that he’s been spouting for months in his ideological battle to scam the American people into coming around on the universal healthcare-mess known as Obamacare, being the Obama gofer that he is. The Reid Lie centers around this talking point that, in all fairness, is one that many Democrats including Pelosi have been repeating or at least implying; however, Reid is the one which Fox News’ fact-checking can actually expose as the total liar he is because of what he incriminatingly said on tape.

America has just suffered the deadliest day of the war in Afghanistan in more than four years, but Obama doesn't have time to worry about that. He's focused on another war: the war against his political enemies. The assault on Rush Limbaugh was just for starters. Today's victim: Fox News. It's not enough that four-fifths of the news networks march in lock step to the Obama administration and have turned from being the watchdogs to Obama lapdogs. During the campaign, they went from being biased to becoming activists for Obama. Obama's communications director, Anita Dunn, was, for the most part,...

It’s a nine-percent bump in the two weeks since Anita Dunn’s whine heard ’round the world — in terms of overall audience. Among the coveted 25-54 demographic? A 14-percent bump. Good work, Barry. People keep telling me that this PR offensive by the White House benefits both sides but I don’t see how that’s true. If the goal is to contain Fox by framing the stories it breaks — Van Jones, ACORN, etc — as somehow illegitimate, then every tenth of a point that Fox’s ratings go up undermines that goal. There will come a point where other news nets...

It’s a nine-percent bump in the two weeks since Anita Dunn’s whine heard ’round the world — in terms of overall audience. Among the coveted 25-54 demographic? A 14-percent bump. Good work, Barry. People keep telling me that this PR offensive by the White House benefits both sides but I don’t see how that’s true. If the goal is to contain Fox by framing the stories it breaks — Van Jones, ACORN, etc — as somehow illegitimate, then every tenth of a point that Fox’s ratings go up undermines that goal. There will come a point where other news nets...

CNN’s numbers drop 68% in prime to last place I have been reporting CNN’s bad numbers for some time and now it will be official when the October numbers are in, CNN is in last place behind MSNBC, HLN and you know who.CNN’s numbers have dropped in half overall (52%) and 68% in prime time comparing October 2008 to 2009, TV by the Numbers reported.In the 25-54 demographic, CNN dropped 62% overall and by 77% in prime time.Even the mainstream press is now reporting it. “The official monthly numbers will be finalized at 4 p.m. Monday and will include results...

In the days before deregulation, hordes of economists at the CAB and the ICC, set tariffs and determined the “correct” amount of service on city pairs for the airline and trucking industry respectively.... There are five TV/Cable news operations: ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News and CNN. 4 of the 5 are certifiably liberal and only one conservative. Yet the latest Gallup Poll shows there are twice as many conservatives as liberals (40% to 20%). Surely the FCC should use its club of license renewal to persuade....

CNN's prime-time programs finished fourth and last among the cable news networks in October. CNN's programs finished behind not only Fox News and MSNBC, but also its own sister network HLN.

Jay Leno, above, is laughing at Obama because of his attack on Fox News. The President and his administration are showing the citizenry, at large, how vulnerable. how thin skinned they really are. Did GWB attack ABC, CBS or NBC over the many unfounded attacks? About their warped opinions passed off as facts? No, neither did Presidents before Dubya. They took their lumps and continued with their work. Obama, however, needs to distract us from his failures, he needs to hide the important issues. The Great Unifier is nothing more than a Great Divider. Why? By creating diversions, by dividing...

Last May, I wrote on CNN's ratings troubles in prime-time, after being topped by MSNBC during the hours of 8pm to 11pm. But for the month of October, CNN was beaten by not only MSNBC in the 25-54 demo, but also its sister network, HLN. Fox News remains the dominant cable news network, and will easily hold onto the number 1 spot. The Times Bill Carter reports on the latest numbers, which will be finalized this afternoon. While CNN has lost before to MSNBC and HLN, there are some notable firsts in how poorly some of the network's shows are...

Here is video of Michael Wolff talking with Chris Matthews about Fox News. Michael Wolff said "the truth is Fox is not very popular in this country, it may have great ratings but still we're talking under two million people, it's a really marginal somewhat extreme presence in the United States." (Video)

Can you imagine the outrage that would have ensued had former President George W. Bush declared off-limits those media outlets he thought (correctly) treated him unfairly? Heck, the left declared him a dictator simply because he led a war on Iraq that Congress approved. He never tried to shut down his critics. He rarely even objected to their abuse. But liberal politicians have been spoiled with mainstream media favoritism for so long that they believe anything other than sycophancy is mistreatment. Their selective outrage is as hollow as it is risible. In fact, Fox News seems much more conservative than...

WAKE UP AMERICA, GET OUT OF THE FETAL POSITION AND MAKE YOUR VOICES HEARD. Welcome to the GLENN BECK television thread...Shake the cobwebs out of your brain...We are another day closer to the REVOLUTION that will change the 2010 elections. All comrades, infidels, sick twisted freaks and lurkers are welcome and are encouraged to participate in the thread! Join us for head exploding moments won't you!

There is no greater waste of time in the Obama White House than its war against Fox News, because it doesn't just make this President look bad, it makes him look as if the other side has cut him down to size. He would be better off trying bowling again. At least this is one war Barack Obama can end easily. All he has to do is sit down with Chris Wallace or Shepard Smith - do the President's men think Smith was some arm of the Republican Party with his reporting on Hurricane Katrina? - or Major Garrett, a...

Former White House Press Secretary Dana Perino on Sunday compared last week's attempt by the White House to exclude Fox News from of a pool interview to Hugo Chavez shutting down television stations in Venezuela. As NewsBuster Jeff Poor reported Thursday, the Obama administration earlier in the day tried to shut Fox News out of an interview with pay czar Kenneth Feinberg that was to be part of a pool that the cable network would always be involved in. On "Fox News Sunday," when the panel discussion turned to this subject, Perino really went after the White House for what...

Clearly the war with Fox News has given the Obama team a thirst for red (politically) blood. They've now been accused of a campaign of "invectives" and "name-calling" against the global warming-denying US Chamber of Commerce. On Fox News Sunday - because why not? - the chief lobbyist for the Chamber of Commerce, Bruce Josten, said Rahm Emmanuel had stolen his lunch and given him a wedgie. Actually he said that differences over healthcare and economic policy had led to a mini-war.

Here is video of America's future journalists at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism doing a hip-hop rant as part of an assignment, which included an attack on Fox News and Sean Hannity: "But I will never lose touch with my own humanityGet every side to speakBut there's no need to hear crazyOr create false sense of parityLike Fox News and Hannity . . ."Looks like they are training them well, to become clones of the impartial "journalists" at MSNBC. . . (VIDEO)

It's been a long time since Fox News, which avidly cultivates its outsider status, got to play the underdog. But after White House aides recently labeled the top-rated cable news channel "a wing of the Republican Party" and argued that it is not a news network, Fox News found itself back in a spot it relishes: firing back at a more powerful adversary. The salvos by administration officials have rallied liberals who complain that the channel has a conservative agenda. The activist group MoveOn instantly jumped in the fray, urging Democrats to stay off Fox News programs. But the White...

Before Glenn Beck started his new show on Fox News in January, he sat down with Roger Ailes, the network's chief executive, to make sure they were on the same page. "I wanted to meet with Roger and tell him, 'You may not want to put me on the air. I believe we are in dire trouble, and I will never shut up,' " said the conservative radio host. But before Beck could say anything, Ailes shared a message of his own: The country faced tough times, he said, and Fox News was one of the only news outlets willing...

The Sunday talk shows featured a number of pundits who agreed that the White House war on Fox News had failed. This past week, while the Obama administration delayed decisions on real threats around the globe, Fox News was declared to not be a news channel by Anita Dunn, Robert Gibbs, Rahm Emanuel, David Axelrod, and Barack Obama. This video composite features comments on these statements by Nico Pitney, Jane Hall, Amanda Carpenter, George Will, Laura Ingraham, and Cynthia Tucker. Video: Sunday Talk Show Pundits Defend Fox News

Throwing rotten eggs at "them lyin' newspapers" has always been great sport in America, and sometimes even effective politics. But it has to be done with wit and humor, which may be above Barack Obama's pay grade. Thomas Jefferson despised newspapers, with considerable justification. They printed libels and slanders about him that persist to the present day. Yet he famously said that if he had to choose between government without newspapers and newspapers without government, he would cheerfully choose to live in a land with newspapers (even not very good ones) and no government. Harry Truman threatened to demolish the...

New site supporting Fox News On-line TODAY Suggestions will be appreciated.

A poll of opinion polls shows that Americans are undergoing rapidly changing attitudes. RealClearPolitics, a national polling aggregator, shows that Americans are becoming less and less thrilled about the direction of the country and with the job Congress is doing. Support has been peeling off steadily, says RealClearPolitics executive editor Tom Bevan. The danger for the Obama administration and the Democrat Party is the independent voters' shift away from Democrat policies. “Independents have flipped negative,” warns Bevan, who mans the polls for a living. “That’s not a good thing for any party.” You need to look no further than the...

Here is video of Democratic New Jersey Rep Rob Andrews taking a cheap shot at Fox News while on Fox News. Andrews asked "could we have just a minute of fair and balance just as an exception here?" Fox News anchor Gregg Jarrett then pointed out that he had just asked a "very tough question" to Republican Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn earlier in the segment. Jarrett said "that's a cheap shot and I'm not going to put up with it here." He then ended the segment.(Video)