"Fair and Balanced" Network Got Talking Points From White House
By anniepa
@anniepa (27955)
United States
July 29, 2008 11:36pm CST
I don't imagine that's too much of a surprise to most of us but to those who have really fallen for that "Fair and balanced" "We Report, You Decide" line of BS here's the news:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/07/25/mcclellan-white-house-gave-fox-commentators-talking-points/
Here's the transcript from Hardball with Christ Matthews the other night:
Matthews: “Did you see FOX television as a tool when you were in the White House? As a useful avenue to get your message out?”
McClellan: “I make a distinction between the journalists and the commentators. Certainly there were commentators and other, pundits at FOX News, that were useful to the White House.” […] That was something we at the White House, yes, were doing, getting them talking points and making sure they knew where we were coming from.
Matthews: “So you were using these commentators as your spokespeople.”
McClellan: “Well, certainly.”
Of course, Bill O'Reilly had a fit over this and swore he'd never been party to this, which I guess that must mean nobody else as Fox was either since he IS Fox News, right? Here are my questions for you, plus add anything else you'd care to:
Do you believe Scott McClellan is telling the truth here?
Do you still (if you ever did...lol!) think Fox is "fair and balanced"?
Does it bother you that the White House was giving talking points to a news network?
Annie
2 people like this
8 responses
@fwidman (11514)
• United States
30 Jul 08
Fox? Fair and Balanced? Not since Bush ran for office the first time, if not before then 
I always say Fox wouldn't know news if it fell on them. As for O'Reilly, he is simply an opinionated bonehead. He reminds me of guys like Rush Limbagh, the I am right you are always stupid kind of guy.
I have no doubt that McClellan is telling the truth. Everything that Bush has done Fox has lapped up like a good little puppy dog 
I always say Fox wouldn't know news if it fell on them. As for O'Reilly, he is simply an opinionated bonehead. He reminds me of guys like Rush Limbagh, the I am right you are always stupid kind of guy.
I have no doubt that McClellan is telling the truth. Everything that Bush has done Fox has lapped up like a good little puppy dog @anniepa (27955)
• United States
30 Jul 08
My thoughts exactly. I haven't been a fan of that channel from the time it came on the air because I heard people like Rush Limbaugh praise it for being "balanced". I knew anything he called balanced had to be as far to the right as it could get.They have their few token liberals but when you watch just one episode of Sean Hannity or O'Reilly it's clear to see where their loyalty lies and it's not with the viewers and their right to see the real news.
Annie
1 person likes this
@kenzie45230 (3560)
• United States
30 Jul 08
Fox is certainly more fair and balanced than ABC, CBS or NBC. Right now, they're all falling all over themselves following Obama around. With as much as they love the guy, do you really think they can be neutral in reporting? No way.
1 person likes this
@jerzgirl (9291)
• United States
30 Jul 08
FOX local news isn't bad. I've heard them defend the left and castigate the right on several things recently. FOX national news - well, that's a tiger of a different stripe. I do believe McClellan. Reason? The White House hasn't denied anything he's said and only stated that they felt he'd betrayed them. That's not something you say about someone who is lying about you.....is it?
@Latrivia (2878)
• United States
30 Jul 08
For the past 8 years I watched a lot of the Fox News Network because my parents are hard core neo-conservatives who worship the very ground O'Reilly and his Faux news friends stand on. CNN was taboo, MSNBC wasn't allowed on, and when we all sat down to the dinner table, you can bet my mother had on Hannity and Colmes or the O'Reilly Factor. It's sad when a person's 14 year old can tell that a lot of information that comes from your favorite news station is nothing but baseless tripe. Fast forward five years, and I still think that way -but my dislike of news networks is all inclusive today.
"We report, you decide" should really be the short hand form of "We report what we want you to think, and you decide to stay tuned". It's only "fair and balanced" if you think that way to begin with. Listen to anyone who actually watches all news channels and balances out the information they get, and you'll hear the same thing. Fox News is an entertainment channel. They care more about their ratings than they do about their accuracy. They're a joke, along with all the rest of the media networks.
I'm not surprised they got caught in their tangled web of lies - AGAIN. Only this time it's WHITE HOUSE confirmation, instead of former employees explaining what went on behind the curtain.
1 person likes this
@xfahctor (14118)
• Lancaster, New Hampshire
30 Jul 08
Now for the rest of the story. McClellan, called in to the O'rielly radio show and admitted he was wrong and apologized to him for it. He in so much as admitted he was lead on and baited by Mathew's, who uses such tactics frequently as well. I happened to be listening to the radio show and heard it myself and then it apeared last night on the Factor. SOOOOO, once again, Msnbc proves it's nothing more than the mouth piece everyone claims fox news to be for the right. I spent a number of years watching msnbc and watched it creep further and further left and become more dishonest in the process. I didnt have fox news back then so all I had was cnn and msnbc. I finaly got fox and I STILL watch all 3, just to see what their up to and make comparissons and make up my own mind. I have to hand it to fox on the election coverage, they present ALL sides on EVERY topic they cover with it, msnbc simply does not do this, tyhey usualy bring in one person with one point of view and offer the other side no voice. Annie, I would suggest you spend a solid 2 weeks watching fox and seeing for your self how their covering things instead of watching the coverage of fox's coverage on other networks.
@Latrivia (2878)
• United States
30 Jul 08
I heard the radio show as well, and he never retracted the statement that Fox News got talking points. He only stated that he never said O'Reilly was one of the one's who received talking points. So the allegation still stands.
"There were people, not you, not you, but there were people." - You'll find that 5 minutes into the audio clip. Throughout the entire show he maintained that Fox did receive talking points, and apologized for allowing the belief that O'Reilly took part in any of it. No where will you find that he admitted he was wrong about the talking points.
1 person likes this
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
30 Jul 08
Thank you, Latrivia, for clearing that up. I also heard the audio from the radio show and Scott did NOT admit he was baited or that he war wrong. He never mentioned O'Reilly by name but he still stands by his claims.
You suggest I watch Fox for a solid two weeks? By that time will I be sufficiently brainwashed to believe McCain is the perfect saint they make him out to be and that all Democrats are the devil in disguise? I do watch some of their programming off and on and I usually catch at least part of Hannity and Colmes on reruns late at night as well as some of their other shows. I also usually catch most of Hannity's America each weekend which is basically an egomaniac on a witch-hunt against a liberal each week. I honestly don't know what you or anyone else means when you way MSNBC is far to the left. They have plenty of conservative commentators and most of their reporters are objective. This isn't really the point; the point is, was or is the White House giving their "talking points" to Fox News commentators and telling them what to say? This may be against the law if they are.
Annie
@xfahctor (14118)
• Lancaster, New Hampshire
30 Jul 08
Thank you for pointing that out. I think you will find, though I can only make an educated speculation, that these same talking points were sent to all the major news netowrks. This has been pretty common practice in the white house for years, even before the bush administration. Whether or not they were used by one or any is unknown. I will still stand by my statement though that they are a very independant organization and have critisized the administration itself a great deal while still sticking by the ideals of the conservative mind, which can run along either party line. The election coverage has been excelent, the most complete and all encumpassing I have ever seen on any network in any election. All one needs to do is watch it solid for a week or 2. Though I suspect a great many won't because they already have their mind made up that the network is in Bush's pocket. Did you listen to the radio show? Or just the snipet? Just curious, you said you had heard the radio show.
1 person likes this
@skinnychick (6905)
• United States
30 Jul 08
Fox fair and balanced, since when?? Isn't O'Reilly still on the air?? LOL
It doesn't really bother me that the White house was giving talking points to them. What they say doesn't really matter to me anymore. It's all a bunch of horse pooh...
1 person likes this
@skinnychick (6905)
• United States
30 Jul 08
I used to watch it regularly until I became bombarded with poor news coverage compared to other news networks and Republican bias shows. Since then I haven't watched it and I'm really not missing anything.
1 person likes this
@kenzie45230 (3560)
• United States
30 Jul 08
I believe that every news station is used by some politician at some point, if not all the time, then at least some of the time. Look at the stupid news media now, rushing off to follow Obama everywhere.
1 person likes this
@MrNiceGuy (4141)
• United States
31 Jul 08
Guess what? A lot of news outlets and reporters get talking points from past Presidents.
I believe Fox News is fair and balanced. They are the only news outlet that offers non-liberal bias, and even if they are biased as well, that to me seems FAIR.
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
31 Jul 08
Sure, they may have gotten talking points but when they use them and present them as news that's known has propaganda, which is what I think Fox has been spreading. If that's the kind of "balance" you like, that's up to you but I don't think it's "fair" that some people actually believe it to be "news".
Annie
@rodney850 (2145)
• United States
30 Jul 08
Annie,
It's funny (not ha ha)you should bring this up since the three major networks are the "talking points kings" when it comes to BHO! I mean it must have cost NBC, CBS and ABC tons of money to hire the extra help to wipe the drool off of Katie, Charlie and Brians chins and they panted after BHO in Europe!
