In the Thursday edition of their every other week "Common Ground"
discussion for USA Today, Cal Thomas and Bob Beckel took up the liberal
charge the Fox News Channel is out of bounds. Neither found any credence
or efficacy in the efforts to discredit the channel. "The White House
had been essentially stiff-arming Fox reporters in a very Nixonian way
until someone at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue wised up," the liberal Beckel
noted in the March 25 back-and-forth titled "Crazy Like a Fox? [1]" He observed:
In fact, the president sat down with Bret Baier last week to discuss the health care legislation, and though the interview was seen as testy, no one can say Baier did anything except ask tough questions on behalf of his viewers. By any definition, that's journalism. And the president reached millions he might not have otherwise. That's a problem?
The conservative Thomas pointed out: "The left criticizes Fox for
being biased, but the other cable and broadcast networks are loaded with
liberal reporters and commentators who have a history of political
activism." He named names:
ABC's George Stephanopoulos, of course, helped run Bill
Clinton's campaign and was a senior adviser. Jay Carney, former Time
magazine Washington bureau chief, left that job to join Vice President
Biden's staff. Carney's wife is ABC News correspondent Claire Shipman.
Linda Douglass left ABC News for the Obama campaign and now directs the
Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Health Reform
Communications office....
Jason DeParle of The New York Times Washington bureau is married to
Nancy-Ann DeParle, who directs the Office of Health Reform. You get the
point. The public looks at this and thinks much of the mainstream media
are in bed - literally and figuratively - with some of the people they
are supposed to fairly cover.
Thomas concluded by recalling liberal hypocrisy:
In the 1980s, liberals told conservatives who wanted to control television sleaze to change the channel or turn it off if they didn't like what was on. No one is forcing anyone to watch Fox News, but a growing number of people are choosing to. For a party so often obsessed with "choice," why the obsession to take this one away?
A video version [1] their discussion. It's also on YouTube [2].
- Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at
the Media Research Center. Click
here [3] to follow him on Twitter.