Eric Boehlert: Two new reasons Fox shouldn't have White House press credentials [View all]

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Eric Boehlert
@EricBoehlert
my latest—stop legitimizing them;

Two new reasons Fox shouldn't have White House press credentials
Listen now (8 min) | Tucker racism, covering up Gaetz
pressrun.media
5:26 AM · Apr 12, 2021

https://pressrun.media/p/two-new-reasons-fox-shouldnt-have

Blogger Heather Digby Parton tweeted a perpetual truth last week: "I didn't think Fox could go any lower. I was wrong."

Rupert Murdoch's propaganda network dove towards new depths recently when its most-watched host, Tucker Carlson, openly promoted white supremacy conspiracies, and the entire Fox News staff tried to cover up the raging Matt Gaetz sex scandal. In the process, Fox News again confirmed it has no business being allowed in the White House press briefing room, where legitimate news outlets are given the opportunity to pose questions.

Fox News isn't a newsgathering organization, therefore it does not need White House access. Giving them prestigious 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. press passes just delays the much-needed Beltway discussion that’s needed about the crooked network and its place in our political culture.

It's clear the Biden White House doesn't want to pick a fight with Fox News right now, which would inflame the entire Republican Party and the billion-dollar right-wing media industry. Not when Democrats are dealing with a country still reeling from a deadly health crisis and millions of out work. And having Fox News in the briefing room does help brandish the image that the Biden team is willing to engage with the other side, as White House press secretary Jen Psaki often does, patiently unplugging Fox News correspondents' attempted gotcha questions.

That's the politics of the situation — the optics. But the reality is that Fox News continues to be a deliberate cancer on this country, and any attempts to help legitimize it — by pretending it deserves to be alongside CNN in the White House briefing room — is not only wrong, it's dangerous.

*snip*