Media Accountability: The Fox News Factor

[OneGrassRoot]

Great article I found as I search for campaigns targeting media accountability:


At a strategy meeting earlier this month, Delaware GOP Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell reportedly told party insiders skeptical about her campaign that she had Fox News’ “Sean Hannity in my back pocket, and I can go on his show and raise money by attacking you guys.” The fact that Fox News and its right-wing news personalities favor conservative candidates is not a secret to many people with a cable box, but amidst the current discussion over how big money is influencing this election cycle, Rupert Murdoch’s highly rated “news” channel is rarely placed in the discussion. It should be: Fox News, part of the multi-billion dollar News Corporation, uses its $1.21 billion budget to provide a 24-hour propaganda and fundraising outlet for conservative candidates, many of whom confess the channel is their preferred method of “getting their voice out.” The channel hosts or straight-out employs more conservative politicians than any other outlet, and provides a constant stream for their misinformation, which is often abetted by Fox News personalities, many of whom campaign for or advise GOP candidates off the air. The right-wing billionaires who are the financial backbone of the Tea Party movement have a partner in Fox News, which has been instrumental in propagating its message, even hosting live Tea Party rallies from outdoor Fox News studios. And in recent months, News Corp. has simply handed over millions of dollars to conservative campaign outfits like the Republican Governors Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

GETTING THEIR VOICE OUT: O’Donnell received instruction on how to use Fox News to her political advantage from the master: paid Fox News contributor Sarah Palin. “ is gonna have to dismiss that, go with her gut, get out there, speak to the American people, speak through Fox News, and let the independents who are tuning into you, let them know what it is that she stands for, the principles behind her positions,” Palin explained. Palin herself turned to Fox News during the 2008 campaign after embarrassing interviews with other mainstream outlets, and in the time since, retained Fox News personality Greta Van Susteren’s husband as a political adviser. In fact, every major contender for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination that’s not currently in office is on the Fox News payroll, with the exception of Mitt Romney, and all but one speak only on that network. According to Media Matters research, these potential candidates made a whopping 269 appearances on Fox News through the end of September. So far this year, none of the potential contenders on the Fox News payroll have appeared on any other television news outlet with the exception of Newt Gingrich. “We have tried to book many of them, but they have always refused, saying they are exclusive to Fox,” one rival network staffer told Politico. This election cycle, numerous Republican congressional candidates have also chosen to “speak through Fox News.” For example, Washington Senate candidate Dino Rossi has given at least five interviews to Fox News just in the past month, including having Fox News cameras on the campaign trail with him twice, while giving no interviews to any other national cable news outlet. During these interviews, Rossi has stood up to questioning that can generously described as “helpful” — like this probing question from Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum: “That’s a lot of pressure on you, Mr. Rossi. How you holding up under that?” Or this one from Hannity: ” So what story is it that you want to tell in this election that’s going to make the difference and push you over the top?”

http://ynative77.wordpress.com/2010/10/20/media-accountability-the-fox-news-factor/