The Fox Network Won't Air Obama's News Conference Tonight

[lame54]

http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/fox-network-turns-down-airing-president

From C&L:

I was going to write that this didn't surprise me, but it actually does because it's not the FOX News channel.

The network is turning down the president's request to show his prime-time news conference on Wednesday. The news conference marks Obama's 100th day in office. Instead of the president, Fox viewers will see an episode of the Tim Roth drama "Lie to Me."

It's the first time a broadcast network has refused Obama's request. This will be the third prime-time news conference in Obama's presidency. ABC, CBS and NBC are airing it.

Fox Broadcasting Company issued a statement on their motives:

"The Fox Broadcasting Company will not air the Presidential News Conference," Fox said in a statement. "Fox's sister networks, Fox News Channel and the Fox Business Network, will air the press conference in its entirety. Fox will be alerting viewers with an onscreen graphic at the top of the 8:00 PM (ET) hour that the press conference is available on Fox News Channel and the Fox Business Network.

If John McCain or George Bush were giving a prime time news conference, FOX would be giving it wall to wall coverage. Being the only network not to broadcast it kind of hits home the right wing bias that Rupert Murdock has brought to television. If Bill O'Reilly or Chris Wallace start whining about President Obama not appearing on their network they can only look at their own behavior, but this is much bigger than that. This is the president giving a speech to the nation at a critical time in our history and FOX just passed.

[Zywiec]

1. Luckily it will be on 47 other channels

so I'm sure no one who wants to see it will miss it.

[peekaloo]

2. 'Lie To Me'

more accurate description than fair and balanced.

[Uben]

3. Kick their reporters out of the press corps

Shove it right back up their ass with razor blades and alcohol!

[KharmaTrain]

4. So???

I don't watch any of the Faux Channels...so outta sight, outta mind.

No great loss...they'd just lie about what the President said anyway.

[BlooInBloo]

5. Obama should make some big, important announcement - let faux miss it and have to catch up.

[vi5]

6. Of all the things they do and don't do at Fox...

..this really doesn't rank that high on the outrage meter for me personally. Every other channel is going to carry it so it's not like there are not options. Plus, their cash cow is American Idol which is on after Lie To Me, so I'm guessing that it wasn't so much them not wanting to pre-empt Lie To Me as much as not wanting to risk the speech going over into the 9 o'clock hour and causing issues with their live broadcast.

It's more practically greedy than it is insidiously anti-Obama.

[UnrepentantUnitarian]

7. Who's being "unAmerican" now, Fox?

Is this is an example of your convoluted conception of patriotism? Someone please explain to these people that "e pluribus unum" has a "unum" in it!

[zbdent]

8. I'm surprised they aren't playing it as "Lie To Me ... The Press Conference"

as a live feed (actually, a delay on the broadcast of the Pres, with the commentator being able to use the extra seconds to "analyze" where "Obama is lying!") ...