Fox News airs altered photos of NY Times reporters

Summary: During a segment in which Fox & Friends co-hosts Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade labeled New York Times reporter Jacques Steinberg and editor Steven Reddicliffe "attack dogs," Fox News featured photos of Steinberg and Reddicliffe that appeared to have been digitally altered -- the journalists' teeth had been yellowed, their facial features exaggerated, and portions of Reddicliffe's hair moved further back on his head.

On the July 2 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, co-hosts Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade labeled New York Times reporter Jacques Steinberg and editor Steven Reddicliffe "attack dogs," claiming that Steinberg's June 28 article on the "ominous trend" in Fox News' ratings was a "hit piece." During the segment, however, Fox News featured photos of Steinberg and Reddicliffe that appeared to have been digitally altered -- the journalists' teeth had been yellowed, their facial features exaggerated, and portions of Reddicliffe's hair moved further back on his head. Fox News gave no indication that the photos had been altered.

After putting up the photos of Steinberg and Reddicliffe, Fox & Friends also featured a photograph of Steinberg's face superimposed over that of a poodle, while Reddicliffe's face was superimposed over that of the man holding the poodle's leash.

Below is a screenshot of Fox & Friends featuring the photo it used of Steinberg, with the original photo on its left. Comparing the two photos, it appears that the following changes have been made: Steinberg's teeth have been yellowed, his nose and chin widened, and his ears made to protrude further.

Similarly, a comparison of the photo of Reddicliffe used by Fox News and the original photo suggests that Reddicliffe's teeth have been yellowed, dark circles have been added under his eyes, and his hairline has been moved back.

From the July 2 edition of Fox & Friends:

DOOCY: And before we go today, something's been bugging me. A couple of days --

KILMEADE: Well, go back outside.

DOOCY: We will. A couple of days ago, when most newspapers in America were doing these positive stories about how Fox News Channel, once again, number one --

KILMEADE: Like the LA Times.

DOOCY: -- for many, many years. There was a hit piece by somebody in The New York Times. The writer was a fellow by the name of Jacques Steinberg, and he's been doing a bunch of attack stories on Fox News Channel. Well, there's some backstory to it, and that is this: His boss, the guy who assigned him to this, is a fellow by the name of Steven Reddicliffe, and Mr. Reddicliffe actually used to work for this company. He worked -- I think he was the editor in charge of TV Guide until circulation went down under his tenure --

KILMEADE: Right.

DOOCY: -- something like, 40 percent. So, he got fired, and according to Radar Online, this guy has had an ax to grind.

KILMEADE: Yeah, he does, because, I think, Steve, according to reports -- according to Radar and another online magazine -- he was making close to a million dollars here, and now with his new job --

DOOCY: Yeah.

KILMEADE: -- he's making significantly less. How about a tenth of that?

DOOCY: So, anyway, Radar says he's had an ax to grind, and that's why he sends his attack dog Jacques Steinberg out -- that fellow right there, the writer for The New York Times -- to do these hit pieces. So, he essentially is his attack dog. His -- his poodle, if you will.

KILMEADE: So --

DOOCY: Oooh! Very, very nice.

KILMEADE: -- Radar Online has unlocked the mystery. And there you go, because that story was oddly in the Arts section of The New York Times, in the Sunday Times.

DOOCY: Anyway, we just thought we'd -- cute. I wonder if he's going to show him at Westminster this year.

KILMEADE: I'm not really sure. We know a beagle won last year, and this -- he's dressed as a poodle.

—S.S.M.