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Weisberg: "Respectable journalists ... should stop appearing" on Fox News

October 18, 2009 9:41 am ET by Media Matters staff

From Weisberg's October 17 column, "The O'Garbage Factor":

Whether the White House engages with Fox is a tactical political question. Whether we journalists continue to do so is an ethical one. By appearing on Fox, reporters validate its propaganda values and help to undermine the role of legitimate news organizations. Respectable journalists-I'm talking to you, Mara Liasson-should stop appearing on its programs. A boycott would make Ailes too happy, so let's try just ignoring Fox, shall we? And no, I don't want to come on The O'Reilly Factor to discuss it.

Tags: Fox News Channel

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    • Author by srichardson (October 18, 2009 9:44 am ET)
      8 1
      At last, some common sense!
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    • Author by Midnight Kevin (October 18, 2009 9:55 am ET)
      5  
      I had thought that respectable journalists should go on Fox to try and debunk them and convert some of those poor unfortunate viewers, but it seems making an appearance on the show is like getting trapped in quicksand...

      ----------------------
      The Midnight Review
      Mum Is The Word
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    • Author by pros2pros2940 (October 18, 2009 10:02 am ET)
      7  
      We'll see if this is the beginning salvo to get FauxNews to be a part of the solution or remain a part of the problem.

      At this time in America, we cannot afford their propaganda and lies to prevent us from moving forward as a nation.
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      • Author by loonz (October 18, 2009 11:34 am ET)
        4 1
        I don't really care if FOX "News" wants to remain the propaganda arm of the republican party. The legitimate news organizations should just stop following FOX's lead.
        Report Abuse
    • Author by epkklk851 (October 18, 2009 11:51 am ET)
      7 1
      Thank you, I followed your link and read the whole article which is much better than just the concluding paragraph that you included. Perhaps, someone is listening. I have always been respectful of mainstream media. I came of age during the Watergate Era, and journalists digging into things and informing the public made them heroes, at least for a while. It would be great if the mainstream media just decided to ignore them, and without any fanfare, because that would just re-inforce Fox's Alamo mentality. They are not the victim, they are the bully on the block. But I would say that someone needs to remain on watch. Let Keith and Rachel spend their shows addressing and debunking the Fixed Spews spin. And hopefully, sooner or later, Faux Noise will lose their audience. In the meantime, we have friends, family, and colleagues, who remain under the spell of the Fox propaganda machine.
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      • Author by bluestate69 (October 19, 2009 2:55 am ET)
        3  
        thank god we have keith and rachel. can you imagine this political environment without those two? who is a liberal on cnn?? you couldn't think of one could you. larry king is a good liberal democrat,but he doesn't get political anymore. i think he actually coined the phrase "right wing wacko". he would call crazy republican callers that when he had a radio show. i digress. my point is that without keith and rachel, there wouldn't be a progressive counterpoint to fox.
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    • Author by Sks1 (October 18, 2009 6:12 pm ET)
      3 1
      i agree with this sentiment, why legitimize fox by appearing on it?,,,and oft times when a respectable journalist is appearing on fox,,as soon as he or she disagrees with the talking points that the hosts follow to the letter,,they are overtalked cutoff to be unheard and interuppted and shouted over,,so why give fox the pleasure?,,let them use their own talking heads so they can fawn all over each other
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      • Author by Limit Corp. Ownership (October 18, 2009 11:46 pm ET)
        2  
        I couldn't agree more...

        Let them babble among themselves. Interview each other and back and forth, and round and round. Just let these dingbats slowly fade away into their own sewer.
        Report Abuse
    • Author by KenStarr (October 19, 2009 12:07 am ET)
      1 2
      Mara Liasson is a "Respectable journalist"? When the hell did that happen?
      Report Abuse
    • Author by starkcr31 (October 19, 2009 11:33 am ET)
        5
      Who should they appear on, MSNBC? Yeah, that's much better.
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      • Author by CohibaMan (October 19, 2009 1:23 pm ET)
        3  
        Of course it's better.

        MSNBC is an actual news outlet, with things called "standards" and "journalistic integrity."
        Report Abuse
        • Author by starkcr31 (October 19, 2009 1:33 pm ET)
            3
          Oh dear. You're so delusional I can't even respond. I suppose Keith Olbmerann is a respectable journalist?
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          • Author by CohibaMan (October 19, 2009 1:45 pm ET)
            3  
            Oh dear. Another conservative resorting to personal attacks instead of well-reasoned arguments.

            Olbermann is a commentator. Maddow is a commentator. Schultz is a commentator.

            The commentators that a news outlet chooses to host are irrelevant to the standards that outlet implements in the reporting of its news, nor are they NECESSARILY representative of a slant in actual news coverage. Furthermore, agree or disagree with their views but Olbermann, Maddow, and Schultz are held to standards that Fox commentators are demonstratively not held to. You are certainly at liberty to think they are WRONG and DELUSIONAL but you are hard pressed to present actual evidence that they have engaged in spreading the sort of outright falsehoods documented time and again by Fox commentators. If you have proof of such falsehoods, please present it.

            Fox News, on the other hand, has been demonstrated to insert its bias into its actual coverage. There is absolutely no equivalency here.

            If you want to argue that MSNBC lacks journalistic integrity, instead of yelling "OLBERMANN!", "MADDOW!", or "SCHULTZ!", try presenting actual proof of said transgressions.
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            • Author by starkcr31 (October 19, 2009 2:38 pm ET)
                4
              Other than the commentators on Fox, they are no more biased news-wise than MSNBC.
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              • Author by CohibaMan (October 19, 2009 2:51 pm ET)
                   
                This site is full of documented proof that Fox News's actual coverage is biased and that it does not hold its commentators up to any particular journalistic standards.

                I would like to see proof that MSNBC does the same. Pointing out that Olbermann or Maddow are liberals is not proof of bias. The question is not one of political points of view but rather regarding the ethics involved in promoting those points of view. I would argue that MSNBC is far more ethical than Fox News, both in regards to its commentators and in regards to its actual news coverage. Bias is more an ethical matter than a political one.

                Show us where MSNBC has demonstrated a lack of actual ethical standards to the same degree as Fox commentators and journalists and perhaps I will concede your point.

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                • Author by starkcr31 (October 20, 2009 10:38 am ET)
                    1
                  So an "ethical standard" would be calling someone the "worst person in the world"?
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                  • Author by CohibaMan (October 20, 2009 10:55 am ET)
                       
                    When they've done something utterly contemptible and deserve to be called on it? I see nothing unethical there at all. It's only a problem if Olbermann is inventing the stuff the stuff in question, which is what we have caught figures like O'Reilly and Hannity doing on a regular basis. Is this what is happening in Olbermann's case? Don't just say it, prove it. Otherwise there is no comparison.

                    If you want to prove that MSNBC is equivalent to Fox News, call it out on the sort of things for which MMfA calls out Fox News and Fox News's commentators day in and day out. Don't just say it's biased because it has liberal commentators. That misses the entire point. Prove that it allows this bias to affect its actual ethical standards. Don't just say it - provide EVIDENCE.

                    Find me comparable examples about MSNBC and Keith Olbermann doing THOSE things, then we'll talk.

                    I want PROOF.
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                    • Author by starkcr31 (October 20, 2009 2:14 pm ET)
                         
                      It's not my responsibility to call them out on their lies. Plenty of other websites do that.
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                      • Author by CohibaMan (October 20, 2009 3:01 pm ET)
                           
                        You are making the assertion.

                        It damn well is your responsibility to demonstrate the lies you assert.
                        Report Abuse
              • Author by DellDolly (October 19, 2009 5:51 pm ET)
                2  
                The issue isn't personal bias. It's much more than that, but you already knew that.
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    • Author by smarshall1432997 (October 19, 2009 4:50 pm ET)
      1  
      Media Matters has been writing about how FoxNews Channel and it's numerous Hosts had been promoting Republican Talking Points for awhile now, so "WELCOME" to the game MSM, LOL.

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