When Fox News Sunday edited out Jon Stewart's criticism of Bill Sammon, it wasn't the only Sammon-related disappearing act this year. The Fox News vice president and Washington managing editor has been completely absent from Fox's airwaves this year, according to a Media Matters search.* During the same time period in 2010 (through June 21), by contrast, Sammon made over a dozen guest appearances on Fox News and Fox Business.

Sammon hasn't been on either network since November 2, 2010. Sammon's absence coincidences with criticism of him for slanting the reporting of Fox's DC bureau.

Last October, Media Matters reported that a source with knowledge of the situation said Sammon exerts “pressure” on his news staff to “slant news to the right.” Media Matters later released several internal Fox emails showing Sammon slanting his bureau's reporting, and an audio recording of him admitting that he lied during the closing days of the 2008 presidential campaign when he speculated on-air “about whether Barack Obama really advocated socialism.”

Sammon was a regular fixture on Fox News programing in 2010. According to a Media Matters search, Sammon appeared as a guest on the following Fox News and Fox Business programs last year:

• Money Rocks, Fox Business, 9/14/10
• Fox News Watch, 9/4/10
• Fox News Watch, 7/31/10
• Bulls & Bears, Fox Business, 7/20/10
• Fox News Watch, 6/19/10
• Fox News Watch, 5/1/10
• Fox & Friends, 4/9/10
• Bulls & Bears, Fox Business, 4/7/10
• Bulls & Bears, Fox Business, 3/19/10
• America Live, 3/5/10

• Bulls & Bears, Fox Business, 2/25/10

• America's Nightly Scoreboard, Fox Business, 2/17/10
• Bulls & Bears, Fox Business, 2/8/10

• Fox News Sunday, Fox Broadcasting, 2/7/10
• America's Newsroom, 1/22/10
• America's Newsroom, 1/18/10
• Bulls & Bears, Fox Business, 1/14/10
• Bulls & Bears, Fox Business, 1/5/10

Sammon also briefly appeared on Fox News' live coverage of the November 2, 2010, elections, where he explained to reporter Carl Cameron how the network crunched election numbers.

Though Sammon has decreased his visibility, he still appears to be involved with Fox News behind the scenes, as evidenced by his presence at the preparations for Fox News' South Carolina Republican primary debate.

*Media Matters searched in Media Matters' internal archives, and the Nexis and TVEyes.com databases for search terms: " 'Sammon' OR 'Bill Salmon' OR 'Bill Samon.'" Media Matters also searched FoxNews.com.