Several pictures on the Facebook page for Special Report show Fox News Washington managing editor Bill Sammon at tonight's Republican presidential primary debate in South Carolina. It's unclear what role Sammon has with Fox's debate preparations and coverage. What is clear is Sammon lacks any credibility to manage a news bureau, much less a debate.
In recent months, Media Matters has revealed that Sammon:
Admitted that he lied on-air during coverage of the 2008 election, speculating “about whether Barack Obama really advocated socialism” while he privately believed that the allegation was “rather far-fetched.”- Described then-Senator Obama's “views on the white race” as “fairly controversial”
- Fundraised for conservative causes
- Instructed Fox staffers on how to slant coverage of Obama's Cairo speech, making note that Obama didn't use the words “terror,” “terrorist” or “terrorism” -- despite the fact that Obama discussed denouncing and confronting Al Qaeda and other “violent extremists who pose a grave threat to our security”
These (and other) instances of Sammon slanting Fox's “straight news” coverage demonstrate an allegiance to political advocacy over journalistic ethics. Will Sammon strike again in South Carolina?