Fox Uses O'Keefe Video As Excuse To Host Chorus Of Anti-NPR Guests

Since discredited conservative activist James O'Keefe released a video of an NPR Foundation executive, Fox has played host to numerous attacks on public radio, led by Dick Morris, Juan Williams, and Monica Crowley, as well as Fox News host Bill O'Reilly.

NPR Bashers Parade Across Fox Airwaves

Fox & Friends Guest Morris' Conspiracy Theory: “NPR Is Working With The Federal Communications Commission ... To Basically Censor Talk Radio.” From the March 9 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends:

MORRIS: We spend $500 million on NPR. And in the budget discussions that are going on now, I think the Republicans should insist on zero funding NPR. And it's easy for them to do. You simply don't pass an appropriations bill for them. You carve it out, you put it separately, and you vote it at zero. I think they can do that, but NPR has a backup plan. NPR is working with the Federal Communications Commission, the FCC, to basically censor talk radio. What they're going to do is set up community advisory boards for each station that will report to the FCC on how well the talk radio station is doing on serving the community. Ratings don't matter, but the opinion of this board matters. And the FCC can then fine the station and give the fine to NPR. And that's the plan that Obama is going to be pushing this year. [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 3/9/11]

O'Reilly Claims “The Truth Is That NPR Is A Liberal Organization And Always Has Been,” Calls For End To Federal Funding. From the March 8 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:

O'REILLY: The truth is that NPR is a liberal organization and always has been. At times they do good reporting, but the culture is left-wing. That's why the feds can no longer fund it. NPR rightly points out that it did not accept a bogus check from the phony Muslims at the lunch. But like the ACORN sting, Mr. O'Keefe has succeeded in embarrassing an organization that takes public money. We once again urge Congress to stop the madness. NPR and PBS should compete in the marketplace. [Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 3/8/11]

Ousted NPR Employee Juan Williams on Hannity: “This To Me Is Finally A Window Into How They Really Think.” From the March 8 edition of Fox News' Hannity:

WILLIAMS: Well, you know, these people are so rude and condescending, and they say that people like me are bigots because I'll tell you what i feel. These folks are not only attacking the tea party as anti-intellectual and racist and biased, they attack anybody that disagrees with their point of view -- this elitist, this NPR point of view -- that the rest of us are a bunch of dummies and a bunch of rubes and we're from the country, we don't understand what going on. And he thinks we lack education. And only him -- only his group up there, on the executive floor of NPR ,really understand. These folks are doing damage, Sean, to real good journalists at NPR, the people who go out there and gather the news, because they are destroying the brand. These people are destroying NPR.

[...]

WILLIAMS: This, to me, is finally a window into how they really think. It's like you were tuning your radio and just by accident you got the right wave and now you're hearing the truth. Because just yesterday, Schiller was saying, oh, you know what, we made a mistake in the way that we handled Juan Williams' firing and, you know what, we do need federal funding. And now here's this guy saying, oh no, we're glad we got that bum out of here, he's a bigot and he has no credibility, and guess what, we don't need federal funding for NPR. [Fox News, Hannity, 3/8/11]

Williams On America's Nightly Scoreboard: Video Is “A Revelation In The Dense That Here They Are Saying Exactly How They View The World.” From the March 8 edition of Fox Business' America's Nightly Scoreboard:

DAVID ASMAN (host): What do you think? Pretty shocking stuff, no?

WILLIAMS: Yeah, because I think it's a real look inside what NPR executives really think. And, you know, for me this is a revelation in the sense that here they are saying exactly how they view the world. And what's incredible to me is, here they are doing people with -- doing business with people who identify themselves as members of the Muslim Brotherhood.

[...]

WILLIAMS: But I'm just saying, you listen to this guy and the way that everybody who has a non-liberal orthodox point of view is somehow a bad person, you say, you know what, these are people who are anti-intellectual. They do now want to hear and engage in an honest debate. [America's Nightly Scoreboard, 3/8/11]

ANS Guest Crowley Says “A Dollar Is Too Much For NPR Because Of This Kind Of Outrageous Bias,” Claims Bias During Her Stint As Commentator. From the March 8 edition of Fox Business' America's Nightly Scoreboard:

CROWLEY: A dollar is too much for NPR because of this kind of outrageous bias. And, like [panelist] Lis [Wiehl], in the mid-1990s I actually served as a commentator for NPR for one year. They claimed they wanted more conservative viewpoints, which I was happy to provide, but they constantly censored me, David [Asman, host], they constantly rejected my commentaries and wouldn't put me on the air. So any idea that they're interested in the equal exchange of ideas is outrageous. [America's Nightly Scoreboard, 3/8/11]