The rhetorical battle between the White House and Fox News continued over the week end with Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel describing the network “not a news organization so much as it has a perspective,” observes Grumpy Editor.
His comment was on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
Then on ABC’s “This Week,” also on Sunday, President Barack Obama’s adviser David Axelrod declared Fox News shouldn’t be treated as a news organization.
“And the bigger thing,” he continued, “is that other news organizations, like yours (ABC), ought not to treat them that way, and we’re not going to treat them that way.”
Referring to an earlier comment by Anita Dunn, White House communications director, who slapped Fox News by terming its output as “opinion journalism masquerading as news,” Axelrod --- apparently not aware of the difference between a TV station and a TV network --- said, “The only argument Anita was making is that they’re not really a news station…It’s not just their commentators, but a lot of their news programming. It’s really not news. It’s pushing a point of view.”
Perhaps he has overlooked station, er, the MSNBC network to hear a distinct point of view that is noted for being strongly aligned with White House positions.
News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch informed shareholders Friday that since White House officials started criticizing Fox News, ratings have jumped.
As part of the News Corp. family, Fox News --- with a motto of “fair and balanced” in its coverage --- is available to 102 million households in the U.S. The network also has international viewers.
Fox News also operates a radio division heard through a number of U.S. stations.
It also produces a Web site featuring latest coverage, including video clips from the network's television division and audio segments from radio.
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