Carl Bernstein had the stones to stand up for journalism and call out Fox News’ non-journalistic agenda – at an event emceed by Fox host (and birther) Heather Childers.
The New Jersey Herald reported on Bernstein’s speech at a fundraiser in “Republican-dominated Sussex County,” New Jersey and emceed by Childers:
Bernstein lauded the work of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post — his former newspaper — while assailing Fox News as well as MSNBC.
“With all due respect to Fox, this is not a news organization that’s breaking down the doors for the best obtainable version of the truth, any more than MSNBC is. They’re both fighting for audience share based on ideology,” Bernstein said.
“Is there some reporting that’s done? Yes, but not a lot,” he added.
According to the Herald, Childers rebutted and named some of Fox’s favorite obsessions, I mean stories, that just happen to coincide with Republican interests: Benghazi, the VA scandal, the IRS scandal and the Bowe Bergdahl Taliban swap.
Oh, if only Bernstein knew of Childers’ extreme, some might say “irrational,” hatred for Obama, he really might have had a field day.
For example, Childers once “just asked” if Obama threatened to kill Chelsea Clinton in order to keep her parents quiet about his birth certificate. That was no impediment to serving as a supposedly “objective news” host on Fox. Childers also lost it on Twitter, demanding that Obama “DO SOMETHING!! DO SOMETHING!!” about ISIS. That doesn’t seem to have caused her any problems, either.
Photo via Twitter.
Fox is all smear/all the time. Period.
MSNBC actually reports facts and has on rightie guests who — gasp — get to finish their sentences.
Let’s stop acting like Fox is news. It’s tabloid pablum.
Nothing wrong with tabloid pablum, but it should be called what it is.
Now, onto what I came here to comment:
Ellen, Did you see Alan Colmes’ smackdown of Gretchen Carlson’s despicable and dangerously irresponsible “RFRA” defense for the Indiana law? Fox pulled the segment from their video vault, but you can still watch it on Media Matter and Thinkprogress. Not much to write up without parroting their articles, Media Matters took just about every talking point on Carlson’s spin and Colmes’ retort, so it’s just in the writer’s wording to make their own now. But worth a look, nonetheless.