Baltimore Sun TV Critic: Fox News “Compromised” By Fox & Friends Video

David Zurawik, television critic for the Baltimore Sun, didn’t mince words about Fox News in the wake of its propagandistic anti-Obama video presented as news analysis on Fox & Friends last week. He said that Fox has been “compromised” and that he will deal with Fox “as a political organization primarily… at least through this election cycle” now.

What Fox did initially was bad enough – running what amounted to a campaign ad as part of its Fox & Friends programming (video below) – but the network’s reaction to the media storm that followed was just as bad if not worse. First, executive vice president Bill Shine blamed an associate producer – without any comment on why such a producer might think it acceptable to create and air such a video or why the Fox & Friends hosts gushed over it after it aired – and then Shine announced that that “rogue” producer would keep his job at Fox, without further explanation. The Fox & Friends show also failed to explain or apologize for the video.

But Fox is mistaken if it thinks it can sweep this under the rug by stonewalling. Zurawik gave a succinct explanation to Media Matters this weekend why former Fox News employees have trouble finding work with other media outlets:

“You’re working for an outlaw, rogue organization. And they can send me their ratings every goddamn five damn minutes and I still am not impressed with them as a journalistic operation… I wouldn’t hire anybody who worked at Fox even if I knew them to be a good journalist, because I believe they’ve been compromised.

And then Zurawik added insult to injury:

…I will deal with (Fox News) as a political organization primarily after seeing that, at least through this election cycle.”

Well said, Mr. Zurawik.

Audio and video below via Media Matters.

(3/9/20 update: Video is no longer available)

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Showing 7 reactions

commented 2012-06-04 16:02:49 -0400 · Flag

I can’t imagine what it would be like to work in an environment in which it is required to either be in complete denial about what their network basically stands for, or to just be faking it every day. Such deception would be beyond my abilities. And I am not surprised that Fox employees blunder over the line of professional behavior so regularly, and that they are not punished for occassionally pulling off the mask on themselves. It must be confusing for a lot of them.

commented 2012-06-03 22:12:05 -0400 · Flag

They and everyone above and below them knew what reaction they would get, and the free publicity the video would receive to get their hate message to more.

They love this. They had nothing to lose. It’s not like they ruined their journalistic integrity and ethics, since they never had any to begin with, and that’s not sarcasm.

commented 2012-06-03 20:29:51 -0400 · Flag

I can almost hear Bildo bloviating and screeching about this “liberal media loon” and “pinhead.” I say “well done Mr. Zurawik.”

commented 2012-06-03 20:25:02 -0400 · Flag

Fox"News"PAC: We distort, you complied!

commented 2012-06-03 19:33:32 -0400 · Flag

Greg, like AAP mentioned… Zurawik has never been shy about calling out Fox News. A lot of the far right throw fits about his major criticisms of the network. I remember seeing his name a lot on the dump when I found their tantrums amusing. Koldys went mensies over this guy almost as much as he did over us until he suddenly quit linking him.

But I do see your general point about why he wasn’t bigger until now. I donno what to say… except for that happens. I mean, I can name quite a few names I like that are all over all the stations as a contributor now, and it was really sudden.

commented 2012-06-03 18:54:33 -0400 · Flag

Straw that broke the camel’s back, or did it really take this long for Mr. Zurawik to notice that Fox News is a political organization? Well, better late than never, this is a blunder on their part that needs to be spread far and wide

NewsHounds posted about Baltimore Sun TV Critic: Fox News “Compromised” By Fox & Friends Video on NewsHounds' Facebook page 2012-06-03 18:35:17 -0400

He also said he wouldn't hire anyone from Fox News no matter how good a journalist.