Fox News Boss Hits Edwards' Boycott
This image made from amateur video released by the Shaam News Network May 28, 2012, purports to show black smoke rising from buildings in Homs, Syria. / AP Photo/Shaam News Network via AP video
Fox News chief Roger Ailes said any political candidate who blacklists a news organization is making a "terrible mistake."
His remarks followed Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards' decison to skip a Nevada debate co-hosted by Fox News.
Liberal activitsts say the news channel has a conservative bias and are urging Democratic presidential candidates to boycott the debate, which is also sponsored by the Nevada Democratic Party.
"Any candidate for high office from either party who believes he can blacklist any news organization is making a terrible mistake about journalists," Ailes said.
Ailes, who did not mention Edwards by name, spoke at a Radio and Television News Directors Foundation dinner in Washington on Thursday night.
"Recently, pressure groups are forcing candidates to conclude that the best strategy for journalists is divide and conquer, to only appear on those networks and venues that give them favorable coverage," Ailes said.
Ailes said that candidates "who cannot answer direct, simple, even tough questions from any journalist runs a real risk of losing the voters."
Earlier this week, Edwards' campaign said the involvement of Fox News was part of the reason the candidate was passing on the Aug. 14 debate in Reno.
Online activists and bloggers quickly hailed Edwards' decision as a victory in their campaign to urge Nevada Democrats to drop Fox News as a partner.
MoveOn.org Civic Action says it has collected more than 260,000 signatures on a petition that calls the cable network a "mouthpiece for the Republican Party, not a legitimate news channel."
The two Democratic presidential frontrunners, Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama, have not indicated whether they will attend the Nevada debate. Fox boss Rupert Murdoch threw a Senate fundraiser for Clinton, and is said to have a good relationship with the former first lady.
Democratic Party officials and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid initially touted the partnership with Fox News as an opportunity to reach out to a different bloc of voters.
But in a letter posted Wednesday on the party's Web site, Democratic Party Chairman Tom Collins said Reid now shares activists' concerns and "has asked us to take another look."
Collins said the party would invite a "local progressive voice" to participate on the debate panel, which also would include a reporter from a local Fox affiliate, a national Fox News reporter and the moderator.
The party also invited the local Air America affiliate, a liberal radio network, to air the event live. C-SPAN will carry the debate after the Fox News broadcast and PoliticsTV.com to carry the live Fox News webcast feed on its site for one-time viewing, he said.
MoveOn Civic Action spokesman Adam Green dismissed the offer as "a lame proposal that would have multiple Fox personalities joined by one lone Air America panelist. That's a rigged, unfair and unbalanced debate."
"The Fox debate should just be canceled and a more legitimate news source should be found," Green said.
Nevada Democratic Party spokeswoman Kirsten Searer said Edwards is the first candidate to formally respond to the invitation. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has said publicly he plans to attend.
Searer said the decision to partner with Fox, which will pay for some production and promotion costs, is part of Nevada Democrats' overall plan to bring new voters into the presidential process and its new early caucus, scheduled for Jan. 19.
© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. His remarks followed Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards' decison to skip a Nevada debate co-hosted by Fox News.
Liberal activitsts say the news channel has a conservative bias and are urging Democratic presidential candidates to boycott the debate, which is also sponsored by the Nevada Democratic Party.
"Any candidate for high office from either party who believes he can blacklist any news organization is making a terrible mistake about journalists," Ailes said.
Ailes, who did not mention Edwards by name, spoke at a Radio and Television News Directors Foundation dinner in Washington on Thursday night.
"Recently, pressure groups are forcing candidates to conclude that the best strategy for journalists is divide and conquer, to only appear on those networks and venues that give them favorable coverage," Ailes said.
Ailes said that candidates "who cannot answer direct, simple, even tough questions from any journalist runs a real risk of losing the voters."
Earlier this week, Edwards' campaign said the involvement of Fox News was part of the reason the candidate was passing on the Aug. 14 debate in Reno.
Online activists and bloggers quickly hailed Edwards' decision as a victory in their campaign to urge Nevada Democrats to drop Fox News as a partner.
MoveOn.org Civic Action says it has collected more than 260,000 signatures on a petition that calls the cable network a "mouthpiece for the Republican Party, not a legitimate news channel."
The two Democratic presidential frontrunners, Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama, have not indicated whether they will attend the Nevada debate. Fox boss Rupert Murdoch threw a Senate fundraiser for Clinton, and is said to have a good relationship with the former first lady.
Democratic Party officials and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid initially touted the partnership with Fox News as an opportunity to reach out to a different bloc of voters.
But in a letter posted Wednesday on the party's Web site, Democratic Party Chairman Tom Collins said Reid now shares activists' concerns and "has asked us to take another look."
Collins said the party would invite a "local progressive voice" to participate on the debate panel, which also would include a reporter from a local Fox affiliate, a national Fox News reporter and the moderator.
The party also invited the local Air America affiliate, a liberal radio network, to air the event live. C-SPAN will carry the debate after the Fox News broadcast and PoliticsTV.com to carry the live Fox News webcast feed on its site for one-time viewing, he said.
MoveOn Civic Action spokesman Adam Green dismissed the offer as "a lame proposal that would have multiple Fox personalities joined by one lone Air America panelist. That's a rigged, unfair and unbalanced debate."
"The Fox debate should just be canceled and a more legitimate news source should be found," Green said.
Nevada Democratic Party spokeswoman Kirsten Searer said Edwards is the first candidate to formally respond to the invitation. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has said publicly he plans to attend.
Searer said the decision to partner with Fox, which will pay for some production and promotion costs, is part of Nevada Democrats' overall plan to bring new voters into the presidential process and its new early caucus, scheduled for Jan. 19.
Popular in Politics
- FBI director acknowledges domestic drone use 148 Comments
- Obama and Berlin: Faded echoes meet new realities
- Obama on NSA programs: Americans "not getting the complete story" 259 Comments
- Immigration reform would cut deficit, analysis shows 82 Comments
- Next up for Obama: Major effort on climate change
- House Republicans pass 20-week limit on abortions 595 Comments
- IRS readying to pay $70M in employee bonuses, senator says
- Smooth, on-time Obamacare rollout no sure thing: GAO
the obvious strategy of the Neo-commies is to repeat their lies over and over and over and over.
Do they believe that honesty and truth are influenced by the number of times a lie is repeated.
At least now I know who I'm dealing with. I didn't know WBAI was still brodcasting.
And your right about opinions,that's really all they are. Would you be interested in pursuing truth these days ?
Ailes claiming that Fox News has real "journalists" is a huge stretch of the truth, also. Ailes would have been right at home in the propaganda office of the Third Reich, along with all his minions like O'Reilly, Hannity, Coulter, Limbaugh, Boortz...
Also, claims that the rest of the media is "liberal" are a bald-faced lie, as well. They are all corporate shills, nothing more. They advance whatever the corporate goals may be, which are neither liberal or conservative. Fox News is simply farther right than the rest, that doesn't make the rest "liberal", just less sleazy.
Posted by fuziwuzi at 10:14 AM : Mar 10, 2007
They are a wing of the republican party. The rest is ***. "
Why does no other news organization get opposing viewpoints from each side when they do a news story (or if they do, put up four liberals against one conservative)? Fox does.
Like it or not (which I'm sure you don't) FOX *is* the most fair and balanced of the news channels.
You're just upset because there's one network out of seven or so that doesn't cowtow to the DNC line.
Get over it.
They are a wing of the republican party. The rest is ***.
Posted by j0hnwi11iams at 05:38 PM : Mar 10, 2007"
Yes, and those who watch the unbiased, professional CBS news have been treated to the likes of the "false but true" TANG memos, etc.,
I know that the likes of CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, MSNBC are all "fair and balanced" because they all represent the moonbat viewpoint, right?
Yeah, about as "balanced" and "fair" as you are.
Get a clue--maybe a life, while you're at it.
Geesh. Some people's kids.
They are a wing of the republican party. The rest is ***.