No surprise ~ but it's nice to have proof ~ Sooz

MEMO HIGHLIGHTS HOW FOX NEWS SKEWS ITS COVERAGE.... Fairly early on in the debate over health care reform, proponents found that a public insurance option that would compete with private insurers was one of the more popular provisions. Republicans were intent on changing that.

In August 2009, GOP pollster Frank Luntz told Fox News' Sean Hannity that the "public option" polls well, but "government option" does not. Those hoping to kill the proposal should avoid the former and stress the latter.

Soon after, as Media Matters reports this morning, Fox News employees received a memo from their boss.

Sammon's email had a subject line that read, "friendly reminder: let's not slip back into calling it the 'public option.'" He urged the network's on-air staff to "use the term 'government-run health insurance' or, when brevity is a concern, 'government option,' whenever possible. He added that if it's "necessary" to refer to the public option by name, Fox News staffers should "use the qualifier 'so-called,' as in 'the so-called public option.'"

And since Sammon's edict was a "reminder" to the staff, it seems likely Fox News employees had been told about using Republican-preferred rhetoric before.

Media Matters' report added, "Fox executives regularly defend the network by claiming that the right-wing propaganda on Hannity and its other opinion shows is entirely separate from its news programming, which they insist is objective. But Sammon's email gives credence to allegations that news from Fox's Washington bureau is being deliberately distorted to benefit conservatives and the Republican Party."

Yep, it sure does. Indeed, just to be clear here, Sammon's marching orders were sent to the network's news division, not its opinion shows.

What's more, it worked. After the memo, Fox News employees did as they were told, and stuck to the GOP-friendly script.

Howard Kurtz had a good report on this, and asked Sammon for an explanation. The Fox News editor said the poll-tested phrase preferred by Republicans was "a more neutral term," which is why he sent the directive. Sammon added that he didn't know Republicans were pushing the same phrasing.

To a certain extent, this is about as surprising as a sunrise -- of course Fox News slants its coverage deliberately. Of course it's a partisan propaganda outlet. Of course its Republican editors tell their so-called journalists to stick to GOP talking points. Anyone surprised by these revelations hasn't been paying attention.

That said, when memos like Sammon's come to public light, it helps add additional weight to the larger indictment. As proof like this gets added to the larger argument, the pretense of professionalism and Fox News "standards" gets buried that much deeper.

—Steve Benen 8:25 AM December 9, 2010

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archiv ... 026995.php

Let me ask this: How were copies of those emails obtained?

Our conservatives did the same thing when campaigning... if they ever had to use the word "liberal" in any on-air interview they would pair it with the word "corrupt" or "corruption". It worked - they won the election in 06 - albeit with a minority government. But the thing is, anyone else you'd talk to about the election on-line or elsewhere - they did the very same thing.

I think I know where you're going with this question, oskar ~ I'm on my way to school and will try to find some more info when I get home later today ~

Sooz
  

sooz- have you seen OutFOXed?

IMO, that simply highlights the fact that the majority of citizens are ignorant and evidently want to stay that way. They would rather gather their opinions from the news or opinion shows. Unfortunately, these same citizens are Foxnews worshipers who consider other news outlets to be liberal shills.

Case in point: "death panels". That one phrase did more harm than anything. Add that one to "government option" and you stir the backwoods natives into a frenzy that gives rise to the birth of something like the Tea Party. They, in turn, had their key phrases like "smaller government" and "government needs to stay out of our lives". 

I am constantly amazed by the sheer ignorance of the populace.

keep bumping it.  i am moving right now, but done tomorrow.

it is a documentary about FOX News.