Faux News Spews; I Need Booze

[Destiny]

Yes, I do think I’m hilarious.  

Onward from here:

 

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[Fascinated]

@AmazonGrace, I gave you a ‘heart’ because that is brilliant. It is extraordinary seeing the hypocrisy laid out so beautifully. 

[JMarie]

I wish I could give that video a thousand hearts!!!!!

[GreyhoundFan]

"Shepard Smith stays on at Fox: ‘I wonder, if I stopped delivering the facts, what would go in its place’"

Spoiler

At first glance, Fox News chief news anchor Shepard Smith and his employer share an odd relationship.

The broadcaster is an openly gay man at a network that regularly espouses Christian conservative values. He reports the news — quite well, by most accounts — instead of shouting rhetoric as per his colleague Sean Hannity. He has a long history of angering many viewers when he dismantles pet conspiracy theories, and he openly criticizes the network. During a single speech last year he called Fox both “the craziest conservative network on Earth” and “the freaky place where I’m working right now.”

Nonetheless, Fox News re-signed Smith to a new multiyear contract, the network said on Thursday. It did not specify how many years. He also gave an interview to Time, in which he suggested one of his main reasons for staying was concern about how Fox might replace him.

“I wonder, if I stopped delivering the facts, what would go in its place in this place that is most watched, most listened, most viewed, most trusted?” he told Time. “I don’t know.”

Despite the fact that Smith is becoming known as a critic of some Fox commentary, the news release announcing his contract carried no hint of discontent.

“Shepard Smith is an exemplary journalist whose skill in anchoring breaking news is unrivaled. His powerful storytelling on both television and digital platforms has elevated our entire news gathering process,” Fox News chief executive Rupert Murdoch said in the announcement.

Smith, 54, grew up in the small town of Holly Springs, Miss., and studied journalism at the University of Mississippi’s Meek School of Journalism and New Media, where he was quickly pegged as a rising star.

The late Jim Pratt, who taught broadcast journalism at Ole Miss, “immediately identified Shep as this young guy who would have a great future,” Meek School Dean Will Norton Jr. told the Clarion-Ledger.

But Smith never graduated. He left for an internship in Florida during his junior year and decided to stay there and not return to school, according to the newspaper.

When Norton found out, he said, “my immediate response was, ‘Well, he’ll never amount to anything.’”

He’s been with the network since it was founded in 1996 — and he staunchly defends its news coverage.

“I am incredibly proud to be part of a group of journalists who helped build the FOX news division from scratch 22 years ago and extremely thankful for the opportunity to continue to lead our breaking news coverage for years to come,” he said in a news release. “Our team’s commitment to delivering facts to our loyal viewers in context and with perspective, without fear or favor, is unwavering.”

But he’s not blind to the image of Fox as biased, a reputation he claims is earned not through its handling of the news but through its commentators, such as Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham and, until recently, Bill O’Reilly.

“People who maybe aren’t with us all the time who aren’t regular watchers, maybe there is some sort of confusion about what’s opinion and what’s news, but I think our audience understands the difference and comes to us when they need us,” Smith told Time magazine in its current edition.

“I get it, that some of our opinion programming is there strictly to be entertaining. I get that,” he told the magazine. “I don’t work there. I wouldn’t work there. I don’t want to sit around and yell at each other and talk about your philosophy and my philosophy. That sounds horrible to me.”

Smith has been beating this particular drum for years, both defending and complaining about the network.

“Everybody’s got a job to do,” he told HuffPost in October 2016, as he again defended the network’s news coverage.

“Hannity is trying to get conservatives elected. And he wants you to listen to him and believe what he believes,” Smith continued. “And I’m disseminating facts. It’s really apples and teaspoons. What we do is so different. He’s an entertaining guy who has an audience that he serves, and I deliver the news.”

Hannity’s job “is probably easier ― he knows what he thinks and just sticks with it,” Smith added. “This stuff changes all the time.”

That hasn’t stopped the network’s viewers from pushing against the anchor. As The Post’s Paul Farhi wrote, “Smith’s persistent fact-mongering has made him persona non grata among some parts of the Fox News faithful.”

That extends to his colleagues, whom Smith has angered in the past, such as when he debunked the belief by some on his  own network that there was “a link between donations to the Clinton Foundation and the approval of a deal by the State Department and the Obama administration allowing a Russian company to purchase a Canada-based mining group with operations in the United States,” as The Post’s Fred Barbash wrote.

For reporting like this, Hannity has called Smith “so-anti Trump,” and viewers have taken to social media to demand he be fired.

Nevertheless, he persists.

Part of the reason might come from Murdoch’s reported push for more news programming at the network. Smith told the HuffPost in 2016 that when Murdoch took over the network, he said, “‘I’m a newsman. I want to be the best news organization in America.’”

“He wants to hire a lot more journalists, he wants to build us a massive new newsroom, he wants to make more commitments to places like this [studio], to hire reporters to work on beats, just enlarge our news-gathering,” Smith added. “When the biggest boss, who controls everything, comes and says ‘That’s what I want to do,’ that’s the greatest news I’ve heard in years. And he didn’t mention one thing about our opinion side.”

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

 

[GreyhoundFan]

"Fox News’s Sean Hannity is suddenly an expert on Trump and Mueller"

Spoiler

Forgive “Fox & Friends” host Steve Doocy, but he asked a rather logical question on Monday morning. In a chat with fellow Fox News host Sean Hannity, Doocy asked, “What do you make of Robert Mueller and the suggestion that the president is about to fire him? You don’t think that’s a good idea, do you?”

There was plenty of grist to feed that particular inquiry, especially in the vicinity of @realDonaldTrump:

“The president didn’t say he was going to fire him,” Hannity said. “This is … the fake news media doing what they do best. The president made a comment — and maybe if I was advising the president, I’d say ‘Let this investigation go forward.’ We’re probably coming to the end of it, if I had to render a guess, and it would be in his best interest probably not to comment — but look at the president’s comments closely, and the media took it the wrong way: And all the president was saying, this never should have been, this never should have happened. The president is 1,000 percent right. There never was any Trump-Russia collusion. … There’s not going to be any firing of Mueller. The White House issued a statement late last night.”

Bolding added to highlight two points.

No. 1: Hannity is advising the president, whether that happens via the television set …

… or whether it happens via one of the many direct conversations that have been reported over and over again. “Do I talk to my friend who I’ve known for years and speak my mind? I can’t not speak my mind,” Hannity told the New York Times during the presidential campaign.

And some adviser you are, Sean Hannity! How many times have you said that the Mueller investigation needs to be “disbanded immediately” or “shut down immediately” or otherwise ditched?

No 2.: On what basis is Hannity suddenly an authority on President Trump’s plans vis-a-vis Mueller? We saw the depth of his expertise on this front, after all, play out on Fox News itself. It was back in January, after the New York Times reported that Trump, in June 2017, had ordered Mueller fired. “At this hour, the New York Times is trying to distract you. They have a story that Trump wanted Mueller fired sometime last June, and our sources, and I’ve checked in with many of them, they’re not confirming that tonight,” said Hannity. “And the president’s attorney dismissed the story, and says, ‘Nope, no comment, we’re not going there.’ And how many times has the New York Times and others gotten it wrong?”

As the show concluded, Hannity was forced to admit — via reporting by Fox News’s Ed Henry — that, yes, the New York Times was right about Trump-Mueller. The president, indeed, had ordered the special counsel to be dismissed. And Hannity won the January ratings.

 

[fraurosena]

Well this is actually surprising.

An "Ashamed" Fox News Commentator Just Quit The "Propaganda Machine"

Quote

A retired United States Army lieutenant colonel and Fox News contributor quit Tuesday and denounced the network and President Donald Trump in an email to colleagues.

"Fox has degenerated from providing a legitimate and much-needed outlet for conservative voices to a mere propaganda machine for a destructive and ethically ruinous administration," wrote Ralph Peters, a Fox News "strategic analyst."

"Over my decade with Fox, I long was proud of the association. Now I am ashamed," he wrote.

Peters, who was also a heated critic of Barack Obama's foreign policy, once described him as having been "date raped" by Vladimir Putin. He didn't respond to an email about his missive. A Fox News spokesperson didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Here's Peters' full email to colleagues:

On March 1st, I informed Fox that I would not renew my contract. The purpose of this message to all of you is twofold:

First, I must thank each of you for the cooperation and support you've shown me over the years. Those working off-camera, the bookers and producers, don't often get the recognition you deserve, but I want you to know that I have always appreciated the challenges you face and the skill with which you master them.

Second, I feel compelled to explain why I have to leave. Four decades ago, I took an oath as a newly commissioned officer. I swore to "support and defend the Constitution," and that oath did not expire when I took off my uniform. Today, I feel that Fox News is assaulting our constitutional order and the rule of law, while fostering corrosive and unjustified paranoia among viewers. Over my decade with Fox, I long was proud of the association. Now I am ashamed.

In my view, Fox has degenerated from providing a legitimate and much-needed outlet for conservative voices to a mere propaganda machine for a destructive and ethically ruinous administration. When prime-time hosts--who have never served our country in any capacity--dismiss facts and empirical reality to launch profoundly dishonest assaults on the FBI, the Justice Department, the courts, the intelligence community (in which I served) and, not least, a model public servant and genuine war hero such as Robert Mueller--all the while scaremongering with lurid warnings of "deep-state" machinations-- I cannot be part of the same organization, even at a remove. To me, Fox News is now wittingly harming our system of government for profit.

As a Russia analyst for many years, it also has appalled me that hosts who made their reputations as super-patriots and who, justifiably, savaged President Obama for his duplicitous folly with Putin, now advance Putin's agenda by making light of Russian penetration of our elections and the Trump campaign. Despite increasingly pathetic denials, it turns out that the "nothing-burger" has been covered with Russian dressing all along. And by the way: As an intelligence professional, I can tell you that the Steele dossier rings true--that's how the Russians do things.. The result is that we have an American president who is terrified of his counterpart in Moscow.

I do not apply the above criticisms in full to Fox Business, where numerous hosts retain a respect for facts and maintain a measure of integrity (nor is every host at Fox News a propaganda mouthpiece--some have shown courage). I have enjoyed and valued my relationship with Fox Business, and I will miss a number of hosts and staff members. You're the grown-ups.

Also, I deeply respect the hard-news reporters at Fox, who continue to do their best as talented professionals in a poisoned environment. These are some of the best men and women in the business..

So, to all of you: Thanks, and, as our president's favorite world leader would say, "Das vidanya."

Peters was briefly suspended in 2015 for calling President Obama a "total pussy" while on the Fox Business Network.

 

[47of74]

1 hour ago, fraurosena said:

Well this is actually surprising.

An "Ashamed" Fox News Commentator Just Quit The "Propaganda Machine"

 

Yeah I just saw that too that Peters flamed out.  I wonder if he's burnishing his street cred for other news organizations so that he can be their conservative voice of reason of the day for them and go right back to be a sexist and racist ass when the next Democrat comes along.  

[Howl]

I just read about this on Talking Points Memo.  What pisses me off and makes me a bit cynical is that he waited until his contract was up before he let loose.  In less charitable words, he prioritized cash flow over honesty for the many long months of Fox's relentless agitprop before delivering a blistering indictment. 

However, if he became a talking head on some other network and retained that same level of outrage against Fox agitprop, I MIGHT forgive him a little.  Would I ever really trust him? No. 

[GreyhoundFan]

Billy O is being sued again: "Former Fox News anchor sues Bill O’Reilly, alleging defamation"

Spoiler

A former Fox News anchor has filed a lawsuit against Bill O’Reilly, claiming that the former star Fox host defamed her when he defended himself against sexual harassment accusations.

Laurie Dhue, who worked for the cable news network from 2000 to 2008, was one of five women whom the New York Times reported to have received settlements related to O’Reilly’s actions and behavior at the company in an April 2017 article.

In the lawsuit, which she filed in federal district court in Manhattan, Dhue points to a series of public statements O’Reilly made after the Times article ran, saying the accusations were false and made maliciously.

According to the complaint, O’Reilly stated in April 2017 that he parted ways with Fox due to “unfounded claims.” In June, he blamed the allegations against him on “far-left progressive organizations that are bent on destroying anybody with whom they disagree.” In October, he said that he “didn’t do anything wrong.” He also said that he had never had any complaints filed against him in more than 40 years of work.

Dhue, who describes herself as a journalist and an advocate for alcohol and substance abuse recovery, maintains that these statements defamed her and harmed her professional life.

Frederic S. Newman, an attorney for O’Reilly, said in a statement that Dhue’s lawsuit had “absolutely no merit.”

“Mr. O’Reilly has never mentioned Dhue, and any attention she has received has been the result of her own actions. Mr. O’Reilly will defend himself in court fully and aggressively against all unfounded, opportunistic claims, and he will seek all appropriate legal remedies as well,” the statement read.

Three other women who have reached settlements with O’Reilly have filed a similar lawsuit against him.

“The irony of all this post-settlement litigation is that O’Reilly — as well is his former (and late) boss Roger Ailes — expertly used non-disclosure/non-disparagement clauses plus stacks of money to enable and excuse his workplace behavior,” The Washington Post’s Erik Wemple wrote of that lawsuit. “Yet O’Reilly lacks the sophistication — which is to say, he won’t shut up — necessary to keep the whole putrid operation glued together.”

 

[Howl]

Ya know, the memes just write themselves

 

[mamallama]

The sad part is I got all the way to New Hampshire before I realized it wasn't real.

 

[JMarie]

Who knew there were clean coal jobs in Benghazi?  See, that's why it's important to watch Fox News, because they tell you stuff nobody else will! 

[JMarie]

Anyone willing to check out Fox News a few times today, to see how they cover today's marches?  I'll be at work, and my boss frowns upon time wasted on alternative facts.

[JenniferJuniper]

Last night Fucker Carlson actually said in reference to one of the young men who has been on the news quite a bit, "Someone needs to tell him he does not have the right to say I should not have my Second Amendment rights!"

Um, dude, think you skipped an Amendment along the way.

[Destiny]

I just took one for the team. They are in fact covering it. They spent a couple minutes on it, and then went off on a tangent about “riots” in Sacramento about yet another shooting of an unarmed black man.

Time watched: 7 min. Time on March for our Lives: 3 min. Time on the “riots” 4 min. I can’t take any more.

I ended up staying for a bit. Discussion of the March is over and we are on to discounting the kids and asking where the money is coming from and calling them pawns. I want to vomit.

Fuck this shit. I’m out. I can’t. @JMarie, you have a way stronger stomach than me.

I stayed maybe 15 minutes. Of those, three were actual March. Four were the “riots”. Two discussed policy. The rest was where is the money coming from and who’s really sponsoring this. 

[JMarie]

A thousand thank yous, Destiny!  It's really not that hard to watch Fox News, if you use the JMarie Method.  Record the offending program, and watch it as you're fast-forwarding through it.  All of what you need to know is either in a little chart in the upper right hand corner of the screen, or along the bottom of the screen.  They rarely veer from an already established list of topics (Hillary's emails, Benghazi, 2nd Amendment, uranium, and on and on).  You don't actually need to hear their voices to know what they're talking about, and you could get through an hour program in about five minutes, which includes time to make comments here.

[Destiny]

I was listening live on satellite radio. That mistake will NOT be made again.

[FloraKitty35]

Every time I see a picture of Hannity, I always think of Keith Olbermann's Worst Person in the World segment back when he was on MSNBC.  He always read out Hannity's quotes using stereotypical dumb Irish galoot voice. (Bill O'Reilly was called Bill O the Clown and he'd read his quotes using a Ted Baxter voice.)    

[Destiny]

By the way, the above was several separate posts that merged into one. It looks very strange as written lol. 

[AmazonGrace]

If you thought it couldn't get worse you would be wrong. 

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[JMarie]

Hannity is making fun of Anderson Cooper interviewing Daniels and McDougal.  So mature.

[JMarie]

I clicked over to Hannity to see if he was talking about his stupid Hannity Hotline, and there was a commercial for Brian Williams' show on MSNBC.  Is chocolate a food group now?  Will I suddenly develop a thigh gap?  Will other customers stop being annoyed with me when I use exact change in the self checkout lane?  Oh wait, Hannity's back, and he's talking about uranium.  You can all rest well tonight.  Fox News is back to normal (and you can bet they won't be making that MSNBC mistake again).