Authors: David Folkenflik
Murdoch's World (50 page)
Page 61
On Election Day 2000:
David Folkenflik, contemporaneous notes and recollections; conversations with former editors at
Baltimore Sun
.
Page 62
I called Fox in trying to sort out:
The account of Geraldo Rivera's “friendly fire” misadventures in Afghanistan is drawn from my reporting of the time and my contemporaneous notes. David Folkenflik, “War News from Rivera Seems off the Mark,”
Baltimore Sun
, December 6, 2001; Folkenflik, “Reports of War Draw Fire to Fox,”
Baltimore Sun
, December 15, 2001; Folkenflik, “Fox News Calls Rivera's Report an Honest Mistake,”
Baltimore Sun
, December 27, 2001.
Page 63
Fox PR people had taken some protective steps:
David Bauder, “Gun-toting Geraldo Rivera Sparks Debate on Role of Journalists in War,” Associated Press, December 11, 2001. (AP stories posted in the later “BC” cycle, such as this article and the next Bauder piece cited, typically run in the next morning's newspapers.)
Page 64
“Pretty pathetic placement”:
David Folkenflik, notes of Briganti voice mail message.
Page 64
a tepid statement to the Associated Press:
David Bauder, “Fox: Rivera Made âHonest Mistake' in Reporting Friendly Fire Incident,” Associated Press, December 26, 2001. Appearing on the
O'Reilly Factor
on January 3, 2002, Rivera briefly alluded to the episode without correcting it: “I made an honest mistake and a really weak-kneed, back-stabbing, sweaty-palmed reporter from a minor newspaper used it . . . as a platform to attack me.”
Page 64
landed me on Fox's blacklist:
Contemporaneous conversations with Fox News staffers and other media reporters who told me they had been informed of my status.
Page 64
“Irena's doghouse”:
Three former Fox News staffers independently volunteered that term. That said, the existence of Briganti's list was fully encouraged by Lewis.
Page 65
Fox News adopted a pro-war tenor:
Cavuto mockery and the Fox News ticker taunts against antiwar protesters contained in David Folkenflik, “Fox Defends Its âPatriotic' Coverage,”
Baltimore Sun
, April 2, 2003.
Page 65
“a fresh coat of paint on an outhouse”:
Matt Kempner, “Zahn on Ratings Roll,”
Atlanta Journal Constitution
, September 25, 2002.
Page 65
“I could have put a dead raccoon on the air”:
Bill Carter, “Fox News Fires a Star Host over a CNN Bid,”
New York Times
, September 6, 2001.
Page 65
I noticed that Fox News had fallen into the habit:
David Folkenflik, “The Fox News Wishing Well,”
NPR.org
, May 9, 2005,
www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4638852
. Similarly, David Bauder, “Watch Your Back When Fox News Wishes Well,” Associated Press, July 23, 2006.
Page 66
Laurie Dhue, a Fox anchor who had complained:
The events involving Dhue and the Radio and Television Correspondents' dinner are based on the author's interviews with Anne Schroeder Mullins, then a gossip reporter for the
Washington Post
, a staffer for Fox News, and, in one aspect, a third person present at the event.
Page 66
“Fox News babes were in high spirits”:
Anne Schroeder, Names and Faces column,
Washington Post
, April 8, 2005.
Page 67
On the blogs, the fight was particularly fierce:
Four former Fox News employees told me of these practices.
Page 68
suddenly blazing eyes:
My memorable encounter with Roger Ailes at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art took place at the launch party for the Fox Business Network on October 24, 2007.
Page 70
Matthew Flamm . . . was sandbagged:
The description of the Matthew Flamm episode is based on my interviews with three people aware of Flamm's thinking at the time plus a former Fox News staffer with knowledge of the network's response to his coverage.
Page 70
They want to copy the success that MSNBC has had:
From Matthew Flamm, “Fox News Eyes O'Reilly for Election Night,”
Crainsnyc.com
, posted February 29, 2008. Source not identified in original item.
Page 71
TVNewser posted a punishing item:
Chris Ariens, “Hume, Not O'Reilly, Will Anchor FNC's Election Night,”
TVNewser.com
, posted February 29, 2008.
Page 71
A second-tier site, Big Head DC:
“Crain's Reporter Has an Omelet Worth of Misinformation on His Face Today,”
BigHeadDC.com
, posted February 29, 2008. The site no longer exists, but the page can be retrieved at this web address:
http://web.archive.org/web/20080302094947/
http://www.bigheaddc.com
.
Page 71
What the hell had happened?:
Author's separate interviews with three people with contemporaneous knowledge of Flamm's actions.
Page 71
To salt the wound:
Compare distorted image of Flamm viewable on Big Head DC posting to image on earlier
FishbowlNY.com
item:
www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/files/original/Photo_110305_009.jpg
.
Page 72
Timothy Arango, then a media reporter:
This episode is based on my interview with Tim Arango of the
New York Times
and a separate interview with a former Fox News staffer with contemporaneous knowledge.
Page 72
Arango's story, headlined “Back in the Game”:
Tim Arango, “CNN Back in the Game with U.S. Presidential Race,”
New York Times
, March 5, 2008.
Page 72
unbylined story on Jossip:
“Did
NYT
Media Reporter Tim Arango Just Get out of Rehab?” Jossip, March 5, 2008. The website Jossip no longer exists, but the posting can be accessed at this URL:
http://web.archive.org/web/20080710104234/
http://www.jossip.com/did-nyt-media-reporter-tim-arango-just-get-out-of-rehab-20080305
.
Page 73
Bill Keller . . . emailed Arango a note:
Tim Arango, interview by author; Bill Keller, email interview by author.
Page 73
another
Times
media reporter, Jacques Steinberg:
Jacques Steinberg, “Fox News Finds Its Rivals Closing In,”
New York Times
, June 28, 2008.
Page 73
Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade . . . went after Steinberg:
Simon Maloy, “Fox News Airs Altered Photos of
NY Times
Reporters,” Media Matters, July 2, 2008. The liberal media watchdog Media Matters carries an extensive online database of coverage it criticizes, especially on Fox:
http://mediamatters.org/research/2008/07/02/fox-news-airs-altered-photos-of-ny-times-report/143921
.
Page 73
New York Times
media columnist David Carr accused Fox News:
David Carr, “When Fox News Is the Story,”
New York Times
, July 7, 2008.
Page 73
Fox pulled back:
One current and one former Fox News staffer, interviews by author, as well as interviews with executives at other media outlets.
Chapter 7
Page 75
unnamed Clinton operatives:
“CNN Debunks False Report About Obama,” CNN, January 23, 2007. The CNN report was one of several by major news organizations to refute convincingly such claims.
Page 75
citing ties to William Ayres:
Jim Rutenberg, “Obama's Personal Ties Are Subject of Program on Fox News Channel,”
New York Times
, October 6, 2008.
Page 76
Obama denounced:
Scott Shane, “Obama and '60s Bomber: A Look into Crossed Paths,”
New York Times
, October 3, 2008.
Page 76
Murdoch brokered a meeting:
This account is substantially drawn from Wolff,
Man Who Owns the News
, Kindle edition, location 5811â12; also Wolff, “Tuesdays with Rupert,”
Vanity Fair
, October 2008; supplemented by author's interview with former News Corp executive.
Page 76
an interview with Fox's top-rated figure: O'Reilly Factor,
September 4, 2008.
Page 77
Hume told me he had lost his enthusiasm:
Author's interviews for this and subsequent Hume quotations.
Page 77
“a weak and piteous thing”:
Andrew O'Hehir, “I Watched Fox News for Five Hours Last Night,”
Salon.com
, November 6, 2008.
Page 77
Fox News mapped out a strategy:
Bill Shine, interview by author; David Folkenflik, “Fox News Thrives in Age of Obama,”
All Things Considered
, March 23, 2009.
Page 78
Sammon . . . “engaged in . . . mischievous speculation”:
Bill Sammon, interview by author. The issue arose after a speech Sammon gave to a Hillsdale College alumni cruise was reported in a Media Matters posting: Eric Hananoki, “Cruise Ship Confession: Top Fox News Official Admits Lying On-Air About Obama,” Media Matters, March 29, 2011.
Page 79
Beck brooded about whether FEMA:
For a classic example involving FEMA and conspiracy theories about concentration camps, see
Beck
, March 3, 2009.
Page 79
“much more like the Founding Fathers”:
This and subsequent quotations by Glenn Beck obtained from interview by author.
Page 79
Shepard Smith, a maverick figure:
This section is influenced by author's interview with Smith; two former Fox News staffers; and two current Fox News executives. The section also draws on David Folkenflik, “Fox's Shep Smith Keeps Opinions to Himself,”
Morning Edition
, October 21, 2008; and Sherry Ricchiardi, “The Anti-Anchor,”
American Journalism Review
, December 2009âJanuary 2010.
Page 80
He liked to rattle O'Reilly:
Former Fox News producer Joe Muto, interview by author.
Page 80
found a consistent formula:
Author's analysis of six months' worth of “all-star panels” on
Special Report
, August 2010 through January 2011.
Page 81
“you should not be able to remove rats”:
Glenn Beck on
Beck
, September 9, 2009.
Page 81
“Rats could attack us in the sewer”:
James Rosen,
Special Report with Bret Baier
, September 9, 2009.
Page 81
relevant passage from Sunstein's article:
Cass R. Sunstein, “The Rights of Animals: A Very Short Primer,”
University of Chicago Law & Economics
, August 2002.
Page 82
“the biggest bunch of crybabies”:
Chris Wallace,
O'Reilly Factor
, September 21, 2009.
Page 82
Feinberg announced that salaries:
Robert Schmidt and Ian Katz, “Feinberg Wants All Companies to Adopt Pay-Cut Model,” Bloomberg News, October 22, 2009.
Page 82
White House and Treasury press officials conferred:
These urgent exchanges were captured in emails obtained by the conservative legal watchdog Judicial Watch. Press release: “Documents Show Obama White House Attacked, Excluded Fox News Channel.” Documents are viewable here:
www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/documents-show-obama-white-house-attacked-excluded-fox-news-channel
; Chafets,
Roger Ailes
, p. 198, on Ailes calling other network Washington executives reminding them of First Amendment overtones, that Treasury could next shut out their news organizations.
Page 83
“We see Fox right now as the source”:
Anita Dunn, interview by author; David Folkenflik, “Obama Administration Takes on Fox News,”
All Things Considered
, October 14, 2009.
Page 84
other news outlets had bathed the president:
Michael Clemente, interview by author.
Page 84
One of the New Black Panthers brandished:
David Folkenflik, “Conservative Media Stokes New Black Panther Story,”
All Things Considered
, July 20, 2010. Includes author's interview with Mark Potok.
Page 85
Adams rekindled the story:
J. Christian Adams, interview by NPR's Michel Martin,
Tell Me More
, July 13, 2010.