Community | September 22, 2009 | 40 comments

Fox News issues memo pushing journalistic 'standards'

source: http://rawstory.com/blog/2009/09/is-fox-news-memo-pushing-journalistic-standards-a-joke/

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WakeUpPeople
After years of angling to be the GOP's favorite broadcast outlet, one Fox News executive now thinks that it is "useful" to remind staff to avoid bias.

"At news events, we’re supposed to function as dispassionate observers, not active participants," writes Bill Sammon, Fox News Vice President of News and the network's Washington editor. "We are there to chronicle the news, not create it."

The letter, obtained by Mediaite, appears to be in response to a recent incident in which a Fox News producer was caught on video coaching a crowd of "tea party" protesters in D.C., signaling them to cheer when the cameras were rolling.

"We do not cheerlead for one cause or another," Sammon claimed. "We do not rile up a crowd. If a crowd happens to be boisterous when we show it on TV, so be it. If it happens to be quiet, that’s fine, too."

Just over four years ago, The New York Times published an article which carried the results of several media studies. It found:

~Fox's political orientation is clearly to the right of the rest of the media. Research has found, for example, that Fox News is much more likely than other news shows to cite conservative think tanks and less likely to cite liberal ones.

Fox surely injected a new partisan perspective into political coverage on television.~

However, the Times noted, none of that really mattered, as none of the studies showed any evidence that Fox's jilted political coverage had any affect on voter behavior.

"Again, we’re journalists, not participants — and certainly not performers," writes Sammon in his Monday memo.

Today, the Fox News network's lineup is almost entirely performers, from editorialists who obsessively dissect and fabricate details about the Obama presidency to the traditional talking heads like Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly. One host, Glenn Beck, even believes himself to have his own movement behind him and has been billed as a driving force behind the recent "tea party" protests.

*Full memo:

From: Sammon, Bill
Sent: Monday, September 21, 2009 2:25 PM
To: 005 -Washington
Subject: standards

For those of us who have only been at Fox for a relatively short period of time, it’s useful to remind ourselves that, as journalists, we must always be careful to cover the story without becoming part of the story. At news events, we’re supposed to function as dispassionate observers, not active participants. We are there to chronicle the news, not create it.

That means we ask questions in a fair, impartial manner. When approaching interviewees, we identify ourselves, by both name and news organization, up front. We seek out a variety of voices and views. We take note of the scene in order to bring color and context to our viewers.

We do not cheerlead for one cause or another. We do not rile up a crowd. If a crowd happens to be boisterous when we show it on TV, so be it. If it happens to be quiet, that’s fine, too. It’s not our job to affect the crowd’s behavior one way or the other. Again, we’re journalists, not participants — and certainly not performers.

Indeed, any effort to affect the crowd’s behavior only serves to undermine our legitimate journalistic role as detached eyewitnesses. Remember, our viewers are counting on us to be honest brokers when it comes to reporting — not altering –the important events of the day. That is nothing less than a sacred trust. We must always take pains to preserve that trust.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this further, please stop by.
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40 comments // Fox News issues memo pushing journalistic 'standards'

  • wayseeker
  • UWAZell
  • Darevalo
    • 0
      Darevalo  

    • *pff* this is like that sexual harassment seminar they give us in a retail store job. everyone goes yeah yeah yeah. and then go back to playing grab ass.

    • 2 years ago
  • Conniepae
    • 0
      Conniepae  
    • Image

    • Watch the video. Glenn Beck admits he's not a journalist and he doesn't check the facts. Listen to 4 minutes into the video. He admits he's not a reporter! He admits he doesn't check facts. He's a commentator! They all are!

      Now he's leading a movement?

    • 2 years ago
  • pakazak
  • thenumbertoo
    • 0
      thenumbertoo  

    • beautiful, but a little late in the game.

      Fox is completely discredited itself with the practices that it has shown viewers for YEARS.

      although I don't this will change anything serious, i do think it will take away the propaganda, in part.

      Hopefully this will show that FOX is far worse than the even seem on the tube.

    • 2 years ago
  • WakeUpPeople
    • 0
      WakeUpPeople  

    • Here is a video of Rick Sanchez with CNN. I am not promoting CNN over any other MSM station, but I do like what Sanchez says about the responsibility of journalists REPORTING the news and not MAKING the news.

    • 2 years ago
  • Mark701
  • wayseeker
    • 0
      wayseeker  

    • Bill Sammon's slap on the wrist was for the public's benefit. It was in response to the cheering producer that made the news. Now that that little matter has been neutralized it will be business as usual at Farce News.

    • 2 years ago
  • Varex_Sythe
    • 0
      Varex_Sythe  

    • I think that it is possible that this could be a marketing ploy. Lots of memos like these make it to public view, and quite a few probably don't. It is possible that he could be serious about this, or it could be a matter of feed the public one thing, and then tell your network something else.

    • 2 years ago
  • TheBrownKid
  • wintermadness90
    • 0
      wintermadness90  

    • I don't watch any of the major news networks to be informed. They all seem to have their biases. If I want to be informed I watch BBC World News America, but if I want to be entertained I watch MSNBC or CNN.

    • 2 years ago
  • neocongo
  • WakeUpPeople
    • 0
      WakeUpPeople  
    • neocongo:

      Right! I guess it's okay to organize the rally and scare the bejeezus out of people so the crazy-eyed simpletons show up with pitchforks, but cheerleading the crowd for the camera is the act that gets condemned?!?!?

    • 2 years ago
  • tommic
    • 0
      tommic  

    • Liberals are progressive by nature, unafraid of change, intellectual based progressive thoughts are non exsistint on FOX news. Progressive liberals have initiated every major piece of legislation ever passed in this country going back until Linclon who was a republican who ended slavery which turned the entire south into democrats until civil rights legislation was passed then they turned republican. Fox news caters to these people who ar full of intolorance, hate and spread the myths and lies that the followers of their newscast rely on for their information. Quite sad when freedom of speech allows a network that claims to be news is permitted to lie outright to listeners. Historians will study FOX news in the future with wonder how so many could be led by so few ill informed political zealots.

      tommic
      tom mcmahon

    • 2 years ago
  • Tyr
  • montesooma
  • ProjectBat
    • 0
      ProjectBat  

    • I just get tired of people on here always picking on fox news for being biased, just because it is on the conservative side of things. We never get anything on current blasting the liberal excess of MSNBC, just fox. If anything, the headline's something like "Watch Olbermann own O'Reily". It's bullshit.

    • 2 years ago
  • Conniepae
    • 0
      Conniepae  
    • ProjectBat:

      It's not bullshit. Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow back up what they say with facts and many times videos. They use the facts against Fox, how can that be wrong? Fox got caught trying to motivate the crowd. Nuff said!

    • 2 years ago
  • WakeUpPeople
    • 0
      WakeUpPeople  
    • ProjectBat:

      I recommend that you start posting inaccuracies from other stations. In all honesty, I want you to. I promise that I will post any outright fabrications that I find from any MSM news source. They all have biases in as much as they choose what attention they give to current events, but I'm searching for undeniable misinformation, misrepresentations, and manipulations. Thus far in my research, Fox "News" takes the cake. Seriously, I really do want you to post any MSM mistruths.

    • 2 years ago
  • Conniepae
    • 0
      Conniepae  
    • ProjectBat:

      The 'facts' are picking on Fox. Just like the 'facts' were always picking on the Bush administration. Many of the 'facts' were so bad, they almost did appear to be picking on them. But, I don't think finding out facts is picking on them. The facts picking on them is bad. It would lead one to believe they would want to change their ways. When the facts are against ya, you're heading in the wrong direction.

    • 2 years ago
  • montesooma
    • 0
      montesooma  
    • ProjectBat:

      wakeup-- here is one. Msnbc showed a video of guy with guns strapped to him at a tea party but they edited the video to only show the guy from the waist downward. they then proceeded to discuss the angry white people at the rallies. Luckily a fox camera was there and showed the guys whole body --- turns out it was a big bald black guy. hows that for intentional race baiting and bias?

    • 2 years ago
  • mrpibb19
    • 0
      mrpibb19  
    • ProjectBat:

      I hate to be the one to tell you this but: Current is a liberal news outlet founded by Al Gore. You're not getting anything else. I'm a conservative, and I have yet to find more than a fraction of a percentage dedicated to finding fault with liberal agenda.

    • 2 years ago
  • lifestudentno83
    • 0
      lifestudentno83  

    • Faxed News is only doing this because their crony got caught on camera.

      How many other times has Faxed News "fired up" a crowd behind camera? I wonder...

    • 2 years ago
  • Tyr
    • 0
      Tyr  

    • I have serious doubts that this memo will do anything other than provide material to line the waste cans of the staff. They make a boatload of money in their current format and I believe that is their true mission. They throw red meat to the uneducated and biased and they in turn watch Fox religiously which draws advertisers who spend huge sums of money.That isn't going to stop, trust me.

    • 2 years ago
  • mrpibb19
  • WakeUpPeople
  • Conniepae
    • 0
      Conniepae  
    • mrpibb19:

      Bias using facts and bias using lies and distortion. Facts lead to truth. It's time for Fox News to start using facts instead of opinions. Real journalists use real facts!

    • 2 years ago
  • Wegg
    • 0
      Wegg  
    • mrpibb19:

      I highly suggest you watch neither. Read the constitution, pick a cause that is near and dear to you. . . and get involved. For me its sound money, Liberty and Peace. So when I read that Obama is skeptical about the need to escalate the war in Afganistan I embrace it and try and back him up with good reasons why. Costs too much, imposes our rules on their culture and costs too many lives.

    • 2 years ago
  • fun_size
    • 0
      fun_size  
    • mrpibb19:

      Did you know that 87% of the time people make up percentages?

      Anyway i do agree to the extent that all American news media channels are total garbage though. Theyre all biased and lack integrity... however waaaaay too many people watch fox news religiously and actually believe that what they are getting is "fair and balanced" reporting. Fake News is fueling the conservative base all in the desire for RATINGS.

    • 2 years ago
  • Manuel_Trujillo
  • Conniepae
    • 0
      Conniepae  
    • mrpibb19:

      Turning off the 'so-called' news shows is not the answer. I want to see the truth, not ignore it. If people who realize MSM is distorting and not really reporting turn them off, they are not being held accountable. They will be free to distort and not report. I think it's better to hold them accountable. Post the distortions so others realize facts from fiction. Fact and fiction are not equal. Facts lead to truth, fiction leads to spin. Why do people accept fiction, via opinions?

    • 2 years ago
  • mrpibb19
    • 0
      mrpibb19  
    • mrpibb19:

      Fox does make an attempt (a fairly weak one) at hosting liberal opinions within their shows, and establishing coverage for Mr. Colmes (the one liberal talking head they have.) My percentages were purely made-up and used to represent my frustration with the news these days. I'd rather pick up a book and read than watch the news. It's all death and destruction these days... ENTERTAINMENT: "GIVE US BREAD AND CIRCUS!!!"

    • 2 years ago
  • pakazak
  • Progresshiv
  • Incredulous
  • hpseaton
  • WakeUpPeople
    • 0
      WakeUpPeople  

    • I love this part of the memo:

      "Again, we’re journalists, not participants — and certainly not performers."

      There goes 90% of Fox News employees.

    • 2 years ago
  • Conniepae
  • Wegg
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