there goes the journalistic integrity

Another great note from moveon...

Since Fox News is unable to rebut the basic premise of "Outfoxed," its anchors have resorted to slamming the film's technique. Fox News' convention correspondent Carl Cameron, who is portrayed in the movie sucking up to then-Governor Bush before an interview, complained "It was an unfortunate piece of editing in the movie that gave a far worse impression than the reality."

To counter this charge, director Robert Greenwald has released the entire footage of Cameron's pre-interview moments with Bush, when he didn't realize the tape was rolling. The full clip makes Cameron look even worse. He spends a full three minutes fawning over Bush. See this outrageous footage here:

http://www.moveon.org/r?539

All this bluster hides the serious fact that Fox News allows political partisans like Cameron to do important journalistic interviews, even when there are blatant conflicts of interest.

Call up Fox News and tell them to reassign Carl Cameron from the conventions and find a political reporter who doesn't carry a partisan bias, at:

Fox News Channel
(212) 301-3000
Please let us know you're making this call, at:

http://www.moveon.org/foxcalls2.html?id=3167-3218763-stRLwf9fVxB.l5.GpRNxwg

This footage is a smoking gun -- Fox News is a Republican outlet, and the reporters make no bones about it. At most networks, even a perception of a conflict of interests is enough to reassign a reporter. In 2000, a CNN producer whose husband was a lawyer for Gore was told not to have anything to do with campaign coverage [1]. Last Thursday, the San Francisco Chronicle put its letters editor on leave for contributing $400 to the Kerry campaign [2]. Not so at Fox News, where Cameron remained in charge of campaign coverage, including the exclusive interview with Bush, despite his wife's involvement with the Bush campaign.

Do conflicts of interest really matter? Well, to take just one example, the head analyst of election results for Fox News in 2000 was John Ellis, Bush's first cousin. On Mr. Ellis' advice, Fox News was the first to declare Bush the winner of Florida and the presidency. Ellis' call for Bush set off a cascade of similar calls by other networks, ultimately leading to the infamous Florida vote-counting controversy [3].

Blatant conflicts of interest like Cameron's and Ellis' highlight an appalling lack of journalistic balance on the part of Fox News. To permit such assignments is unprofessional and deceptive. It's the sort of behavior that gives Fox News such a bad name.

Most news outlets would be embarrassed and apologetic. Fox News is smug and unrepentant. Worse, they are doing it again this election. Before we go any further, demand Fox News reassign Carl Cameron from the conventions and choose a reporter without personal ties to one candidate:

Roger Ailes, CEO and Chairman
Fox News Channel
(212) 301-3000

Of course, Fox News is trying hard to deny its obvious partisanship. Both Cameron and Roger Ailes always cite a single story as proof that Fox News doesn't favor Republicans: the discovery of George W. Bush's arrest for drunken driving in the final week of the 2000 election. Fox News takes credit for getting the scoop. Real journalists at Salon magazine, however, reveal that the story was discovered by a young reporter at a local Fox broadcast affiliate, WPXT-TV in Portland, Maine, not the team at Fox News Channel. Fox News recently affirmed it has "no editorial oversight" of any Fox affiliate [4]. Read the Salon story at:

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/07/23/fox_dui_moveon/

Salon provides excellent, independent journalism without partisanship or personal conflicts of interest. This is the sort of journalism we need to support with our subscription dollars. Salon is offering a 50% discount to MoveOn members. Can you help support Salon's important work? Please subscribe now at the link above.

Thanks for all you're doing to encourage true balance in our national news media. Our democracy depends on it.

Sincerely,
--Wes Boyd and Noah T. Winer
  MoveOn.org
  July 28th, 2004