Sunday, June 25, 2006
Fox Makes Up News, NY Times Editor Says
Former New York Times Executive Editor Howell Raines has leveled a shocking charge against Fox News: The leading cable news network makes up its stories.
In his new autobiography "The One That Got Away,” Raines – who, ironically, resigned over made-up stories at the Times – writes: "Fox, by its mere existence, undercuts the argument that the public is starved for ‘fair’ news, and not just because Fox shills for the Republican Party and panders to the latest of America’s periodic religious manias. The key to understanding Fox News is to grasp the anomalous fact that its consumers know its ‘news’ is made up.
"It matters not when critics point this out to Foxite consumers because they’ve understood it from the outset. That’s why they’re there.”
Further on in the book he attacks Fox again:
"Fox Television showed us the future - outright lies and paranoid opinions packaged as news under the oversight of Rupert [Murdoch], a flagrant pirate, and Roger Ailes, an unprincipled Nixon thug.”
After the conservative Web site Newsbusters ran several excerpts from Raines’ book, one e-mailer wrote:
"Fox may have a conservative slant but it is usually quite clear when they go from straight reporter mode to giving their own two bits worth.”
Another e-mail says: "I guess if there’s anyone who should recognize ‘made-up’ news when he sees it, it would be Howell Raines.”
Raines was executive editor at the Times when the Jayson Blair scandal erupted in 2003. Blair, it was revealed, had fabricated stories, inventing quotes and even entire interviews. Raines resigned about a month later, after less than two years at the job.
Former New York Times Executive Editor Howell Raines has leveled a shocking charge against Fox News: The leading cable news network makes up its stories.
In his new autobiography "The One That Got Away,” Raines – who, ironically, resigned over made-up stories at the Times – writes: "Fox, by its mere existence, undercuts the argument that the public is starved for ‘fair’ news, and not just because Fox shills for the Republican Party and panders to the latest of America’s periodic religious manias. The key to understanding Fox News is to grasp the anomalous fact that its consumers know its ‘news’ is made up.
"It matters not when critics point this out to Foxite consumers because they’ve understood it from the outset. That’s why they’re there.”
Further on in the book he attacks Fox again:
"Fox Television showed us the future - outright lies and paranoid opinions packaged as news under the oversight of Rupert [Murdoch], a flagrant pirate, and Roger Ailes, an unprincipled Nixon thug.”
After the conservative Web site Newsbusters ran several excerpts from Raines’ book, one e-mailer wrote:
"Fox may have a conservative slant but it is usually quite clear when they go from straight reporter mode to giving their own two bits worth.”
Another e-mail says: "I guess if there’s anyone who should recognize ‘made-up’ news when he sees it, it would be Howell Raines.”
Raines was executive editor at the Times when the Jayson Blair scandal erupted in 2003. Blair, it was revealed, had fabricated stories, inventing quotes and even entire interviews. Raines resigned about a month later, after less than two years at the job.
