NWOTruth

The Republican National Committee on Thursday echoed Fox News in ridiculing ABC’s planned primetime focus on Obama’s healthcare plan as “outrageous,” suggesting the network will allow “no opposing views” to be aired.

His claims echoed those made by Fox News hosts throughout the week, slamming ABC as “state run media?” and its program as an “infomercial” for the administration. Conservative-leaning news aggregator Matt Drudge also featured the story prominently on Wednesday.

The program, which will be moderated by ABC’s Charlie Gibson and Diane Sawyer, will feature President Barack Obama answering questions from selected individuals about the administration’s proposals to reform healthcare. ABC News refuted Republican criticism of the program on Tuesday, claiming the network will select a “diverse” set of questions for the president.

The criticism is especially striking considering the Fox network’s integral relationship with Republicans and the prior administration. During the Bush-era, Fox News dedicated a large portion of its airtime to White House-drafted “talking points,” according to former Bush press secretary Scott McClellan. The network is also home to numerous Republican editorialists who frequently give guest time to other GOP opinion-makers.

“[Such] criticism ignores the fact that the Bush administration repeatedly gave exclusive access to Fox News, which often used such opportunities to ask softball questions and run specials about the administration,” noted Media Matters.

The media watchdog group, in a lengthy Wednesday post, outlines Fox’s long history of coddling Republicans. From softball questions by hosts Britt Hume, Neil Cavuto, Bill O’Reilly and others to special reports such as Donald Rumsfeld’s “Why He Fights,” or “Dick Cheney: No Retreat,” the highlights of Fox’s preference for the GOP are — to paraphrase Media Matters — “extraordinary.”

Nevertheless, RNC Chairman Michael Steele, in a fundraising e-mail circulated Thursday, accused ABC of doing away with the “pointless denials of favorable coverage of the Obama Administration.”

“Now one network, ABC News, has actually turned its entire programming over to President Obama and his big-government agenda,” he added.

Blasting the network’s denial of the RNC’s request to purchase advertising time, Steele asked, “What are the Democrats and their media allies afraid of? The truth?”

“That is outrageous! And we will not take it!,” he railed. “We will be heard!! Please help us raise the nearly $100,000 we need to buy air time …”

His e-mail’s subject line declared how “URGENT!!!” Steele believes the issue is for Republicans.

ABC, in refusing to run the RNC’s ads, cited a “long standing policy” of not accepting “advocacy advertising.”

Earlier in the week, a Fox News article quoted Jane Hall, a Fox contributor and journalism professor with American University, who completely dismissed the Republicans’ assault on ABC.

“This is not unprecedented. Every president has tried to use the bully pulpit to spread their message,” she said. “I hope President Obama does have a range of questions, ranging from people who want a single-payer system to those who want the government to do less. … ABC News is going to have a balanced program, they do not want to be criticized, they don’t want to look like they’re simply cheerleading for the president and his plan.”

Kerry Smith, senior vice president at ABC News, wrote in response to the RNC’s criticism: “ABC News is looking for the most thoughtful and diverse voices on this issue. ABC News alone will select those who will be in the audience asking questions of the president. Like any programs we broadcast, ABC News will have complete editorial control. To suggest otherwise is quite unfair to both our journalists and our audience.”

These segments were broadcast by Fox News, as captured by Media Matters.

Raw Story

| Stephen C. Webster | Thursday, June 18, 2009