Greta Van Susteren Scolds Howard Kurtz for Bad Report on Fox's Coverage of News Corp Scandal
Greta Van Susteren on Sunday took issue with CNN's Howard Kurtz for a report he did on "Reliable Sources."
In it, Kurtz falsely accused Fox News of going "out of its way to avoid a lot of reporting on its parent company's troubles" involving the British tabloid "News of the World" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
HOWARD KURTZ, HOST: Fox News loves a good scandal. But when it involves the parent company, not so much. The network owned by Rupert Murdoch has tread lightly when it comes to the phone hacking debacle at Murdoch's British paper.
According to the liberal group Media Matters from July 4th through July 13th, CNN ran 109 segments on the Murdoch mess, MSNBC ran 71, Fox News just 30. CNN has even reported on Fox's lack of reporting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: The British media scandal involving Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has put Fox News in a bit of a bind. The network has apparently gone out of its way to avoid a lot of reporting on its parent company's troubles.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: Not a word about this international story last week on Fox's media show Fox News Watch which the panelists joked about off the air.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAL THOMAS: Anybody want to bring up the subject we're not talking about today for the streamers?
JIM PINKERTON: Sure, go ahead, Cal.
THOMAS: I'm not going to touch it.
JUDITH MILLER: With a ten-foot turbine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: The program did tackle the Murdoch scandal yesterday.
Actually, it did more than "tackle" it.
"Fox News Watch" on Saturday did two segments on the scandal encompassing two thirds of the program.
Kurtz conveniently ignored that detail.
As far as Van Susteren is concerned, that's not all Kurtz ignored (h/t Mediaite):
On your CNN show today in which you were critical of Fox News Channel and what you say is Fox’s lack of coverage on the hacking scandal, you neglected to mention that on ON THE RECORD at 10pm we have, in our last two live broadcasts, covered the news story. We did it in a responsible manner. I urge you to go back and check. It was just the facts and no sugarcoating. Your omission today skews a fair analysis.
I should add that I am sending you this message publicly because last time you did not do your homework on another topic I politely sent a message to you privately.
Nicely said.
Of potentially greater import, does Kurtz really think 30 reports on this subject by Fox from July 4 through July 13 is them ignoring the story?
When we see media outlets bury things that go counter to their agenda, we typically see no coverage of the issue or next to none.
30 reports in ten days not only means three a day, but also that Fox is continuing to cover the matter.
With this in mind, rather than following in the footsteps of what Kurtz referred to as a "liberal group," he should have done more homework on this subject to include Thursday through Saturday broadcasts.
Maybe then he could have offered his viewers a much fairer analysis that might have praised Fox for turning the spotlight on itself instead of dodging a sensitive subject.
Or would that be too much like media analysis for Howie?
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Comments
What a partisan complaint
Submitted by zenman1661 on Sun, 07/17/2011 - 9:43pm.
Fox News.com has has mentioned any new update and the Fox New shows have covered the issue quite suf'ficiently. Did it ever occur to Kurtz that CNN and MSNBC over covered the story due to their bad attitude towards Fox
CNN and MSNBC have been overcovering it
Submitted by Galvanic on Sun, 07/17/2011 - 10:18pm.
CNN has often lead off its news updates with it, even when there have been no new developments. And it's quite obvious that that they are suggesting that Fox News may be involved through corporate affiliation.
Yes, and each and every time
Submitted by celator on Sun, 07/17/2011 - 10:27pm.
Yes, and each and every time I watched Fox news, the news reader mentioned that News Corp is the parent company of Fox. Their skirts are clean on this.
media (un)matters
Submitted by mayjon on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 7:10am.
The left wing communist news network should be renamed comedy news network. The only difference being they don't have a laugh track as on the daily show.There is no news on their so called network that can be used to better our lives. It's around the clock conservative & republican bashing and now they taste blood in the water for foxnews and they got their fangs out for feeding time. Only if they spend 1/8 of the time and research on dems. and obummer by holding their feet to the fire than be their lapdogs everybody would be better off. How low must cnn have sunk over the years if they are taking MM view of things about foxnews. At any airport or gyms around the country cnn is on all the tv's all the time and it can't be changed or turned off. Can you say "state run tv". The airports and the gyms may have a contract going, but we've to suffer watching ugly guys and girls covering up oblamer's lies and deceit. Seems like cnn and mslgbt must want to take away people conscientious choice to watch foxnews and have a 24/7 subliminal liberal/marxist brainwashing.
greta?
Submitted by mayjon on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 7:15am.
Did I miss where Greta Van Susteren scolds Howard Kurtz?
Ask Howie the lib shill:
Submitted by frank14 on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 9:55am.
How many stories has the Lame Stream Media done on Obama's Fast and Furious gun running scandal to Mexico and Honduras which has resulted in the deaths of hundreds?
A story some might consider....
Submitted by almostacowboy on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 11:18am.
....somewhat more important than illegal wiretaps. But, what the hey!
MSM coverage of Palin's account being hacked - subs conviction
Submitted by Gary Hall on Sun, 07/17/2011 - 9:04pm.
Two comparisons come to mind.
1. The son of a Tennessee Democrat who hacked into Gov Palin's email account, and the subsequent conviction and sentencing of the man (2 years?).
2, The CNN hosted Democratic presidential debate, when well-placed folks (liberal activist sorts) were posed as randomly chosen unknowns to ask the candidates pre-approved questions. CNN did come clean on the scandal, and best that I could tell, the people of the United States, by and large, never heard of these very sick political scandal pulled off by CNN and their friends in the Democratic Party. (this on should hit close to home, Howie Kurtz).
So -- how did the MSM cover those two? And how did Howie Kurtz cover his own scandal?
(;~> gary
109
Submitted by Caringwhiteguy on Sun, 07/17/2011 - 9:20pm.
Maybe 109 is just a few too many. Sounds like CNN itself is taking the advice of Rahm Emanuel and not letting a good crisis go to waste.
This is why I no longer have
Submitted by guein on Sun, 07/17/2011 - 9:24pm.
This is why I no longer have Reliable Sources set to record by my DVR. Here's a topic for next week's show (that I won't watch): Does attacking the credibility of a rival news organization give credibility to the news organization doing the attacking? Or does it make the aforementioned news organization simply opportunists?
Stop me if you've heard this one before
Submitted by mustango on Sun, 07/17/2011 - 9:28pm.
So for the umpteenth time running, CNN and/or MSNBC assert scurrilous actions and/or inactions of Fox News not because they're actually true, but they assume them as such because *that's what they would do if it were them*.
accepting MMFA's claim
Submitted by Sweetness on Sun, 07/17/2011 - 9:31pm.
Kurtz must be aware of media matters' self proclaimed war against FNC.
Therefore, it's irresponsible to blindly accept their claim on this without independent verification.
Let's turn those numbers around...
Submitted by Tom1969ca on Sun, 07/17/2011 - 9:46pm.
According to the liberal group Media Matters from July 4th through July 13th, CNN ran 109 segments on the Murdoch mess, MSNBC ran 71, Fox News just 30. CNN has even reported on Fox's lack of reporting.
[snip]
30 reports in ten days not only means three a day, but also that Fox is continuing to cover the matter.
And 71 reports in 10 days (PMSNBC) means seven reports a day, which is starting to become piling-on.
Meanwhile, Kurtz' own CNN "ran 109 segments" in 10 days; a lot of people might consider 11 segments per day to be pretty much wall-to-wall. And when it's wall-to-wall coverage of a scandal involving a competitor, a lot of people might consider that to be bordering on a "conflict of interest"...
Howard left something out....
Submitted by pbthinker on Sun, 07/17/2011 - 10:35pm.
It's amazing, when they're talking about Conservatives, how they feel they have to add a whole bunch of descriptive adjectives to the subject, but in the case of Media Matters, it's just a liberal group. How about it's a George Soros funded, ultra-left wing liberal organization whose sole purpose in life is to attack Fox News? Howard's description is just a little too bland for me.
In your description of George Soros'
Submitted by NL207 on Sun, 07/17/2011 - 10:40pm.
attack dog, Media Matters, you left out 'tax exempt'. They are waging a tax exempt vendetta against Fox News.
more double standard
Submitted by Tjexcite on Sun, 07/17/2011 - 9:50pm.
If News of the World was Wikileaks and put everything free on-line and only went after the CIA, FBI, Pentagon, UK Home Office, Mastercard because they stopped donations to even Miami and Phoenix police. They would be heroes.
But they hacked phones not websites with highly classified security assets that with release of the information it cause people to die.
All those who are all for hacking like Anonymous and lulzsec they should be in support of news of the world, Murdock as they are against secrets even private citizens secrets for some reason.
That's actually a brilliant
Submitted by Ryan Mc. on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 5:40am.
That's actually a brilliant point. Hacking into classified US military computers is merely questionable to CNN, but hacking into private phones is damning for Foxnews that didn't actually do any of the actual hacking, but was owned by a guy who hired other people who did.
The organization used as a basis for this Kurtz report is funded or "owned" by a man who stole things from people sent to be murdered in the holocost. If the hacking into phones by a parent company makes you guilty by association maybe he shouldn't be using a unrepentant holocost theif as a source.
Gee! That's not nice!
Submitted by NL207 on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 5:49am.
You are suggesting than George Soros benefited from Nazi plunder?
But, only.....
Submitted by almostacowboy on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 11:21am.
...as a young man. Not now, of course. [sarc key off]
So, let's see.
Submitted by hbnolikeee on Sun, 07/17/2011 - 10:00pm.
The MSM rarely if ever shares the facts of Obummer's stumblings. But that FOX is not discussing their parent companies' troubles is a comparable issue? Huh?
These trolls are probably drooling as this is the ONLY way they can attack FOX. They're like little rodents looking for some rotting flesh and for that along with most of what they do and don't do, makes the MSM a loathsome bunch that really needs to be dismantled and put back together.
Sometimes (rarely, for sure)
Submitted by celator on Sun, 07/17/2011 - 10:22pm.
Sometimes (rarely, for sure) they do. Here's one from today reported by ABC News: (H/T Drudge)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Obama's Senior Moment: 'I'll be turning 50 in a week.'
July 15, 2011 3:38 PM
Actually…he’ll be turning 50 in three weeks. His birthday is August 4, two days after the debt ceiling deadline. Senior moment?
He messed up Malia’s birthday, too, calling her 13 when she was at the time 12 and still days away from becoming a teenager."
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/07/obamas-senior-moment-ill...
Dude doesn't even remember when his birthday is.
;-)
Submitted by Tom1969ca on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 12:32am.
He should just check his birth certificate ...
wrong place
Submitted by celator on Sun, 07/17/2011 - 10:23pm.
wrong place
I must be missing something
Submitted by krendler on Sun, 07/17/2011 - 10:37pm.
Is this really that big a deal? They fired the people responsible. It's not like it's corporate policy or anything. The MSM - which hates FOX News - is trying to blow this up into something it's not. Healines scream "Scandal widens - crosses Atlantic" David Gregory asking people to comment on it every 2 minutes this morning, regardless of the topic being discussed. What a joke. An isolated incident in the UK.
Comparisons to CNN? Really?
Submitted by theprofessor on Sun, 07/17/2011 - 11:35pm.
Just because CNN chooses to beat a dead horse into pulp doesn't mean a credible network needs to follow that example.
Here's how Fox covered the story
Submitted by alvin on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 2:44am.
"Fox News Watch" on Saturday did two segments on the scandal encompassing two thirds of the program:
Segment One:
“The left has been out to get News Corp. and especially Fox News Channel and the Murdoch family for years,” said Thomas.
Segment Two:
Jim Pinkerton complained that if the DOJ did launch an investigation, it would of course be evidence of an agenda by the White House
So it goes with the coverage on Fox.
Cherry picking
Submitted by Phryj1 on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 3:09am.
So, out of the coverage that made up the bulk of the show, and 29 other reports Fox News has made covering the story, you've got 2 statements. From an opinion and analysis show in a debate format where the panelists ARE SUPPOSED TO BE TAKING A SIDE. Yeah, alvin, that's absolutely devastating.
The cherries you picked turned out to be rotten. Good job!
Progressives seem to be completely averse to facts and logic. Apparently, reality has a conservative bias.
Of the Three Chipmunks
Submitted by frank14 on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 10:01am.
You were definitely the one with less reasoning skills....Alvin.
"According to the liberal group Media Matters"
Submitted by Phryj1 on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 2:49am.
There's you're first problem, Howie. You really think a group that has committed itself to outright destroying Fox News is going to be objective and and reliable when it comes to info about this story? MMFA has a history of both stripping things of necessary context as well as relying on twisted reinterpretations and misrepresentations of things people said, even going so far as putting words in people's mouths. Eric Boehlert and Senior Fellow Squad play fast and loose with facts in order to smear conservatives. Gotta earn those Soros bucks, you know.
As the other posters pointed out, CNN and MSNBC are running the story into the ground because they're competitors trying to discredit Fox News with guilt-by-association. Since when is 30 segments in 10 days trying to ignore or cover something up, as Boehlert and co. contend?
And honestly, calling Media Matters liberal is a grievous insult to liberals. Media Matters is pure concentrated, free-speech hating scum.
Progressives seem to be completely averse to facts and logic. Apparently, reality has a conservative bias.
Anything less
Submitted by AR72 on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 5:19am.
So, by CNN's standard, anything less than wall-to-wall coverage is considered an alarming lack of coverage? Even when FOX doesn't report on something they get better ratings than their jealous kid brothers.
Does anyone....
Submitted by almostacowboy on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 11:25am.
really think that the the LSM covering a negative story on FoxNews' parent company at a ratio of 3:1 actually signify that Fox is putting the story in low rotation?
I would liken it more to the LSM acting like a pack of dogs when one dog is down on the ground.
Integrity
Submitted by tomaspain on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 2:29pm.
Kurtz = Reliable? Sort of like political science, an Oxymoron.