Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
The Making of the Fox News White House
Fox News has always been partisan. But has it become propaganda?
In January, during the longest government shutdown in Americas history, President Donald Trump rode in a motorcade through Hidalgo County, Texas, eventually stopping on a grassy bluff overlooking the Rio Grande. The White House wanted to dramatize what Trump was portraying as a national emergency: the need to build a wall along the Mexican border. The presence of armored vehicles, bales of confiscated marijuana, and federal agents in flak jackets underscored the message.
But the photo op dramatized something else about the Administration. After members of the press pool got out of vans and headed over to where the President was about to speak, they noticed that Sean Hannity, the Fox News host, was already on location. Unlike them, he hadnt been confined by the Secret Service, and was mingling with Administration officials, at one point hugging Kirstjen Nielsen, the Secretary of Homeland Security. The pool report noted that Hannity was seen huddling with the White House communications director, Bill Shine. After the photo op, Hannity had an exclusive on-air interview with Trump. Politico later reported that it was Hannitys seventh interview with the President, and Foxs forty-second. Since then, Trump has given Fox two more. He has granted only ten to the three other main television networks combined, and none to CNN, which he denounces as fake news.
Hannity was treated in Texas like a member of the Administration because he virtually is one. The same can be said of Foxs chairman, Rupert Murdoch. Fox has long been a bane of liberals, but in the past two years many people who watch the network closely, including some Fox alumni, say that it has evolved into something that hasnt existed before in the United States. Nicole Hemmer, an assistant professor of Presidential studies at the University of Virginias Miller Center and the author of Messengers of the Right, a history of the conservative medias impact on American politics, says of Fox, Its the closest weve come to having state TV.
Hemmer argues that Foxwhich, as the most watched cable news network, generates about $2.7 billion a year for its parent company, 21st Century Foxacts as a force multiplier for Trump, solidifying his hold over the Republican Party and intensifying his support. Fox is not just taking the temperature of the baseits raising the temperature, she says. Its a radicalization model. For both Trump and Fox, fear is a business strategyit keeps people watching. As the President has been beset by scandals, congressional hearings, and even talk of impeachment, Fox has been both his shield and his sword. The White House and Fox interact so seamlessly that it can be hard to determine, during a particular news cycle, which one is following the others lead. All day long, Trump retweets claims made on the network; his press secretary, Sarah Sanders, has largely stopped holding press conferences, but she has made some thirty appearances on such shows as Fox & Friends and Hannity. Trump, Hemmer says, has almost become a programmer.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/03/11/the-making-of-the-fox-news-white-house
In January, during the longest government shutdown in Americas history, President Donald Trump rode in a motorcade through Hidalgo County, Texas, eventually stopping on a grassy bluff overlooking the Rio Grande. The White House wanted to dramatize what Trump was portraying as a national emergency: the need to build a wall along the Mexican border. The presence of armored vehicles, bales of confiscated marijuana, and federal agents in flak jackets underscored the message.
But the photo op dramatized something else about the Administration. After members of the press pool got out of vans and headed over to where the President was about to speak, they noticed that Sean Hannity, the Fox News host, was already on location. Unlike them, he hadnt been confined by the Secret Service, and was mingling with Administration officials, at one point hugging Kirstjen Nielsen, the Secretary of Homeland Security. The pool report noted that Hannity was seen huddling with the White House communications director, Bill Shine. After the photo op, Hannity had an exclusive on-air interview with Trump. Politico later reported that it was Hannitys seventh interview with the President, and Foxs forty-second. Since then, Trump has given Fox two more. He has granted only ten to the three other main television networks combined, and none to CNN, which he denounces as fake news.
Hannity was treated in Texas like a member of the Administration because he virtually is one. The same can be said of Foxs chairman, Rupert Murdoch. Fox has long been a bane of liberals, but in the past two years many people who watch the network closely, including some Fox alumni, say that it has evolved into something that hasnt existed before in the United States. Nicole Hemmer, an assistant professor of Presidential studies at the University of Virginias Miller Center and the author of Messengers of the Right, a history of the conservative medias impact on American politics, says of Fox, Its the closest weve come to having state TV.
Hemmer argues that Foxwhich, as the most watched cable news network, generates about $2.7 billion a year for its parent company, 21st Century Foxacts as a force multiplier for Trump, solidifying his hold over the Republican Party and intensifying his support. Fox is not just taking the temperature of the baseits raising the temperature, she says. Its a radicalization model. For both Trump and Fox, fear is a business strategyit keeps people watching. As the President has been beset by scandals, congressional hearings, and even talk of impeachment, Fox has been both his shield and his sword. The White House and Fox interact so seamlessly that it can be hard to determine, during a particular news cycle, which one is following the others lead. All day long, Trump retweets claims made on the network; his press secretary, Sarah Sanders, has largely stopped holding press conferences, but she has made some thirty appearances on such shows as Fox & Friends and Hannity. Trump, Hemmer says, has almost become a programmer.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/03/11/the-making-of-the-fox-news-white-house
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
4 replies, 1192 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (8)
ReplyReply to this post
4 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
The Making of the Fox News White House (Original Post)
demmiblue
Mar 2019
OP
So Rupert Murdoch is nearing 90, his son James openly hates trumpy & son Lachlan only tolerates him
FM123
Mar 2019
#2
What's this "become" ? It was designed from the ground up to be pure propaganda. nt
eppur_se_muova
Mar 2019
#4
empedocles
(15,751 posts)1. fox chyrons seem to be on message 24/7
[They did broadcast Cohen live - chyrons seemed to be almost always misleading/on message].
FM123
(10,050 posts)2. So Rupert Murdoch is nearing 90, his son James openly hates trumpy & son Lachlan only tolerates him
so what happens to the trumpy propaganda machine when dear old dad passes...
2naSalit
(86,052 posts)3. Didn't they have a plot to kill off
dad about 35 years ago? They really aren't much better than their dad so I'm not hoping for much in the way of change when he finally kicks it.
eppur_se_muova
(36,227 posts)4. What's this "become" ? It was designed from the ground up to be pure propaganda. nt