Caught On Tape: Top Fox News Exec Admits to Deliberately Misleading Viewers

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Caught On Tape: Top Fox News Exec Admits to Deliberately Misleading Viewers

Posted By: Revel [Send E-Mail]
Date: Saturday, 26-May-2012 15:36:03

March 29, 2011 11:17 Media Matters Uncovers Audio of Network VP Bragging About Engaging In "Mischievous" Behavior Days Before The 2008 Election Washington, DC -- Today, Media Matters for America released audio of Fox News vice president and Washington managing editor Bill Sammon boasting that he lied repeatedly during the closing days of the 2008 presidential campaign when speculating on air "about whether Barack Obama really advocated socialism." Sammon bragged about his "mischievous" on-air behavior while acknowledging that "privately" he believed the socialism allegation was "rather far-fetched." "A top Fox News executive has admitted on tape to repeatedly and deliberately misleading viewers," said Ari Rabin-Havt, Executive Vice President at Media Matters. "This violates the basic and most essential role of a news organization -- that of keeping the public honestly informed." Rabin-Havt added: "If Fox wants to continue to insist that a difference exists between their news and opinion programming, they can start by firing Bill Sammon." BACKGROUND Sammon made his startling admission during an August 2, 2009 speech onboard a 12-day cruise sponsored by the conservative Hillsdale College. "Last year, candidate Barack Obama stood on a sidewalk in Toledo, Ohio, and first let it slip to Joe the Plumber that he wanted to quote, 'spread the wealth around,' " said Sammon in his speech."At that time, I have to admit, that I went on TV on Fox News and publicly engaged in what I guess was some rather mischievous speculation about whether Barack Obama really advocated socialism, a premise that privately I found rather far-fetched." Indeed, in the weeks leading up to the 2008 election, Sammon repeatedly used his Fox position to engage in a campaign to tie Obama to "Marxists" and "socialism." A Media Matters review found that Sammon - then the network's Washington deputy managing editor - linked Obama's "spread the wealth around" remark to socialism in four separate Fox appearances in October 2008. * On October 14, 2008, Sammon said that Obama's "spread the wealth around" remark "is red meat when you're talking to conservatives and you start talking about 'spread the wealth around.' That is tantamount to socialism." * Later that day, Sammon repeated the "tantamount to socialism" line, stating: "That's anathema to conservatives. That's the same as saying, 'Spread the misery around.' That's basically tantamount to socialism. And that bothers a lot of people. So I think if McCain is going to have any chance of moving ahead, he's got to turn this economic discussion from something that's been hurting him for the last couple weeks to something that can help him by focusing on what to do about the economy in the future." * On October 25, 2008, Sammon said: "As soon as I heard Barack Obama say, and it's gone on almost two weeks ago - two weeks ago -- 'spread the wealth around,' I mean, the red flag went up. I mean, that's just code - and I knew that conservatives would say, 'That is exactly code for income redistribution which is tantamount to socialism.' And I talked about this for several days right after it happened. And the McCain campaign has now picked up this socialism word on their own, and they're running with it." * On October 27, 2008, Sammon said: "I do think that when you start talking about 'spread the wealth around,' which is what Barack Obama said to Joe the Plumber, and now this new radio thing that came up today where he talks about redistributing the wealth, you know, those two things together are tantamount to socialism to conservatives" and added: "That's red meat. That'll fire up the conservative base, who had been a little bit dispirited." Sammon's "mischief" wasn't limited to his on-air appearances. As an email -- leaked exclusively to Media Matters by a Fox News source -- demonstrates, Sammon also pushed his Fox News colleagues to play the socialism card, highlighting what he described as "Obama's references to socialism, liberalism, Marxism and Marxists" in his 1995 autobiography Dreams From My Father. Read More: CRUISE SHIP CONFESSION: Top Fox Editor Admits Lying On-Air About Obamahttp://mediamatters.org/blog/201103290006 and Fox's Bill Sammon Problemhttp://mediamatters.org/research/201103290007 Leaked Tape - Fox News Exec on Obama & Socialism heheh.. he threw in the marxist card just in case the socialist card backfired... which it did Uploaded by TheYoungTurks on Mar 30, 2011 MSNBC host Cenk Uygur shares a newly uncovered audiotape where Fox News executive Bill Sammon explains that he pushed the idea that Barack Obama was a socialist despite personally finding the idea to be far fetched. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HJTIhsQ16c ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- even Socialists say Obama is not a socialist The Daily Show Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook Thursday March 8, 2012 The Socialist Network Jessica Williams discovers that the Socialist Organizer Party and the Democratic Socialists of America are nothing alike. http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-march-8-2012/the-socialist-network ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Jeff Winkler Is President Obama a socialist? According to actual socialists, the answer is an emphatic “no.” For conservative bloggers and some at Tea Party rallies who call Obama a “socialist,” the abundance of socialist signs and propaganda at the liberal “One Nation Working Together” rally in Washington last month is just more evidence that Obama and his followers are actually socialists. But this is simply wrong according to the socialists The Daily Caller talked to at the rally. A large contingent of proud socialists was organizing around the International Socialist Organization (ISO) booth far from the action at the Lincoln Memorial. Looking hipsterific, they could have been kids at some dingy, rock venue. When approached, though, they weren’t exactly friendly. The girl behind the booth in the leather jacket and faux-hawk even gave TheDC the stinkeye. ISO member David May, however, finally broke the group’s silence when asked if Obama was a socialist. May’s reply was a clear, “No.” In fact, Obama was doing “quite well to help along big business,” he said. “Obama has taken over the leadership of the American empire, which is a capitalist nation,” he explained. “And he’s the head of the Democratic Party, which is the world’s, America’s, second-most-enthusiastic capitalist party.” May said neither he, nor any of his young comrades, had any faith that Obama would ever enact socialist reforms. Neither did Carl Davidson. Formerly of the New Party, Davidson is currently of the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism. He’s apparently pretty famous for knowing the president. “If you Google ‘Marxist Mentor + Obama’ you’ll get a million hits about me,” he said. “I know Obama well. I worked on his first campaign,” said Davidson. “He’s not even close to being a socialist…The socialism he gets attacked for is so much demagoguery.” Then there was the table of the Party of Socialism and Liberation. “No, we would say [Obama’s] not really a socialist at all…just another Democratic politician in many ways,” said volunteer Sunil Freeman. “You can look at other socialists systems and see how radically different they are.” What systems? “Cuba would be one example; China to some extent. Systems where there’s universal health care … So that’s just one simple example of a different social order,” she said. “I think the right–wing politicians use the word ‘socialists’ as sort of a demonizing term to score political points,” Freeman continued. “But just because you call someone a socialists, doesn’t mean they are a socialist.” It seems real socialists want the good life found in Cuba and China, which might explain why raging conservatives decry actual socialism. Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/10/14/socialists-say-president-obama-is-definitely-not-a-socialist/#ixzz1pd8hFRl5 I guess you CAN make this stuff up ?...