Scared Monkeys Discussion Forum

Current Events and Musings => Political Forum => Topic started by: nonesuche on January 27, 2007, 05:56:23 PM



Title: CNN and FOX square off in conflicting report regarding Obama
Post by: nonesuche on January 27, 2007, 05:56:23 PM
http://news.aol.com/elections/president/story/_a/cnn-fox-news-spar-over-obama-report/20070124114109990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

CNN, Fox News Spar Over Obama Report
By BILL CARTER
The New York Times

WASHINGTON (Jan. 24) - A disputed report on the Web site of a conservative magazine about Senator Barack Obama’s childhood schooling kicked off a pointed exchange this week between the rival cable news networks CNN and Fox News, when CNN seemed to make an overt effort both to debunk the report and to question the quality of Fox News’s journalism.

The original report, posted on the online version of Insight, a magazine owned by The Washington Times, said that as a child in Indonesia, Mr. Obama had attended a madrassa, a type of school that has been known to teach a radical version of the Muslim faith. Mr. Obama, who spent a few years in Jakarta as a boy, is a Christian.

Adding to the political volatility of the report was the attribution of the news to “researchers connected to” Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The two senators are expected to be the leading candidates for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, attracting intense news coverage, and the sparring between CNN and Fox News, which are often described as ideological opposites, may be a prelude to more accusations of inaccurate reporting.

The back-and-forth also comes amid a backdrop of increasingly nasty competition between the two networks, with CNN trying to promote the quality of its journalism as a counter to Fox’s ratings. Fox continues to command by far the largest news audience in cable television.

Representatives of Mr. Obama of Illinois and Mrs. Clinton of New York denounced the Insight report, calling it false and an effort by a conservative publication to smear two Democratic contenders at the same time.

The Fox News Channel discussed the report on two of its programs. It was also picked up by The New York Post, which shares ownership with Fox News, and was discussed by several conservative talk-radio hosts.

Yesterday, a spokesman for Mrs. Clinton, Howard Wolfson, said in an e-mail message: “This is a textbook example of how the other side works. A right-wing rag makes up a scurrilous charge and prints it with no real attribution. The smear gets injected into the atmosphere and picked up by talk radio. In this case both Senator Obama and Senator Clinton were victimized.”

A spokesman for Mr. Obama had previously been quoted in The Washington Post as calling the report “appallingly irresponsible.”

On its Web site yesterday, Insight defended its report, saying, “Our reporter’s sources close to the Clinton opposition research war room confirm the truth of the story.”

CNN’s political director, Sam Feist, said he had seen the Insight report discussed on “Fox and Friends.” Mr. Feist said he wanted to determine the validity of what he said, if true, would be a “holy-cow political story,” so he sent a correspondent, John Vause, to Jakarta from Beijing. Mr. Vause’s report, broadcast Monday on CNN, described the Jakarta school as unaffiliated with Islamic fundamentalism. The school headmaster said it was a “public school” that did not “focus on religion.”

The president of CNN US, Jon Klein, said that his network’s report was “not a response to Fox per se, though they did seem to relish repeating the Insight-reported rumor without bothering to — or being able to — ascertain the facts.”
In its report, CNN included a clip from the Fox News program “The Big Story With John Gibson.” Mr. Gibson interviewed a Republican  political strategist about Mrs. Clinton’s reported role in the Obama rumors. As Fox News has in every story on the madrassa accusations, Mr. Gibson used the attribution “according to Insight magazine.” But he also said: “Look at what some anti-Obama Democrats are doing to her political rival now. They are playing the Muslim phobia card.”

On Monday, the hosts of “Fox and Friends” said they wanted to clarify earlier comments after Mr. Obama’s office contacted the show, declaring its report “absolutely false.”

In comments after Mr. Vause’s report, the CNN anchors Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper seemed to chide others for not practicing legitimate journalism on the story. “CNN did what any serious news organization is supposed to do in this kind of a situation,” Mr. Blitzer said. “We actually conducted an exclusive firsthand investigation inside Indonesia to check out the school.”

Mr. Cooper said: “That’s the difference between talking about news and reporting it. You send a reporter, check the facts, and you decide at home.”

A Fox News spokeswoman, Irena Briganti, said CNN was mainly looking for publicity in attacking its higher-rated rival. Of Mr. Cooper’s comment, she said, “Yet another cry for attention by the Paris Hilton  of television news, Anderson Cooper.”


Title: CNN and FOX square off in conflicting report regarding Obama
Post by: LouiseVargas on January 27, 2007, 10:58:53 PM
I was a fanatical CNN fan until they stopped covering the Natalee case. I switched to FOX. I have my favorites on FOX.

A while back, I posted that I wondered how Anderson Cooper rose to fame so quickly. I found out why ... he is the son of Gloria Vanderbilt. I'm sure he had the best education money can buy. He comes from a family that helped develop the economy of our country.

Your source says that Anderson Cooper is the Paris Hilton of TV shows. I disagree totally and challenge anyone to give me an explanation as to why you think that way. He is a serious reporter and news anchor. How can he be compared to Paris Hilton?

Tanks.


Title: CNN and FOX square off in conflicting report regarding Obama
Post by: pdh3 on January 28, 2007, 03:00:07 AM
I am guessing that the Paris Hilton reference was mentioned due to the fact that Anderson Cooper comes from a famous and wealthy family. He is certainly a hard worker, and he is very intelligent. I don't see him as having anything in common with Paris Hilton other than the family background mentioned before. Paris doesn't really work on anything and she parties every day. That's hardly the life that Anderson leads.


Title: CNN and FOX square off in conflicting report regarding Obama
Post by: LouiseVargas on January 28, 2007, 09:36:10 PM
Thanks for responding and explaining, pdh3. I love your insight and your post made my day.


Title: CNN and FOX square off in conflicting report regarding Obama
Post by: nonesuche on January 29, 2007, 04:31:34 PM
I have nothing against Anderson Cooper but I also think FOX isn't viewed as the most serious of media outlets and that some of that is earned reputation too.

I do find it interesting no one's commenting on the Washington Post's/Insight's contention that Hillary's own staff leaked this?


Title: CNN and FOX square off in conflicting report regarding Obama
Post by: pdh3 on January 29, 2007, 04:34:47 PM
Quote from: "LouiseVargas"
Thanks for responding and explaining, pdh3. I love your insight and your post made my day.


Thanks Louise!
I really appreciate the kind words. That kinda made my day! :)