Fox News Presents GOP Press Release as a News Story?

by Damozel | Will this surprise you, I wonder?  Media Matters reports:

During the February 10 edition of Fox News' Happening Now, co-host Jon Scott claimed that "the Senate is expected to pass the $838 billion stimulus plan -- its version of it, anyway. We thought we'd take a look back at the bill, how it was born, and how it grew, and grew, and grew."

In tracking how and when the bill purportedly "grew," Scott referenced seven dates, as on-screen graphics cited various news sources from those time periods. However, all of the sources and cost figures Scott cited, as well as the accompanying on-screen text, were also contained in a February 10 press release issued by the Senate Republican Communications Center. One on-screen graphic during the segment even repeated a typo from the GOP document, further confirming that Scott was simply reading from a Republican press release.  (emphasis added)

Gadfly Keith Olbermann named Fox News "the worst person in the world" for presenting a press release as news.  But let us give Fox News its due:  the illustrative graphics -- reproduced here -- are very nice and greatly add to the fun to be had from GOP talking points.

Discussing the story, The Raw Story scrupulously pointed out:

To be fair, media outlets often use press releases as bases for their stories, especially when reporting on breaking news.

But added:

Most outlets...identify the information as being part of a release.

The practice of repeating press releases is reminiscent of the escort-turned-reporter Jeff Gannon, whose now-defunct GOP USA and Talon News website would often push Bush Administration talking points and then be circulated as news. Gannon was often called on in the White House briefing room as a reporter.  (The Raw Story)

Steve Benen:

It's one thing to take the party line on every issue, but when a news outlet starts running GOP press releases -- without even bothering to correct the party's typos -- you know the network has given up entirely on being taken seriously.

It's worth noting, of course, that this is not only ridiculously partisan, it's also unethical -- Fox News led viewers to believe the Republican talking points were actually the result of network research. If Fox News is going to pull a stunt like this, it should at least have the honesty to disclose the source. Sure, viewers should assume that if Fox News is running it, the content came from the Republican Party, but if they're going to at least pretend to have standards, the least the network can do is make an effort to keep up the charade.

Yes, things have come to a pretty pass if they won't at least do that much.  .

Memeorandum has more.

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Comments

[Bill]

Hmmhhh. So who is to say, in an age where congressional Republicans take their marching orders from the radio, that they didn't get their press release from Fox?