Fox News Beats Irony Into A Painful Submission

Fox News, home to right-wing news and opinion, recently sent out a memo to its people with “standards” in the subject line. As many of you know, Fox has effectively carved out a nice spot for itself in the media as the voice for the conservatives of this country and as media leader of the forces loudly opposing pretty much anything that is proposed by President Obama. But, Fox News is increasingly taking heat for its blatant activism for the causes for people far to the right of the political mainstream. Recently, after being busted leading cheers at what was in essence an anti-Obama rally (packed with tea baggers), the network apparently decided to issue a memo (one that is nothing short of ironic and laughable) to its employees.

From: Sammon, Bill
Sent: Monday, September 21, 2009 2:25 PM
To: 005 -Washington
Subject: standards

For those of us who have only been at Fox for a relatively short period of time, it’s useful to remind ourselves that, as journalists, we must always be careful to cover the story without becoming part of the story. At news events, we’re supposed to function as dispassionate observers, not active participants. We are there to chronicle the news, not create it.

That means we ask questions in a fair, impartial manner. When approaching interviewees, we identify ourselves, by both name and news organization, up front. We seek out a variety of voices and views. We take note of the scene in order to bring color and context to our viewers.

We do not cheerlead for one cause or another. We do not rile up a crowd. If a crowd happens to be boisterous when we show it on TV, so be it. If it happens to be quiet, that’s fine, too. It’s not our job to affect the crowd’s behavior one way or the other. Again, we’re journalists, not participants — and certainly not performers.

Indeed, any effort to affect the crowd’s behavior only serves to undermine our legitimate journalistic role as detached eyewitnesses. Remember, our viewers are counting on us to be honest brokers when it comes to reporting — not altering –the important events of the day. That is nothing less than a sacred trust. We must always take pains to preserve that trust.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this further, please stop by.

Uh, we have a lot of questions, but we expect few meaningful answers and thus see little reason to stop by.

This is completely and utterly laughable as Fox News regularly spits on these hollow standards Sammon is talking about.