A Letter From Media Matters For America Regarding Stossel's Hostility To Civil Rights Act

Dear Sandy,

For the second time in less than a week, Fox News' John Stossel has used his platform at Fox to stick up for "the right to discriminate."

Tuesday night on The O'Reilly Factor, Stossel continued to call for the repeal of a portion of the Civil Rights Act -- the section that protects people from racial discrimination in public accommodations and businesses.

That's right: Instead of apologizing for his inflammatory comments about the Civil Rights Act, Stossel doubled down, praising his own "consistency" on a "complicated" issue.

The truth is, it's not that complicated. Fox should fire John Stossel instead of continuing to give him a megaphone for his out-of-touch views. We at Media Matters for America are joining with Color of Change to send this message to Fox and News Corp.

Tell Fox News: John Stossel has to go.

"Private businesses ought to get to discriminate," Stossel told Fox host Megyn Kelly last week. He also claimed -- against the evidence of history -- that we should wait for "free-market competition" to take care of racial discrimination. Stossel is sticking up for the rights of those practicing racial discrimination, not those who have been discriminated against.

Tell Fox News: John Stossel has to go.

Civil rights activists fought hard and braved real danger to end segregation and pass the Civil Rights Act, and the fight for equal justice and civil rights continues today. By promoting abhorrent comments like Stossel's, Fox disrespects that struggle.

What's more, Stossel's comments show ignorance not just of history, but of the ongoing challenge of racial discrimination. Stossel's opposition to this key civil rights protection would take us back to a time when restaurants, movie theaters and swimming pools could pick and choose who they let in based on race. He'd protect the right of racists to actively discriminate, and oppose basic rules to ensure fairness for everyone.

Fox has a troubling history of racially-charged statements by hosts and guests. Now, Stossel has made it clear where he stands -- but where does Fox stand? Does it support its employee's comments about the "right to discriminate" and his insistence on rolling back a critical portion of the historic Civil Rights Act?

As a Fox contributor, Stossel represents the network, and Fox bears responsibility for what it airs. By airing Stossel's repugnant comments, Fox legitimizes his indefensible position and treats it as a valid point of view. That's a disservice to those who still consider Fox a legitimate news outlet.

Thousands have already spoken out against Stossel's comments, but he isn't getting the message. Please join us in holding Fox and News Corp accountable. They shouldn't provide a platform for Stossel to promote the right to discriminate. Tell them to fire John Stossel.

Tell Fox News: John Stossel has to go.

Thank you for your support.

Eric Burns
Media Matters for America

Don Imus Is Back And Already Taking A Nasty Shot At President Obama

It didn’t take controversial new Fox Business Network host Don Imus long to make his first controversial statement with yet another piss-poor attempt at humor (you’d think he’d have learned something from his situation with the women’s basketball team of Rutgers a few years back). But, the I-Man is still old school, stubborn and with a distinct inability to avoid making idiotic and controversial statements. Imus hosted Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain (arguably the most media-hyped presidential campaign loser in United States of America history) on his show and the two men shared a joke (one in very poor taste in light of how much conservatives whine about comments about former President George W. Bush’s involvement in 9/11). Apparently, Sen. McCain was quite amused by a joke comparing President Obama to the 9/11 attacks:

“Ha ha,” she added dryly, when I told her that Imus, in a discussion with another first-day guest, Sen. John McCain, repeated a “joke” that after 9/11 “President Obama was the second attack on America.” (McCain, on the phone, laughed more heartily.)

As Think Progress points out, Imus must have had his conscience return (if he has one) after making telling the “joke” on the air as he tried to walk back from the comment and weakly offered about the joke that it was “an idiotic thing to say.”

Shocking: Don Imus Goes To Fox

It appears that Don Imus has found a new home for his views and it seems that new home will likely not be much of a surprise to anyone. The new home for the controversial Imus, who has a history of making what many people feel are racist remarks, has resurfaced on Fox Business Network. I have no problem with Fox hiring him, but it does not surprise me that Fox would open its family up to Imus and it makes sense with the way Sean Hannity fairly recently had him on the network to help rehabilitate his image (as Hannity is apt to do with certain people who get themselves into racial problems with stupid talk).

Here is a portion of the story from Fox:

FOX Business Network has signed a multi-year deal with legendary radio personality Don Imus in which his nationally syndicated program Imus in the Morning will be simulcast on the channel, announced Kevin Magee, Executive Vice President. Beginning October 5th, the program will be presented in High Definition [HD] Monday through Friday from 6-9 AM ET on FOX Business and continue to be syndicated on the radio by Citadel Media.

In making the announcement, Magee said, “We’re excited to welcome a renowned broadcaster like Don Imus to the FOX Business team. His 40 years of on-air experience combined with his superb interviewing skills and capitalist sensibilities will be a great addition to our lineup.”

The program will incorporate additional business news into its format which now offers a mix of current affairs, politics, entertainment and sports as discussed amongst Imus and his genius cast of characters including: Charles McCord, Bernard McGuirk, Rob Bartlett, Lou Rufino, Tony Powell, Warner Wolf and Julie Kanfer.

Imus added, “I love FOX. Roger Ailes is the preeminent genius of American Broadcasting. Who wouldn’t want to do this?”

Hopefully Imus has learned his lesson (I doubt he has fully considering some of the content of his interview with Hannity) and will be able to contribute something positive.