In a recent interview, Fox News President Roger Ailes seemed to shift from his traditionally conservative stance and may have developed a bit of a soft spot for some top Democrats. In an interview with Howard Kurtz, Ailes – the man who put Sarah Palin back on television – even said he’d hire Hillary Clinton: “She looks unhappy at the State Department. She’d get ratings.” See the full story on The Daily Beast here.
The early peace talks between Fox Chairman Roger Ailes and White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod appears to have made no headway — NYT’s Jim Rutenberg compared them to “pre-Pearl Harbor peace talks between the United States and Japan.”
While Fox News may see the administration’s volleys as “ratings candy,” the NYT article notes the White House has stepped up its anti-Fox commentary following indications other news organizations were closing ranks.
Click here for the rest of Rutenberg’s article: “Behind the War Between White House and Fox.”
Roger Ailes
The verbal skirmishes between the White House and Fox News continue, despite last month’s “Fox Summit” between Obama’s Senior Adviser David Axelrod and Fox Chairman Roger Ailes, leading the NYT to offer: “But shots are still being fired, which animates the idea that both sides see benefits in the feud.”
The back and forth between the administration and Fox — reignited by White House Communications Director Anita Dunn’s suggestion that the cable channel was “a wing of the Republican Party” — has started a blogosphere discussion of CNN (Democrat) versus Fox (Republican) and lining up other networks and programs on one side or the other.
Click here for Michael Sherer’s Swampland from Time.
Billy O'Reilly
Keith Olbermann
The so-called cease-fire between Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly and
MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann has ended … it may have been the shortest and least observed cease-fire in history.
According to a New York Times article, parent CEO’s Roger Ailes and Jeff Immelt got the pair to tone down their attacks. At least they had until the Times pointed it out, which has set off a new round of hostilities. Olbermann denied any deal to play nice and launched a new segment — “The Worst Persons in the World” — which was topped by O’Reilly and Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch.
O’Reilly, who refuses to mention Olbermann by name on his show, put Jeff Immelt and GE’s Securities and Exchange Commission fine back in his sights.
So, was there a cease-fire? Will there be another brokered peace? Howard Kurtz’s article in the Washington Post today cites Ailes as saying he could control his nutcases, but Immelt couldn’t control his.
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