In yesterday’s press conference from Bizarro World, Emperor Trump gave a tip’o’the toupee to the most insidious morning show ever devised. Early in the week Friday Fox Follies pondered whether to concentrate on how Fox & Friends was too close to Trump after the Twitterer-in-Chief shoveled out:
The fake news media is going crazy with their conspiracy theories and blind hatred. @MSNBC & @CNN are unwatchable. @foxandfriends is great!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 15, 2017
If the topic wasn’t cemented after Trump called those Foxy Friends honerable people at his unhinged presser, then it certainly got locked after this morning’s Fox News anchor [F&F’s Heather Nauert] could be joining the Trump White House.
Fox & Friends is little more than televised polemic. It’s fake news — unfair and imbalanced propaganda — masquerading as a feel-good 3-hour block of morning happy talk. It performs 2 basic functions:
- Slices and dices the best of Fox “News” from the night before, crafting segments that praise Trump or attack the left. These will star the usual suspects, from Bill O’Reilly to Tucker Carlson, to Charles Krauthammer. Occasionally F&F adds a live interview based on these video moments, but the everything is designed to advance the story and point of view.
- Starting a brand new day of praise and attacks by launching new trial balloons and determining which to mine (to mix metaphors) when they see how the brain-dead audience responds.
Poynter Institute for Media Studies — which generally plays it down the middle — can’t hold back the snark in The real threat of Trump’s press bashing:
The morning babble
On this morning, of all mornings, you had to start with “Fox & Friends” because, as Trump put it yesterday, “They’re very honorable people.”
Their honesty, morality, ethics, principle and right-mindedness were manifested in coverage of what they joyfully called the “Beat the Press” event. There were lots of clips of Trump, and Rush Limbaugh now heralding Trump. “He’s back, this was his wheelhouse,” said co-host Ainsley Earhardt.
But co-host Brian Kilmeade briefly clashed with Trump shill Steve Doocy, arguing Trump is too media focused. “He’s got so much to do, why is he even watching Don Lemon at 10 a.m. on CNN?” It was a minority sentiment among the “very honorable people.”
One need not be a Russian spy to expose continued collaboration between the Curvy Couch and Commander-in-Tweet:
Fox Hosts Parrot White House Talking Points While Interviewing Kellyanne Conway About Flynn’s Resignation • Trump Attacks Obama on Russia Literally Minutes After Fox & Friends Made Same Point • Fox News, Trump tackle the big question: Who’s leaking information about the White House? • Kellyanne Conway thanks Fox News for blaming Flynn debacle on leakers who exposed Russia calls • Trump Copies Fox & Friends’ Talking Points To Pretend He’s Tough On Russia • Trump, Fox News Blame Obama For Russia • Fox & Friends Depicts Universities As ‘Islands Of Totalitarianism’ • Fox Guest: Refugees “Are Exploiting Their So-Called Political And Economic Persecution Status” For “Welfare” • Erick Erickson Defends Trump Calling Only On Right-Wing Media Because Mainstream Media Is “Pushing A Nazi Narrative” • Supporter Laura Ingraham Warns Trump Admin: You’d Better ‘Right This Ship … Because The Left Smells Blood’ Over Russia • Pro-Trump Propaganda Outlets Are Blaming An Obama Shadow Government For Massive Anti-Trump Protests
FFF anxiously awaits the glowing Foxy Friends’ report on this unfair & imbalanced Mainstream Media Accountability Survey.
LEGAL BRIEFS: Fox “News” got some good news and some bad news this week on the ongoing Roger Ailes sexual harassment scandal. A court ruled that Andrea Tantaros’ lawsuit will not go forward, Fox now able to take it to a binding & secret arbitration process instead. However, we also learned from Tantaros’ lawyer:
WHOOPS! It’s being alleged that secret payments were made to keep other sexual harassment complaints hush-hush. If so, shareholders may have also been hoodwinked.
Burstein said Fox News’ payouts to female employees claiming sexual harassment are not disclosed in Fox’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings, which could be a violation of federal securities law. A source told Bloomberg News that the investigation was examining whether those payments should have been disclosed to investors.
“The issue is, do they have to report that to the SEC? If the answer is ‘yes’ and they didn’t, that would obviously be a violation,” said Adam Slater, an attorney who practices class action and employment law and is not involved in the case.
“If they’re not required to, and they don’t disclose it, are the shareholders basically paying for Roger Ailes’ sexual harassment?”
Speaking of serial sexual harassers: It would seem that Bill O’Reilly is intent on crushing his ex-wife into a powder. Loofah Lad’s has apparently won a $14 million dollar settlement against her and is now demanding payment. What’s more, he’s also trying to keep the whole thing secret. The whole sordid story in the long, but fascinating Bill O’Reilly Escalates His Secret Legal War Against His Ex-Wife.
It’s ironic these newsers insist on secrecy.
A SHEPARD SHALL LEAD US: Unhinged Fox “News” viewers are demanding that the station fire Shepard Smith for being the only person there willing to report the emperor has no clothes.
Fox News’ Shepard Smith Tees Off On ‘Crazy’
Trump, Says America Deserves Answers
Fox host Shepard Smith slams president,
Trump supporters call for his head
Fox will never fire Shep. He’s the only fair and balanced on the unfair and imbalanced network.
CONTRAST & COMPARE: Dial-flipping, I happened to catch WashPo‘s Eric Wemple, a reporter whose O’Reilly take-downs make me laugh, slumming on Tucker Carlson Tonight the other night. I thought Wemple was smart enough to know better; honesty never gets an airing on that show. Watch how he’s sandbagged by Carlson and interrupted every time he opens his mouth:
Growing exasperated by Tucker’s Tried & True Tactics™ of misquoting, taking things out of context, and creating moving targets, Wemple still manages to call him Mr. Carlson. That’s why I’m not invited on to debate; Fox would need a 7-second delay right after I said HELLO.
Now read The stupendously dishonest Tucker Carlson where Wemple is able to defend himself and expose Carlson’s lies after the fact when it was too late.
However, compare and contrast that with the fawning treatment of Gay Writer Chadwick Moore, Who Turned Conservative Over Milo Backlash, Whines to Tucker Carlson:
Tucker is fast becoming one of the least fair and balanced personalities on the network.
THE BLONDE LEADING THE WILLFULLY BLIND:
Headly Westerfield is Putting the Kill in Kilmeade at the Not Now Silly Newsroom.
- Friday Fox Follies: Trump Tee Vee - Fri, Jun 23rd, 2017
- Friday Fox Follies: Fair & Balanced No More - Fri, Jun 16th, 2017
- Friday Fox Follies: Comey Comedy Cavalcade - Fri, Jun 9th, 2017
