Washington – The Obama administration allowed a Fox News Channel reporter to interview Treasury Department “pay czar” Kenneth Feinberg after other network news executives said they wouldn’t use a pool arrangement to speak to him unless Fox was included.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
The dispute over the interview on Thursday comes in the midst of an ongoing battle between the White House and Fox over the network’s coverage of President Barack Obama.
The White House said it had received requests from TV networks to speak to Feinberg and had asked that the interviews be recorded through the networks’ pool arrangement. The pool is set up and paid for by ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and Fox to save time and resources, so a single camera crew can record interviews done by separate network correspondents.
The White House said Fox had not asked for an interview and the White House sent its request for a pool reporter without including Fox. Bureau chiefs held a quick conference call and decided that their networks would not do the interviews unless Fox was given the opportunity, said a network executive who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person did not wish to be a part of the White House-Fox tiff.
After this decision was relayed, the White House quickly agreed to include Fox, the person said Friday.
“The White House has demonstrated our willingness to exclude Fox from … television interviews,” administration spokesman Joshua Earnest said Friday, “but yesterday we didn’t.”
Fox representatives Irena Brigant and Dana Klinghoffer did not immediately return a phone call and e-mails seeking comment. In an on-air report, Fox said that the administration had specified that “all members of the pool were welcome except for Fox News.”
In its report, Fox said the White House “relented” after the pool’s decision.
it looks like that the people of the press are starting to wake up and see that the obama administration does not really like freedom of the press , and they the press better start working together so that the press don’t loose that freedom .
I don’t waste my time with Fox or MSNBC. I like developing my own opinion.
Sorry ! but the Orthodox Jewish community is not watching TV !!!!!
one does not have to watch TV to hear fox what about radio plenty of us hear the radio talk shows and plenty of people have exem radio and they can hear the TV talk shows on radio.
“then shame on them !!”
No shame on you. Most orthodox jews don’t sit around watching American Idol or Jay Leno or other such programs. They occasionally watch the news, C-SPan, special programming from EY, the lubavitch network, the football games on Sunday afternoons etc. Yidden are normal people so its not clear what ghetto you live in.
i was sitting in a doctors office a few months ago watching cnn and i just couldn’t believe the pathetically obvious way they were falling over themselves to “report” on the multifaceted greatness of obama the messiah.it went on and in one news story after another.i guess that didn’t bother the white house.
Wait a minute, am I in the soviet union? is the government actually trying to suppress the networks who don’t agree blindly to whatever they say? Time to get Obam out of the white house. Don’t forget this in 2010 and 2012.
the fact that the white house doesn’t want fox there peaks the intrest of many as to WHY? what is fox saying that Obama doesn’t want them to hear…
and about forming your opinion if you cant form your own opinion by listening to fox you are not forming your own opinion listening to any other station either you just like hearing what YOU think is correct and that is what they are reporting.
oh about TV. many many many orthodox Jews have TV at home if not there in the office and if that does not work for them they have internet and know EXACTLY WHATS GOING ON……
so please stop being so naive….
I dont get it. how can people sit still, while the addminitration, is waging war against a station that doesnt exactly help them promote their agenda?
only becasue Fox news is conservative leaning, does not mean that the President has the right to silence them.
this is the purpose of the media, to check and recheck, every thing thats coming out of Washington.
only because the President disagree’s with Fox, Doesnt mean that he has a right to shut them up.
so we agree that both sides put their SPIN/MAKE UP stories, or is makign up stories exclusively hanitty’s specialty.
we all know that to every lie there has to be a bit of truth or the lie wont stand, so the question is for entertainments sake can we say what we want?
and does the President have to get envolved in this…
Let’s be clear. Bush and Cheney both appeared FAR more regularly on Fox News than any other network. For a long time, Cheney would not appear on MSNBC at all. This is not the first time this has been done, it is just the first time it has been done to the alarmist, hysteria-rousers at FNC.
Secondly, no President has an obligation to speak to any news agency in particular. The White House gets to decide who they will and will not speak to.
When the President decides to address Congress and your primary network (Fox)decides to dismiss the request, don’t be surprised when YOUR requests for time with officials are also denied.
There is no Constitutional issue here. FNC is free to report on whatever they like, just like VIN. FNC marginalized themselves when they decided to become a propaganda machine in order to boost ratings. Even elected officials have the right to decide who they will and will not speak to in the press.
Obama will speak to Ahmedinijad of Iran, but doesn’t want to speak to “Fox.” Kind of hypocritical, no?