Reflecting On C-SPAN’s Political Impact
On March 19, 1979, C-SPAN went live to a public audience for the first time. Since that day, when it debuted with four employees, the network has become a mainstay in American politics. The New York Times spoke with Susan Swain, one of C-SPAN’s two chief executives, about the birth of the network, Washington’s initial resistance to being caught on camera and how the network has adapted to the social media age.
Exclusives
The former Democratic National Committee Chairwoman will offer political analysis across both FNC and Fox Business Network’s (FBN) daytime and primetime programming beginning today.
President Trump on Sunday lashed out at a trio of Fox News anchors, suggesting they should work at competitor CNN instead. Trump tagged Arthel Neville and Leland Vittert in a tweet and asked whether the weekend anchors were “trained by CNN prior to their ratings collapse.” “In any event, that’s where they should be working, along with their lowest rated anchor, Shepard Smith!” Trump added.
Jeanine Pirro is off Fox News prime time — and President Trump is not thrilled about it. Fox News removed Pirro’s program, Justice With Judge Jeanine, from its usual 9 p.m. time slot on Saturday, one week after the network took the rare step of publicly rebuking the host for an on-air monologue that questioned a Muslim lawmaker’s loyalty to the United States. Fox News declined to address the host’s status.
We Need C-SPAN More Than Ever
Precisely at noon on March 19, 1979, six newly installed video cameras went live in the gallery of the House chamber for the first time. Washington was never the same. The network, the Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, which can now be seen in more than 90 million households, still gives us daily proceedings from the House and Senate chambers. It also lets us hear important issues explored in committee rooms, helps us size up candidates on the campaign trail, engages us with book authors and saves a seat for us at think-tank roundtables. It challenges us to think for ourselves, without the clatter of punditry.
According to a February 2019 (Feb. 24-27) NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey of 900 Americans asked about media consumption along with general questions about politics, half said they watch broadcast network news regularly; 34% watch Fox News; 32% watch CNN; 25% watch MSNBC; 20% read conservative outlets; and 19% read progressive outlets.
Fox News anchor’s Shepard Smith was the recipient of the Radio Television Digital News Foundation’s Leonard Zeidenberg First Amendment Award at a ceremony in Washington Wednesday, telling a crowd of Washington journalists that he was committed to the primary mission of journalism, which he said was being accurate, honest, thorough and fair, to never knowingly misinform, and to correct and apologize when the inevitable mistake happens.
Fox News and Tucker Carlson don’t want to talk about what Tucker Carlson said. They want to talk about his accuser, the liberal media watchdog group Media Matters for America.
The liberal advocacy group Media Matters for America this week released two batches of recordings Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson made as a guest on a radio show where he made denigrating remarks about race and gender. It was timed to coincide with Fox’s first-ever sales meeting with advertisers on Wednesday. Media Matters says it wants to pressure Fox into better behavior by making advertisers aware of what is being said on the air. Carlson says critics want to shut Fox down.
Across cable news, the salaries paid to on-air contributors remain shrouded in mystery, ranging by network and by market demand for the contributor’s expertise. But, because at least 10 former Fox News contributors have served in Donald Trump’s administration and been forced to file financial disclosure forms, a window into the network’s payroll has been opened.
“Carlson’s comments could have been brought up when he was an employee of other networks, but they weren’t,” argues Tim Young.
Why I didn’t Run The Stormy Daniels Story
Ken LaCorte: “Two weeks before the 2016 presidential election, as the editorial head of Fox News online, I reviewed a draft news story that said porn actress Stormy Daniels had confirmed having an affair with Donald Trump a decade earlier. The only problem was … Stormy hadn’t said that.”
In a rare rebuke of a high-profile host, Fox News on Sunday night came out strongly against the comments made a day earlier by host Jeanine Pirro about Muslim Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. “We strongly condemn Jeanine Pirro’s comments about Rep. Ilhan Omar,” the network said. “They do not reflect those of the network and we have addressed the matter with her directly.”
One definite Democratic presidential candidate, and another possible candidate, are speaking out against the Democratic National Committee’s decision to not allow Fox News to host any of their party’s primary debates.
It’s Time To Take Fox News’s Role Seriously
Democrats are shunning the network for their debates. Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan calls that a mild, reasonable step that recognizes the reality that Fox News shouldn’t be treated as an honest broker of political news.
The Democratic National Committee has decided to exclude Fox News Channel from televising any of its candidate debates during the 2019-2020 cycle as a result of published revelations detailing the cable network’s close ties to the Trump administration.
Fox News has always been partisan. But has it become propaganda? As the president has been beset by scandals, congressional hearings, and even talk of impeachment, Fox has been both his shield and his sword. The White House and Fox interact so seamlessly that it can be hard to determine, during a particular news cycle, which one is following the other’s lead.
Nielsen estimated that 15.8 million on eight different networks between 9:45 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Wednesday watched the former Trump lawyer appear before the House Oversight and Reform Committee. The number contrasts with the 20.4 million who watched the daytime testimony of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh before a Senate committee last September.
Michael Cohen will be everywhere on Wednesday. His long-awaited testimony to the House Oversight Committee will be shown live by the broadcast networks and, of course, it will also be carried live by all the cable news channels.
