Fox News showed its Republican colors last week by giving the Democratic convention short shrift. Fox News host Cal Thomas himself said: “I think if you’re going to be there during prime time and if your whole reason for being there is to cover the convention, then you ought to, in fact, cover the convention” ^[1].

Instead of covering the convention, Fox covered it up. For instance, they aired just 45 seconds of former Vice President Al Gore’s speech before cutting away to attack him. In sharp contrast, Fox’s cable peers CNN and MSNBC showed viewers the full 13-minute speech. As Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz asked:

Whatever happened to “we report, you decide”? Shouldn’t Fox viewers get to hear Gore before O’Reilly and his guests start sounding off? ^[2]

This is a disservice to Fox viewers, many of whom don’t know what they’re missing by relying on Fox. By writing a letter to our local papers, we can reach out to neighbors who count on Fox News for election coverage. Writing a letter to the editor doesn’t actually take very long — you can do it in ten minutes or less.

We’ve made it really easy for you, with talking points, sample letters, and a tool to find your local paper, at:

http://www.moveon.org/lte/lte.html?lte_campaign_id=7&zip=60657&id=3214-4514319-88zKJvzAnh86wbrkWRwqQg

Gore wasn’t alone in getting the silent treatment from Fox. The network also interrupted former President Jimmy Carter and Senator Ted Kennedy to make room for the pundits. Ret. General Wesley Clark and Rev. Jesse Jackson were shut out entirely.

All in all, Fox News showed a quarter less of the Democratic Convention than CNN and a full third less than MSNBC ^[3]. Fox News insists its reporting is fair and balanced, but the numbers make plain that Fox shut out the Democrats to protect their Republican friends.

As Paul Krugman wrote in yesterday’s New York Times, “Fox News is for all practical purposes a G.O.P. propaganda agency” ^[4]. Serious news networks give their viewers every opportunity to decide for themselves how to vote. Anything less is unfit for democracy. Our letters can inform our neighbors of the convention outrage on Fox.

Thank you for all that you do.

Sincerely,
–Wes Boyd and Noah T. Winer
  MoveOn.org
  August 4th, 2004

Sources:
[1] http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,126838,00.html
[2] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32979-2004Aug1.html
[3] http://mediamatters.org/items/200408020002
[4] http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/03/opinion/03krug.html