Fox News: Founder exerted political pressure on programming
Court documents lift the veil on Rupert Murdoch's decisions at the #x27;with regard to the editorial policy of the continuous news network.
Information uncovered in a lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems against cable news channel Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corp., exposed the influence of network owner Rupert Murdoch. (File photo)
In May 2018, the most powerful Republicans in the country needed help. So they brought in Fox News founder Rupert Murdoch.
President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell were trying to stop West Virginia Republicans from nominating candidate Don Blankenship, who was found guilty of violating security standards in a fatal accident at one of its coal mines, to challenge incumbent state senator, Democrat Joe Manchin.
Mitch McConnell is the Republican leader in the United States Senate. (File photo)
MM. Both Trump and McConnell are appealing for help to beat the ineligible former mine owner, who went to jail, Mr. Murdoch wrote according to court filings released this week.
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“Anything in the day can help, but having Sean [Hannity] and Laura [Ingraham] unload on him intensely could save the day.
—Ruppert Murdoch, Founder of Fox News
Mr. voting systems company, Dominion Voting Systems, demonstrates how Fox has become actively involved in politics instead of just reporting or offering opinions on it.
Most Fox News headliners fueled the spread of the lie of the stolen election, according to documents. (File photo)
These revelations pose a challenge to the credibility of America's most-watched cable news network on the eve of a new election season in which Donald Trump is once again a top player. , after announcing his third candidacy for the White House.
Mr. Blankenship, who ended up losing the primary, said in an interview Wednesday that he immediately felt the shift, with network coverage taking a harsher turn in the final hours before the primary.
“They were very smart about the election – they did their dumping the day before the election, so I didn't have time to react.
— Don Blankenship, who filed a separate and unsuccessful libel suit against Fox
On Wednesday, the network called the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit an attack blatantly against the First Amendment and accused the company of taking the statements out of context.
Dominion has again been caught red-handed for using distortions and misinformation in its public relations campaign to smear Fox News and trample free speech and freedom of the press, Fox has denounced. in a press release.
Fox News has long been seen as an important Republican weapon with its large conservative base. But thousands of pages of documents released this week in Dominion's libel lawsuit show how the network has blurred the line between journalism and partisan politics.
Dominion sued after becoming the target of 2020 election conspiracy theories, often promoted on Fox airwaves.
Murdoch also asked Fox News executives to promote the benefits of Donald Trump's 2017 tax cuts act and to pay special attention to Republican Senate candidates, the documents show. He also wanted the network to bang on Joe Biden's low-key presidential campaign at the height of the pandemic in 2020.
Among other interventions, Rupert Murdoch asked Fox News executives to promote the benefits of Donald Trump's tax cuts law. (File photo)
Nicole Hemmer, a history professor at Vanderbilt University, believes the revelations in the trial weaken the long-running argument Fox's date that there is a fine line between his news and his opinions.
“The real revelation, here, is how fictional this division is. Some who know Fox have been saying this for a while, but now we have real proof.
—Nicole Hemmer, professor of history at Vanderbilt University
Ms Hemmer cited text messages from early November 2020, in which the Fox's chief political correspondent, Bret Baier, was asking network executives to retract when he said Joe Biden had won Arizona. He was pleading to put the state back in [Mr. Trump's] column.
