Media, Politics, Uncategorized

Covering Or Campaigning? Fox News Anchors Appear With Trump At Missouri Rally [Updated]

440px-The_Yellow_Press_by_L.M._GlackensI have been highly critical of what I view as the erosion of the line between journalism and advocacy in cable news, including a column this week criticizing CNN for its unrelenting anti-Trump coverage.  MSNBC has previously been criticized for its host, Al Sharpton, appearing at campaign rallies.  Now Fox is facing an equally serious incident after Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Jeanine Pirro.  Both are known to be close confidants of Trump, but they also work for a news organization that is covering Trump and this election.  While many view the journalistic rule of separation as artificial in the age of partisan cable programming, it represents the most glaring breach in the rule that we have seen.  The incident raises an increasing conflict with journalistic values and programming.  All of the networks now have anchors who are openly partisan but maintain facial neutrality by not contributing or campaigning for parties.  The fear is that a departure from that technical rule will lead to a race to the bottom of networks working as an extension of political parties and a return to the age of “Yellow Journalism.” Update: Fox News has rebuked both Hannity and Pirro for their participation.

Cable networks now increasingly maintain fairly homogeneous viewerships composed of people who seek “echo programming” that take a consistent liberal or conservative perspective. It is part of the deepening divisions in our country where people only hear on viewpoint and news that confirm their political preferences.  In that environment, the separation of actual campaigning can seem precious. However, the erosion of the line between reporting and campaigning among media figures.

Hannity was billed as one of the people to appear with Trump at the rally with Rush Limbaugh. He later said that he would be simply having a show at the event and emphasized that “to be clear, I will not be on stage campaigning.”

Sean Hannity

✔@seanhannity

In spite of reports, I will be doing a live show from Cape Girardeau and interviewing President Trump before the rally. To be clear, I will not be on stage campaigning with the President. I am covering final rally for my show. Something I have done in every election in the past.

However, the President called up Hannity and Pirro to the stage and made things worst for Fox News by saying “I have a few people that are right out here, and they’re very special. They’ve done an incredible job for us. They’ve been with us from the beginning, also.” Referring to Fox anchors as his people who are doing “an incredible job for us” is a serious problem for network.
Hannity then declared (likely in jest), in pointing at reporters at the rally, “By the way, all those people in the back are fake news.”
Pirro declared  “If you like the American that [Trump] is making now, you’ve got to make sure you get out there tomorrow if you haven’t voted yet.”
The incident raises the question of the status of cable hosts who on CNN, MSNBC, and Fox leave no doubt about their allegiances.  The media appears to be moving toward a new status of commentator hosts who openly align themselves with campaigns.  That would mean changing network rules on staff remaining apolitical by classifying certain hosts as non-journalists.
It would represent a return to an earlier era in media where papers openly advocated for politicians or political parties or causes.  Yet, the allegiance of hosts is obvious every night in programming and the question is now whether there show be a new status of a commentator host who is no longer subject to journalistic standard. The problem is that these networks continue to define themselves as journalistic organizations and rely on that status.
Should networks abandon the rules of apolitical status for employees and allow some hosts to be openly partisan?

189 thoughts on “Covering Or Campaigning? Fox News Anchors Appear With Trump At Missouri Rally [Updated]”

  2. The way to solve the ‘getting called up on stage problem by POTUS’ is to STAY AWAY FROM PARTISAN GATHERINGS IN THE FIRST PLACE. I’m a long-time fan of FNC, but Hannity and Pirro have become political hacks, pure and simple.

      2. Mr Kurtz…..As a straight woman, I’m interested in her cooking abilities. She’s Lebanese, and say what you will, they make the best tabouli and hummus ( with the exception of one Turkish Armenian we know)

  3. They were at a largely attended rally in MO where POTUS was appearing. In BHO’s years the networks did the same. Was there a big MO rally where Democratic Party big shots were? If not, were there big rallies where the other networks were with those Dems? It’s as simple as that. Hannity and the Judge are opinion people and have not shirked from that label.

    1. Sorry to see you are still hitting the bottle, Happy. Your incoherence is reminiscent of George,

  4. There are “rules” for the media? C’mon Jonathan, give me a break. So naive. It’s a brave new world out there and always has been.

  5. I don’t consider Hannity a news anchor in any way. He has an opinion show and that’s all it is. I do think though that the line between news and opinion is definitely blurred. We hear references all the time to quotes, etc. that are opinion, referred to as though they’re solid news. News media is a sorry state of affairs these days and there are precious few journalists and anchors who we can count on to give unbiased coverage.

  7. Rush Limbaugh speaking to Americans attending Missouri Trump Rally nails it.

    ====

    “They are jealous, they are envious, this isn’t supposed to happen, you people are supposed to love them, not Trump,” Limbaugh said.

    He noted that Bill and Hillary Clinton recently announced a multi-city speaking tour and that Obama was back on the campaign trail looking to eclipse Trump’s success.

    “Joe Biden can’t fill a phone booth because he’s looking for someone to punch out,” Limbaugh joked.

    He said that the Trump rallies convinced him that Trump would win in 2016 because he had such a great connection with voters.

    “The people in Washington really haven’t taken the time to understand why you voted for Trump; they just think you’re stupid for doing so,” he said.

    “Even now, the real anger at Trump is actually at you for having elected him,” he said.

  8. “Never before in the history of US politics has there been a stronger reason than Trump to change the system…”

    poor poor loser. Move to Venezuela since you deplore our laws….basturd

  9. like Hillary Clinton, the Liberals just can’t take the fact that American reject them. Fox News crushers CNN MSNBC NBC CBS ABC in ratings and popularity. The Liberals lost a long time ago and they can’t accept that. They are the new conservatives… …living in fantasy and past history

  10. The folks you mentioned are opinion commentators not “news reporters”. I do think networks should do a better job at delineating who does what. All of CNN should be considered a democratic PAC.

    4. Remember when the fly landed on Hillary’s face during one of her debates with Trump? The fly knew exactly where to land, didn’t it?

  12. Opinion hosts (or columnists) are different from reporters. You’ll notice Shepherd Smith and Chris Wallace weren’t there. OTOH, CNN is 100% partisan Democrat as far as I can tell. No one is fooled by CNN hosts not appearing on stage at rallies. We’re no longer in the days of Scotty Reston and Walter Lippmann, opinion-mongers who tried to maintain an aura of objectivity.

    1. You certainly want your cake and eat it too, Curri. You excuse Fox’s “opinion hosts” for being totally biased, yet lop all CNN reporter in the same group saying they’re 100% partisan, neglecting that most of their evening hosts – Anderson Cooper, Don Lemon, Jack Trapper, Chris Cuomo,etc. are likewise ” news analysis hosts.

  13. 90% negative coverage about the President and your whining about Hannity and Pirro, give me a break.

    1. GZ, that should be the point. But if one leans far enough left the mid point is skewed in a leftward direction.

  14. US politics is a sham. This is an oligarchy where the politicians are purchased, both sides, by the uber wealthy and special interests. There are a few who are funded only through individual donations of moderate amounts; but for the most part a politician is supported by special interest and/or the mega wealthy and beholding to that. It only follows that a politician, in this dysfunctional system with two polar opposite choices (one more than a dictatorship) each should have their own media, designed to further their agendas. How much does Bezos give to the Democrats and how much does Fox News give to Republicans?

    What is unique about Trump and a few of his Republican minions is that Trump yells louder than anyone about fake news when almost everything he says is fake. This is a typical device used by megalomaniacs, accuse the accuser of your own crimes.

    Never before in the history of US politics has there been a stronger reason than Trump to change the system to invite candidates of better moral fiber. This system gave us Trump. Trump is pure scum.

    1. Isaac says: “This is a typical device used by megalomaniacs, accuse the accuser of your own crimes.”

      So then you’ve listened to Barack Obama’s recent campaign rally speeches? The man lies through his teeth.

      Obama accuses “them” (Trump and those evil Republicans) of doing the very things he did (ex: children in “cages” began under the Obama admin, he blatantly lied about his “healthcare” plan that wasn’t affordable at all, lied about Benghazi video, lied about IRS targeting, lied about Iran deal, went ahead and granted citizenship/DACA with stroke of his pen, spied on journalists, lied about spying on Trump campaign, lied about who actually “colluded” w Russia to influence the election outcome, etc, etc) All of this is what O’s corrupt admin actually did, but he’s out there shamelessly lying and pointing fingers?? Give me a break.

      Here’s the truth: Never before in the history of politics has there been a Republican president more effective than Trump at fighting back and exposing the Democrats and their corrupt media allies.

      The “system” didn’t give us Trump; Obama did. Thanks Obama!

      Vote Republican today!

    2. I inform you that Bezos OWNS the Washington Post.

      He like other silicon value robber barons, favors unlimited migration, so he can have more people here buying his junk off amazon, programming, and working for cheap in his warehouses

  15. Anyone looking for objective news reporting wouldn’t watch Hannity. That isn’t to say what he broadcasts isn’t the truth, it merely means one would be surprised to hear him say something critical of President Trump.

  16. “Sean Hannity and Jeanine Pirro. Both are known to be close confidants of Trump, but they also work for a news organization that is covering Trump and this election. ”

    I think Professor Turley confuses opinion with the news. The news is a factual account of what has happened. Opinion is supposed to be on the opinion page where newspapers have always taken sides. The problem is not with the opinion section rather with the news section that MSM has turned into almost pure opinion with its ommission of fact and commission of intentional error to favor the left. Hannity and Pirro are opinion shows and do not pretend to be non-partisan news.

    There are shows on Fox that are news shows and their news is relatively clean until they enter the opinion sector of their shows. Shepard Smith on Fox News, who actually is one of the shows reporting news, is a Liberal.

  17. Hannity and Pirro are not “reporters” or “news people”. They are more like columnists. Moreover, they are more objective and their language is more acceptable than the news personalities at other major networks.

  18. Faux (not the) news is nothing but the fascist’s propaganda outlet. And how in hell could any news organization that is for real have anything but negative coverage for the fascist?

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