Newsweek Editor on WH vs. FNC: “A Song That Has Not Worn Well”

by Steve Krakauer | 9:05 am, October 26th, 2009

» 4 comments

Fox News’ new big star Glenn Beck appeared on the cover of Time magazine last month, in a story about his and Fox News’ influence, and now FNC is getting a focus from Time‘s competitor.

Newsweek‘s editor Jon Meacham takes on the White House feud with Fox News, and provides a historical context to the battle.

Meacham has a different perspective on the feud than the dozens of others who have weighed in over the last couple weeks, but he comes to largely the same conclusion – this isn’t really working for the the White House:

The whole thing feels like the last war, or a song that has not worn well, or a guest who has overstayed his welcome. The White House–vs.–Fox News mini-saga belongs to an era that effectively ended last fall, when President Bush radically enlarged the role of the federal government in the economy and Obama won the presidency.

He does note that while FNC Chairman Roger Ailes “is a talented and influential man,” the description of FNC’s influence can go overboard. “If he and Fox News were as omnipotent as Democrats fear, John McCain and Sarah Palin would be in the White House,” writes Meacham.

The cover story by Anna Quindlen, which is sure to get a lot of reaction, is headlined: “Yes he can (but he sure hasn’t yet): A liberal’s survival guide.” It is through introducing this cover story that Meacham drives home his point about the feud:

Liberals should savor the moment, because the Ailes bashing may be about all they get. As Anna Quindlen notes in our cover this week, the left is frustrated with Obama, believing him too quick to compromise on progressive principles and too open to staying the course on George W. Bush’s policies, particularly on national security. A year after Obama stood in Grant Park, a figure of history, he has not brought about a liberal kingdom of God—or even a “public option.”

There is a sense of Fred Armisen‘s ‘Pres. Obama has accomplished nothing’ sketch on Saturday Night Live last month in this story. And when outlets like Newsweek take this point of view, the Obama administration is headed for another week of questions about effective policy.

> More: The Los Angeles Times has more on the feud, with this interesting quote from Brit Hume:

“We may be No. 1, but there is sort of an insurgent quality to Fox News,” said senior political analyst Brit Hume. “And that’s kind of our attitude: ‘Hoist a Jolly Roger, pull out our daggers and look for more throats to slit.’ This is tremendous fodder for us. My lord, we’ve been living on it.”

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Jim R

On Anna’s article she’s right on the money that Obama was not and is not as liberal as some supporters thought and as detractors continue to claim in their demonization scheme.

She’s also right about incremental progress being the rule on big issues in our country’s history, but in my opinion she overplays the divided government reason and underplays the special interests virtual ownership of our political leadership since the 1976 Buckely V Valeo decision that legalized bribery.

As to Mr. Meacham’s perpetual concern trolling for the left in concurring with the conventional wisdom that the WH shouldn’t take on Fox, his take is old school Broderite/Gergen capitulating mindset that have shown Democrats to be weak Republican-lite and unwilling to stand by their principles.

The new media mandates that untruths and smears be refuted vigorously and quickly (ask John Kerry) from here on out. Wishing for the old days when intelligence, class, and being right on the issues wins the day are long over.

I haven’t heard a word from the punditry anywhere that maybe, just maybe, some older middle class and retired people hearing for the first time that their beloved Fox News might not necessarily have their best interests at heart, and might being skewing the news to support rich corporate interests’; that maybe this will have a significant effect on the 2010 mid-terms. Just maybe.
CaptainAmerica

Obviously Newsweek (which is in bed with Keith Olbermann) forgets that the study of the election coverage showed that FNC gave Obama more positive coverage and less negative coverage than they gave McCain. So its really stupid to talk about their influence, or rather lack thereof, when they were giving Obama better coverage.
Pat Doherty

Is there a more insufferably pedantic member of the commentariat than Jon Meacham? Perhaps he could enlighten the philistines again about Obama’s “Burkean conservatism.”
straitshooter

Meacham knows he’s the captain of a sinking ship. They’ve pulled out all the stops with a series of clumsy juvenile covers this year (Telling Rush to shut up, Pulling the Plug on Granny, etc.), and yet they can’t buy controversy to save their jobs. He has two choices: Hire some conservatives and endure the wrath of the left or stick with the redesign and the hard-left approach and die a slow, expensive death. It’s classic supply and demand economics, Meacham. There’s too much of your product, and yes, you are chopped liver that’s been left out in the sun. There’s not enough prominent conservative journalism out there (Fox News and, um, well, hmmm …) so they are laughing all the way to the bank. Meacham, maybe you can scrub toilets at Newscorp after you get fired.