developing

On Thursday night, Fox News reported that the “Obama administration” had taken its “first concrete step” in treating Fox News Channel like it’s not a real news organization, excluding them from a press event. Through our own reporting, Mediaite has learned that Fox News’ report of this incident was, at best, incomplete and self-serving, and serves as a neat encapsulation of what Robert Gibbs told us the first time we asked him if the White House was “bullying” Fox News.

Jake Tapper took a lot of heat from the left yesterday for daring to ask whether the White House has the right to adjudicate the legitimacy of a news organization. The exchange was the latest in a growing feud between the White House and Fox News Channel. The White House has also begun to take flak over this, and not just from the right. I think both sides need to simmer down, now, and take a look at the whole picture.