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White House’s Anita Dunn Shreds Fox News Again, Fox Responds

by Tommy Christopher | 4:36 pm, November 14th, 2009

» 12 comments

Obama's Team Outgoing White House Communications Director Anita Dunn made a parting strafing run at Fox News on Friday, calling the network out for airing misleading crowd footage, jumping the gun on an announcement of a Presidential interview and letting its opinion tail wag the news dog. In doing so, she heavily name-checked her should-be successor, The Daily Show‘s Jon Stewart.

Fox News’ spokespeople responded swiftly, passively and aggressively.

Here’s a sampling of Dunn’s remarks (via HuffPo):

“A fun fact from this week is that an opinion show on a certain news network was using edited footage to make it appear that a rally last week, and political opposition to the president, was much larger than it appeared,” said Dunn, during her appearance at the Bloomberg News Washington Summit. “Some of you may have heard about it. The people who went in and did fact checking on that, and actually exposed the spliced edited was… Jon Stewart of the ‘Daily Show’ on Comedy Central. Well that is where you are getting fact-checking and investigative journalism these days folks. It is a different media environment.”

She rewound a little bit to talk about the bleed-through of Fox’s opinion programs to their news desk:

…”Jon Stewart actually did one of the most amazing pieces of journalism last week or a couple of weeks ago,” she said, “in which he looked at the way Fox, on their opinion shows, raises some issue that then gets reported on by their news division as ‘a controversy.’ … Now, that’s a point of view. That’s fine. That’s entertainment. It helps their ratings. But I think if you go downstairs and walk through the Newseum that’s not traditionally what you think of as traditional news — to some extent inventing the story.”

On reports leaked to Drudge, and confirmed by Fox News, that Major Garrett had scored an interview with the President on his current Asia trip:

“We have on past foreign trips done what are called round-robins where there are short interviews with all of the networks that travel with us,” she said. “We have not made a decision network on whether or not we are going to do those. There are no confirmed television interviews in china. And if, oh, some network sent out a press release announcing that was going to happen you’d have to ask about that network and whether or not they really had their facts confirmed before they leaked that.”

Fox News responded by wishing Dunn well. Again.

“We wish her well in her new position where we’re sure she’ll continue providing brilliant strategic vision,” a Fox News spokesperson told the Huffington Post in response to Dunn’s parting shots against the network.

Fox’s laudatory view of Dunn’s strategy may have been sarcastic, but as our own Colby Hall pointed out, that strategy did accomplish a very important mission. Furthermore, although the White House took heavy criticism while the feud raged on, since the ostensible truce, Fox has been reinforcing the White House’s view. In addition to the Hannity incident, Fox’s response to Dunn points up a more recent example. Of the reported Presidential interview, Fox News issued a strangely damning correction:

“Once again, Anita has her facts wrong,” the spokesperson said. “Fox News never issued a press release.”

Anita was only half-wrong. While she did reference a press release, she also characterized the story as a leak. By denying issuing a press release, Fox appeared to be copping to the leak. And if Fox New was in fact behind the leak — did their zeal to juxtapose Dunn’s exit — with news of a “major” get — prove the White House’s point?

Jim R

Man I’m going to miss her!

Finally someone who wasn’t afraid to say what everyone already knew about Fox News – of course she had to go!

After watching Jon Stewart’s response to Sean Hannity’s “apology” and the hilarious compilation of scary anti-Obama screeds that typifies Hannity’s and all of Fox’s slanted coverage, it’s clear the WH will have to remain strong in finally exposing them as the Republican House Organ they are.

Good luck, Anita!
http://www.facebook.com/people/Bill-Adkins/1585417987 Bill Adkins

Fox Not News Channel – news source for those who can’t or won’t think for themselves.
TfT

Thank heavens for FNC. I so laugh at Beck’s farewell each evening – “Good night Mrs. Dunn where ever you are”! LOL
Magister

It’s somewhat comforting to know that Fox still wishes people well.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Patrick-Admave/1160784682 Patrick Admave

Right.. Dunn ‘shreds’ Fox News.. HA! Talking about Dunn and half-truths? HA!

Though, I too hope Dunn keeps ‘providing brilliant strategic vision.’ HA! Don’t let the door hit you on the way out to your other office.
sarainitaly

Are these people still in third grade?
Fidoohki

I think they think so…
Kevin

Apparently, the liberals “feel this thrill going up their leg” when Dunn speaks. I don’t understand this obsession with Fox except it apparently is the only news organization who says anything negative about Obama. If you lean right, watch Hannity & Beck. If you lean left, watch Maddow & Obermann. What’s so difficult about that?
pyrope

No matter how you cut it, ANYONE who claims Mao Tse Tung as one of their heroes–a man who MURDERED 25 million of his own people–should NEVER be allowed to even *see* the White House–much less work inside it. Anita Dunn is one of many threads in the fabric of the 0bama regime, and I believe more people are learning every day that his “hopey-changey” thing is nothing like what they had in mind. (All except the parasites that feed on the achievements of others.) As for FOX News–the only news channel that is NOT in the tank for 0bama–is concerned, the reason their ratings are so high is because people KNOW they will never get the truth from Keith Overbite, the NY Slimes, the Boston Glob, PMSNBC, and myriad other left-wing moon bat organizations. Finally, we still see that Ms. Dunn has yet to call Glenn Beck’s red phone. Why? She, like every other liberal idiot, only make noise when they’re sure they’ll never be brought to task on their slander.
robertbyrd

Dunn is a pathetic liar. After she got caught praising Mao, she blamed a dead guy, Lee Atwater, for the quote. So Dunn is admitting to be a liar and still has credibility on the left, no surprise. What did she learn from atwater, that mao was a great man and should be an inspiration to all ? What did dunn mean when she blamed Atwater ? I doubt Atwater held the murdering mao in high regard. Dunn Promotes Jon Stewart because Stewart would not show clips of Obama’s people praising commies.
ImNotBlue

Jim R says:
November 14, 2009 at 7:18 pm

Man I’m going to miss her!
Finally someone who wasn’t afraid to say what everyone already knew about Fox News – of course she had to go!

Why would you want someone -a spokesperson- to say what “everyone already knew?” Isn’t that the sign of a bad spokesperson… one who tells you want you know, or what you want to hear? I guess if all you want to hear is stuff you already agree with, she was great… as for truth, openness, or “change,” not so much.
Sunnyr

Is this poor Boob still hanging out in front of the White House, searching desperately for a camera and Mic? lmao!