Fox News Chairman Lachlan Murdoch Dismisses Criticism the Network Is ‘State TV’
21st Century Fox executive chairman Lachlan Murdoch today addressed the criticisms that Fox News is “state TV.”
The way Fox News covers President Trump in general, combined with the fact that the President frequently watches Fox & Friends and its other programs, has given way to Fox critics deriding the network as essentially state television — particularly in how it downplays bad news for the White House.
Murdoch appeared at Business Insider’s IGNITION conference today, and per The Hollywood Reporter, he took issue with that characterization.
“I don’t think that’s true,” Murdoch argued, pointing to Shep Smith as an example of someone at Fox who isn’t “behind the president.”
He continued:
When asked whether Fox News is “fair and balanced,” Murdoch pointed to The New York Times as an example of another organization that has a clear separation between an impartial news department and a partial editorial department. “Is The New York Times fair and balanced?” he asked.
He said that Fox News helps fill a gap in the center-right market, and that remains the company’s strategy.
“I don’t think that any media organization,” Murdoch said, “should be behind an individual.”
In the past week, Trump has taken to Twitter twice to praise Fox News, which led to Steve Schmidt saying, “He all but declared Fox News to be American state TV.”
.@FoxNews is MUCH more important in the United States than CNN, but outside of the U.S., CNN International is still a major source of (Fake) news, and they represent our Nation to the WORLD very poorly. The outside world does not see the truth from them!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 25, 2017
We should have a contest as to which of the Networks, plus CNN and not including Fox, is the most dishonest, corrupt and/or distorted in its political coverage of your favorite President (me). They are all bad. Winner to receive the FAKE NEWS TROPHY!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 27, 2017
[image via screengrab]
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