Chris Wallace: Cable News (Even Fox) Put ‘Gasoline on the Fire’ in Ferguson

Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace recently gave a candid interview to The Hollywood Reporter. And while Wallace defended Fox from criticisms, he did acknowledge cable news (Fox included) didn’t exactly help alleviate the situation in Ferguson.

Wallace opens up a bit about his outlook on journalism and politics, and defends Fox News from criticisms it’s too conservative. He says, “We’re providing fair and balanced coverage, and part of that is because many of the other networks are tilted to the left, and we provide both sides of the story.”

As for Ferguson, Wallace stood by the network’s reporting on some details that was reported differently elsewhere. However, he did admit that some of the special coverage Fox News and other cable networks did may not have helped quell the unrest.

I will say this — and I was on vacation the main week of the riots — but I was troubled at the idea that all the cable networks, including my own, scheduled specials to cover the riots at night, before there were even riots those nights. In effect, it was putting gasoline on the fire and saying, “Come on out and do your worst, because we’ll be there.” That was a mistake.

Wallace did not comment much on how other Fox News hosts covered Ferguson, but completely stood by his own coverage.

You can read the full interview here.

[image via screengrab]

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

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