Fox, Watergate and Intimidation Journalism
06.09.2005Jonathan Alter
I got a little insight today into how the bullies at Fox News play the game. In this week's Newsweek, I wrote a column under the headline "If Watergate Happened Now." The satirical conceit was that I was writing a column looking back at the successful completion of Nixon's second term. In a light vein, I sideswiped lots of people in today's media culture by way of explaining why the scandal never came out and Nixon survived in office. At one point, I wrote: "Those of us who hoped it would end differently knew we were in trouble when former Nixon media adviser Roger Ailes banned the word 'Watergate' from Fox's coverage and went with the logo 'Assault on the Presidency' instead."
Well, it turns out Mr.-Dish-It-Out apparently can't take it. Today I heard that his stooges were out peddling a story to the press that I was guilty of a conflict-of-interest and should have disclosed in my column that I twice unsuccessfully sought employment at Fox News and now do part-time work under contract to NBC News and MSNBC.
The facts: Five years ago, I once had a conversation with Ailes in his office about going to Fox but I never pursued it after it was clear he just wanted me on his air as a liberal punching bag. When I told him I was a centrist on many issues and didn't care to be announced as a liberal every time I appeared (his terms of employment), our discussions ended.
As it happens, I also bashed MSNBC in this week's Watergate column ("When 'Firebombing Brookings: Good Idea or Not?' became the question-of-the-day on MSNBC, Liddy's radio show got a nice ratings boost."). MSNBC apparently has a thicker skin than Fox.
Many of the people at Fox are fine journalists and executives. But whomever was assigned to spread the "dirt" on me must have noticed that, while disclaimers are often appropriate (And I've disclosed my relationship with MSNBC on many occasions), in the middle of a satirical piece it would have been unnecessary and ridiculous. They were just trying to shiv someone who had the temerity to make fun of their boss.
Speaking of disclosure, I don't recall Ailes disclosing that he worked for Nixon, Reagan and other GOP candidates when he writes an op-ed piece or goes on TV. He somehow never gets around to mentioning that while President of Fox News, he wrote a letter to President Bush offering his advice on how to handle 9/11.
There's a lesson here. Ailes is a very talented TV producer (and, by all accounts, an unusually good boss) who has brought his bare knuckles political skills to the media world. When he's attacked, he hits back harder, whatever the facts. His m.o. is distraction. He either unloads a barbed soundbite or hides behind his munchkins and assumes his anonymously-sourced counterattack will just fuzz up the issue and make people focus on something other than the fraudulence of his claim to being "fair and balanced." He assumes his adversaries are patsies who will be easily cowed into silence. This time, he assumed wrong. |
