Hunted down, this Fox bites back
USNews.com 6/10/05
Let the media war begin. What started with a Newsweek column imagining the Watergate scandal today has turned into a delicious fight. Last week Jonathan Alter's column took a dig at the Fox News Channel, suggesting that Fox boss Roger Ailes would have banned the word "Watergate" on air, choosing instead the pro-Nixon "Assault on the Presidency." Funny stuff to lefties. But not to the folks at Fox, who saw nothing but sour grapes: Alter, it seems, had once sought a job from Ailes, but ended up working for rival MSNBC.
After we told Alter of the Fox reaction, Alter went on Arianna Huffington's blog, lashing out at "the bullies at Fox." and taking another shot at Ailes. "Mr. Dish It Out apparently
can't take it," Alter wrote. He also claimed that Ailes, when writing op-ed articless about Republicans, routinely fails to note that he once worked for President Nixon.
That was enough for Fox. It turns out that Ailes had wanted to keep the argument private, writing a confidential retort to Alter on June 7. It was only after Alter started blogging that the Fox people decided to air the conflict, releasing Ailes's letter to Whispers. "I was was disappointed by your recent cheap shot about me in Newsweek," Ailes wrote to Alter. "In nine years of the Fox News Channel, I've never banned any word, phrase, or story," he said. Yes, Ailes said, he did work for Nixon, but it was "for about five months as a tv producer. I had no editorial control. I was 28 years old."
Then came the twist of the knife: Apparently referring to media scandals like Newsweek's retracted story of U.S. troops abusing a Koran, Ailes wrote, "The Fox News Channel didn't report something that just got people killed, nor have we fired our executive editor, our top producers, our anchors, and we don't have a former attorney general investigating our journalism." Ouch. And of Alter, Ailes wrote, "You've done some good work in your career. I wish you'd get back to that."
The Fox Letter
June 7, 2005
Jonathan Alter
Newsweek
251 W. 57th St.
New York, NY 10019
Dear Jonathan,
I was disappointed by your recent cheap shot about me in Newsweek. First, you didn't disclose that you have been paid by MSNBC, our competitor. Second, you have no basis in fact for what you said. In nine years of the Fox News Channel, I've never banned any word, phrase or story, and in fact have often said the inclusion of everybody's point of view is necessary to avoid bias. I did work for Richard Nixon's campaign over 37 years ago for about five months as a TV producer. I had no editorial control. I was 28 years old.
You've done some good work in your career. I wish you'd get back to that. The Fox News Channel didn't report something that just got people killed nor have we fired our executive editor, our top producers, our anchors and we don't have a former attorney general investigating our journalism. I thought you were a better man and a better journalist.
Roger Ailes
Chairman & CEO
FOX News Channel |
