Daily Archives: March 19, 2012

March 19, 2012 · 8:20 PM

All Major News Outlets Cover Trayvon Martin Tragedy, Except Fox News

Honestly, there’s no surprise here when it comes to Fox News’ non-reporting on the Trayvon Martin case in Florida…

Think Progress

Since his tragic death on February 26, Trayvon Martin — an unarmed 17-year-old African-American shot by “neighborhood watch volunteer” George Zimmerman — has become national news. Martin, a good student with no criminal record, was killed by Zimmerman on his way home from the 7-11. Zimmerman was carrying a 9 millimeter handgun. Martin was carrying a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea. (If you are unfamiliar with the story, check out our primer on what everyone should know about Trayvon Martin.)

Martin has merited coverage by the New York Times, the Washington Post, and USA Today. The story has been covered by all three broadcast networks and extensively on cable. But there is one outlet that has barely mentioned Trayvon Martin — Fox News.

Here’s a breakdown of the coverage of Trayvon Martin on the three major cable networks from the day of his death through today at noon:

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· 10:42 AM

Harris-Perry Takes On Shooting Death Of Trayvon Martin

Rachel Maddow Blog

Melissa Harris-Perry did a segment over the weekend about the death of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida, a few weeks ago, and it’s well worth watching, especially if you want to get brought up to speed on this story. The controversy surrounding this shooting is starting to garner national attention, and for good reason.

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· 10:31 AM

Fox News Attacks Food Stamps: Food Benefits For The Poor Are “Inherently The Problem”

This is typical Fox News propaganda, hyperbole and bluster…

News Hounds

Yesterday’s Cashin’ In was another thinly veiled effort to make poor people look like welfare queens – and to make the Obama administration look like welfare-queen enablers. The vehicle this time was some government advertisements for food stamps. As a recent editorial in the Los Angeles Times noted, more than 1/3 of those eligible for SNAP (food stamps) benefits are not receiving them. Furthermore, the program was originally pushed for by the grocery industry because it bolstered household consumption and shored up the retail economy. But none of that information was provided by “objective” host Cheryl Casone. She announced, “The government is now marketing entitlements.”

Not surprisingly, regular panelist Tracy Byrnes hated it.  She got the first comment. “This is such an awful state of affairs,” she said. “We’ve seen almost a 46% increase in food stamp participation since President Obama has taken office. It is awful that we are promoting this notion of continual handouts. Why not promote, I don’t know, get out there, get a job and pay for it yourself. And let’s not forget, just ’cause you have food stamps, doesn’t mean you’re going to make good food choices. You can go out and buy candy, even birthday cakes with these things, too, you know.”

Regular Wayne Rogers sneered, “I looked it up on the internet, what food stamps are, and when I looked up SNAP – that’s this program, you know, for nutrition… and what you see is SNAP has to do with rescuing dogs and cats in Houston, Texas. It makes about as much sense. So, I’m not sure where all these catchy phrases come from and why they are promoting it… The most outrageous point is, they’re taking taxpayer money and spending it to advertise – spending it to advertise – a program where they’re giving away taxpayer money… That’s the government gone berserk.”

Continue here…

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· 12:10 AM

Shuster: ‘The Republican Party works for Fox News’

If things were the other way around with Fox News shilling for Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney would be complaining just like Santorum is doing now.

The Raw Story

Current TV correspondent David Shuster says that it should not be a surprise to Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum or anyone else that Fox News is “shilling” for former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.

Last week, Santorum complained to Fox News host Brian Kilmeade that the conservative news network was in the tank for Romney.

“He has Fox News shilling for him every day,” the former Pennsylvania senator explained. “No offense, Brian, but I see it.”

Shuster told CNN’s Howard Kurtz on Sunday that it only makes sense because “Mitt Romney is the Republican establishment candidate and… Fox News is the Republican establishment.”

“It used to be that Fox News worked for the Republican Party,” the Current TV correspondent observed. “Now the Republican Party works for Fox News.”

“Fox News is convinced that Mitt Romney has a better chance at beating Barack Obama than Rick Santorum or Newt Gingrich,” he added. “So, they decided, ‘Look, Mitt Romney is going to be the guy and we think he’s the one to make it the best competitive election.’ And I think, therefore, the coverage naturally becomes more pro-Mitt Romney.”

Daily Caller contributor Matt Lewis contended that there was “no conspiracy” because some of Romney’s toughest interviews had come from Fox News anchors Bret Baier and Megyn Kelly.

“Fox folks are predisposed to favor Mitt Romney because — I think David’s right — they tend to be establishment,” he explained. “It’s not a conspiracy.”

In an interview on Thursday, Romney dismissed the idea that Fox News was backing his campaign.

“I don’t think you are shilling for anyone to tell you the truth,” the candidate told Kilmeade.  “I think it’s, as you say, pretty fair and balanced,” Romney insisted. “The truth is you report it all and you give us a chance to respond. That’s all we can ask for.”

Watch this video from CNN’s Reliable Source, uploaded March 18, 2012.

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