Report: ‘Truce’ reached in Fox News-White House war

By Daniel Tencer
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 -- 6:00 pm
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090408 obamaoreilly Report: Truce reached in Fox News White House warRepresentatives of the Obama White House and Fox News met Wednesday and agreed to a truce in the war of words the administration and the news network have engaged in in recent weeks, says a report at media Web site Fishbowl DC.

Blogger Matt Dornic reports:

A very reliable source tells FishbowlDC that Fox News SVP Michael Clemente met with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs this morning and reached what some are calling a "truce."

Clemente then met with the FNC Washington bureau and encouraged staff to remain "fair and balanced."

Writing at the TVNewser blog, blogger Kevin Allocca reported he had confirmed the report that the meeting took place.

Story continues below...

"No word whether the White House will backpedal on its pledge to keep Barack Obama from appearing on the News Corp. network until 2010," reports The Wrap.

The White House and Fox News have been engaged in a political war of words since last month, when the Fox broadcasting network failed to air President Obama's address to a joint session of Congress about health care.

In recent weeks, White House staffers have publicly accused Fox of being dishonest in its reporting. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said that Fox is "not really a news station," and communications director Anita Dunn called the network "an arm of the Republican Party."

That drew strong criticism from conservative circles, with some observers accusing the administration of drawing up a Nixon-style "enemies list."

This is reportedly not the first time that White House officials and Fox staffers have met during the course of the verbal war. Earlier this month, it was reported that Fox News President Roger Ailes met with senior White House adviser David Axelrod. As the New York Times noted, no details about that meeting have been made public.

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Story comments are below...
  • peterlawrence
    I guess they'll have to put Shep Smith on 24/7 so they can get somewhat close to fair and balanced... still far right but at least he admits it.
  • AdamTro
    All MSM is propaganda promoting the state's agenda of totally murdering this Republic. Wake up and realize they play these left-right games when the parties have basically merged into a single party.
  • I don't recall the White House staff meeting with all the liberal networks when we had a Republican in office. Gotta love the double-standards.
  • Mooftown
    Your smug light sarcasm is revolting. Do you think the Bush white house would ever have invited anyone to meet with them? Anyways you're a tool.
  • cameramandavid
    What Liberal networks do you speak of?? There's Center Left, Center and Fox Noise...

    Certainly no "Liberal" networks...
  • dennycrane
    Ever get someone on the ground that has been calling you names and get ready to beat the shit out of them and then they say they'll "never" do it again? You let them up and they call you the name again. That's what FAUX NEWS will do. Just kick their ass now, screw a skateboard on their ass . and push them down the hill.
  • DFW
    The Obama White House had better realize sooner rather than later that Fox, as an admitted arm of the Republican Party (R politicians have referred to it as "our" station), will never be anything remotely resembling "fair" or "balanced." The Republican Party has always considered themselves to have had a God-granted permanent lease on the White House since Nixon, and has considered all Democratic Presidents since Carter to have been illegal squatters, in need of removal by any means necessary--witness the Nixon campaign's need for a "Dirty Tricks Team," of which Fox "News" director Roger Ailes is, NOT coincidentally, a proud alumnus.

    If they are laying down their hand with the gun, it is only to reach for a knife to plunge into Obama's back when any "truce" is reached. A truce only lasts when both sides adhere to it. Expecting Fox to stop being a propaganda station, and start acting like a news station, is like expecting all fish to start being air breathers tomorrow.
  • bobjonez
    Gotta love the comment system here - do you guys (i.e. Raw Story) WANT participation or not? If you do, then quit deleting comments especially when they are on-topic and not inflammatory. My comment on this story got deleted as did several others.

    My point, as well as the person who commented before me, was that one should always take the international point of view into consideration. We are so often very closed minded here in the states and do not realize that companies like Fox know no borders. Murdoch operates all over the world. So, while Obama may get a thrashing in the media here he is held in quite high regard in the rest of the developed world. Obama's freeze-out of Fox News probably didn't apply much pressure domestically, but on the international front it was very likely starting to do some damage. Fox capitulated simply because they are beholden to the (formerly) all-mighty dollar.

    Always remember that our corporate pay-masters know no borders, and that whatever story is in the news in the US is but one side of a larger international story.
  • christoofar
    One wonders if anyone in the WH learned anything from how this went . Engaging Faux Knews in a public spat is the absolute BEST thing for the station.
    It just amazes me that not one of the highly paid advisers didn't see BLUNDERFAIL written all over this.
    Just.ignore.them.
  • jimbo92107
    A "truce" means that both sides will stop attacking each other. When will Rupert Murdoch stop unfairly attacking Democrats?

    Never.
  • thx1138a
    Corporate infighting is bad for business, and the business of America is business.

    Faux News is big biz, as is the WH, as are the Dems and Repubs. It's all one big happy corporatist con game. A truce was reached because the WH/Fox fixations on each other were drowning out the PR messages to their core customers -- who pay the bills and make them rich.

    The powers that be may snipe at each other now and again, especially when it's good for business, but only until their bottom lines are threatened. Truth and integrity have nothing to do with it. Pay no attention to those corporatists behind the illusory curtains of truth, freedom, and the American way.
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