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Joined: Feb 2001
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Regenerated 15000+ posts
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OP
Regenerated 15000+ posts
Joined: Feb 2001
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Announcing Our Newest Hire: A Current Fox News Channel EmployeeWhat follows is the inaugural column of a person we are calling The Fox Mole—a long-standing, current employee of Fox News Channel who will be providing Gawker with regular dispatches from inside the organization.- I always intended to keep my mouth shut. The plan was simple: get hired, keep my head down and my views to myself, work for a few months, build my resume, then eventually hop to a new job that didn't make me cringe every morning when I looked in the mirror.
That was years ago. My cringe muscles have turned into crow's feet. The ten resumes a month I was sending out dwindled into five, then two, then one, then zero. No one wants me. I'm blacklisted.
I work at Fox News Channel.
The final straw for me came last year. Oddly, it wasn't anything on TV that turned me rogue, though plenty of things on our air had pushed me in that direction over the years. But what finally broke me was a story on The Fox Nation. If you're not a frequenter of Fox Nation (and if you're reading Gawker, it's a pretty safe bet you're not) I can describe it for you — it's like an unholy mashup of the Drudge Report, the Huffington Post and a Klan meeting. Word around the office is that the site was actually the brainchild of Bill O'Reilly's chief stalker (and Gawker pal) Jesse Watters.
The Nation aggregates news stories, gives them provocative headlines, and invites commenters to weigh in. The comments are fascinating actually, if you can detach yourself enough to view them as sort of the id of the conservative movement. Of course, if you can't detach yourself, then you're going to come away with a diminished view of human decency, because HOLY MOLY THESE PEOPLE DO NOT LIKE THE BLACK PRESIDENT. I'm not saying they dislike him BECAUSE he's black, but a lot of the comments, unprompted, mention the fact that he is black, so what would you say, Dr. Freud?
The Fox Nation moderators, realizing that they had a problem on their hands, did the absolute bare minimum, hiring one or two college kids to comb the comments for the most egregiously racist postings, and putting in automatic text filters that blocked various key words. Of course the intrepid commenters quickly found ways around these filters using letter substitutions and spacings, which is why many comments complain about our "n@gger president" and the "M u s l i m in the White House."
So the site has become the seedy underbelly of the Fox News online empire. It's surprising that we even have an online empire, considering that our fan base is mostly septuagenarian technophobes.
The post that broke the camel's back might be familiar to some of you, because it garnered a lot of attention and (well-deserved) ridicule when it hit last August. The item was aggregating several news sources that were reporting innocuously on President Obama's 50th birthday party, which was attended by the usual mix of White House staffers, DC politicos and Dem-friendly celebs. The Fox Nation, naturally, chose to illustrate the story with a photo montage of Obama, Charles Barkley, Chris Rock, and Jay Z, and the headline "Obama's Hip Hop BBQ Didn't Create Jobs."
The post neatly summed up everything that had been troubling me about my employer: Non sequitur, ad hominem attacks on the president; gleeful race baiting; a willful disregard for facts; and so on. It came close on the heels of the Common controversy, which exhibited a lot of the same ugly traits. (See also: terrorist fist jabs; Fox & Friends madrassa accusations; etc.)
The worst thing about the Hip Hop BBQ incident is that we didn't back away from it. Bill Shine, who is a rather important guy—sort of Roger Ailes' main hatchet man, and the go-between for Ailes and most of the top talent—bafflingly doubled down and defended it. The story still exists on the Fox Nation site, headline and photo montage intact, to this very day.
That was it for me. It wasn't that the one incident was so bad, in and of itself. But it was so galvanizing, and on top of so many other little incidents, that I guess it just finally pushed me over the edge.
So here I am. And I come bearing gifts. The video above (SEE HERE FOR VIDEO/EMBEDDING DISABLED) is of Mitt Romney and Sean Hannity bantering before the taping of an interview for the "Hannity Vegas Forum" in February. Of note: Romney professes his and his wife Ann's well-known love of horseriding, praising the qualities of the "Austrian Warmbloods" that his wife rides—the are "dressage" horses, he notes—while maintaining his own preference for the "smoother gait" of his own "Missouri foxtrotter."
Now there's nothing wrong with Mitt and his wife loving horseback riding. But remember this video next time Romney attacks Obama for golfing. The inherent elitism and snootiness of golf is NOTHING compared to competitive horseback riding. And I think Mitt loses points with the GOP base for his correct pronunciation of dressage. To GOP-voter ears it sounds not only gay, but even worse, French.
Elsewhere in the video you will see the two men discussing the possibility that this very footage may one day be leaked, as they warn one another against primping too carefully. "You don't want to have John Edwards moment," Hannity says. "Did you see that?" Romney replies: "Oh, yeah I saw that. It's one thing to do it for a second. It's another thing to do it for an hour." (And it's quite another for Newt Gingrich's wife to groom him like a circus walrus.)
Later, Hannity's producers ask him to change his necktie mid-interview. Here's a little TV trick for you: The show was splitting the Q-and-A over two nights, and they wanted to make the second night look like a fresh, new encounter rather than a rehash from last night. So they made sure to change Hannity's tie lest eagle-eyed viewers spot the repeat. Romney, to his credit, refuses to play along. Offered a pink tie, he says, "I'm not going all Donald Trump today." That day, Trump had announced his endorsement of Romney. In the portion of the interview that was broadcast, Romney said he was grateful for Trump's support, and that "he is a man who'se created a lot of jobs, and he shares my concern about China."
"So why not just leave Fox News?" you might ask. Good question! I've asked myself that same thing many times. And I am leaving. Sooner rather than later, I'm guessing. But I can't just leave quietly, can I? Where's the fun in that? So I'm John McClane-ing this shit. I'm inside the building, crawling through the air vents, gathering intel, and passing it along to Carl Winslow.
(Note: Please don't misunderstand, and take my Die Hard metaphor as a threat of violence. Like most left-wingers I abhor actual violence, but am still hopelessly enthralled by the Hollywood machine that glorifies it. Also, that was a 20th Century Fox movie. Synergy!)
Watch this space for future dispatches from the Fox Mole.
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Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 46,308
Who will I break next? 15000+ posts
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Who will I break next? 15000+ posts
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 46,308 |
Liberal website doesn't like conservative website.
Rinse and repeat.
November 6th, 2012: Americas new Independence Day.
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Joined: Mar 2004
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Son of Anarchist 15000+ posts
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Son of Anarchist 15000+ posts
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Joined: Mar 2004
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Son of Anarchist 15000+ posts
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Son of Anarchist 15000+ posts
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 25,011 Likes: 31
brutally Kamphausened 15000+ posts
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brutally Kamphausened 15000+ posts
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 25,011 Likes: 31 |
Pro, you desperation to "prove" Fox News is... whatever you can portray negative, but in this case the allegation fronted is "racist"... is pathetic.
I'm a regular Fox News viewer, and I never heard of "Fox Nation". Apparently some independent website that's frequented by Fox News fans.
Portrayal of the President's "Hip Hop Barbeque" coverage is not racist, but a playful humorous mockery of the fact many trendy black entertainment celebrities were at the event. And if truly racist comments were made by viewers, then Fox Nation, Fox News, or Roger Ailes himself are no more responsible for viewer comments than Rob Kamhausen is here for comments by BalloonKnot or Rex.
Pro fails.
AGAIN.
- from Do Racists have lower IQ's...
Liberals who bemoan discrimination, intolerance, restraint of Constitutional freedoms, and promotion of hatred toward various abberant minorities, have absolutely no problem with discriminating against, being intolerant of, restricting Constitutional freedoms of, and directing hate-filled scapegoat rhetoric against conservatives.
EXACTLY what they accuse Republicans/conservatives of doing, is EXACTLY what liberals/Democrats do themselves, to those who oppose their beliefs.
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 33,385 Likes: 1
Regenerated 15000+ posts
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Regenerated 15000+ posts
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 33,385 Likes: 1 |
Pro, you desperation to "prove" Fox News is... whatever you can portray negative, but in this case the allegation fronted is "racist"... is pathetic. All I did was post an article, buddy. An article of facts. Don't shoot the messenger.  What is it about this corporate channel, owned by an Aussie, that you champion and defend so.....personally? You don't see me running to defend MSNBC's Leftwing bias, or CNN's pathetic attempts at journalism? Why can't you see how bad Fox News is for you?  I'm a regular Fox News viewer, and I never heard of "Fox Nation". You've never heard of it, so it doesn't exist? http://nation.foxnews.com/Portrayal of the President's "Hip Hop Barbeque" coverage is not racist, but a playful humorous mockery That's an opinion, not a fact. To you, a white guy with questionable racial prejudices, it's a "humorous mockery" (as you puff on a tobacco pipe in your library, sipping brandy, chortling with condescending revelry). To the African-American community, it's simply another example in an endless parade of backhanded racism from a channel that specializes in hate speech and cultural division. And if truly racist comments were made by viewers, then Fox Nation, Fox News, or Roger Ailes himself are no more responsible for viewer comments than Rob Kamhausen is here for comments by BalloonKnot or Rex. They are absolutely responsible, as they promote that type of backroom discrimination and race-baiting. Stop looking for the swastika to assure yourself of racism. Hate comes in many forms, and is not always overt or obvious. You know that, man. You just suckle at the teat of FAUXNews' propaganda. It thrills you to have "an enemy", and they feed that flame in people of your ilk. I post facts. You post opinions. This hasn't changed... 
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Joined: Sep 2001
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brutally Kamphausened 15000+ posts
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brutally Kamphausened 15000+ posts
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 25,011 Likes: 31 |
Pro, you desperation to "prove" Fox News is... whatever you can portray negative, but in this case the allegation fronted is "racist"... is pathetic. All I did was post an article, buddy. An article of facts. Don't shoot the messenger. That isn't an "article". It's written by an anonymous guy who identifies himself as a liberal-partisan who hates Fox News, and is stabbing his employer in the back with whatever subjective observations he can, while he works there. What is it about this corporate channel, owned by an Aussie, that you champion and defend so.....personally? You don't see me running to defend MSNBC's Leftwing bias, or CNN's pathetic attempts at journalism? Why can't you see how bad Fox News is for you? As I've said repeatedly, my news of choice since 1981 was the PBS news hour. In late 2008, I became disappointed with the selective ommisions they made to election coverage, in blatant favoritism of Obama. I have no allegiance to Fox news. I just get annoyed that they are unfairly maligned by yourself and others, when I see them, in my comparisons of the various networks, to actually give the most balanced coverage, despite slanders to the contrary. I've never seen any news organization take the kind of verbal abuse Fox News has. And always from far-left front groups, and dishonest fronting far-left individuals like yourself. I've previously cited well-known media watchdog groups, such as the Center For Journalistic Excellence, who cite Fox's 2008 election coverage as, in fact the most truly balanced. I'm a regular Fox News viewer, and I never heard of "Fox Nation". You've never heard of it, so it doesn't exist? http://nation.foxnews.com/Blather on your part. So what? They post recent stories, and viewers post unprofessional opinion comments. Again, that's no different than Youtube or Rob Kamphausen's boards, and is not a reflection of the actual Fox News channel. Portrayal of the President's "Hip Hop Barbeque" coverage is not racist, but a playful humorous mockery That's an opinion, not a fact. To you, a white guy with questionable racial prejudices, it's a "humorous mockery" (as you puff on a tobacco pipe in your library, sipping brandy, chortling with condescending revelry). To the African-American community, it's simply another example in an endless parade of backhanded racism from a channel that specializes in hate speech and cultural division. Ignoring your stereotypes and baseless insinuations about me, what is the event in question? It's an allegedly "racist" article titled "The President's hip hop Barbeque", at which the president invited a bunch of black Hollywood hip hop entertainers and did, in fact, have a barbecue. What exactly is is racist or innaccurate about that? Again, you make something out of nothing, so that out of thin air you can call people who disagree with you politically "racist". By the way I neither smoke a pipe, sip brandy, or chortle. And if truly racist comments were made by viewers, then Fox Nation, Fox News, or Roger Ailes himself are no more responsible for viewer comments than Rob Kamphausen is here for comments by BalloonKnot or Rex. They are absolutely responsible, as they promote that type of backroom discrimination and race-baiting. I think Rob, or any attorney, would disagree with you. Stop looking for the swastika to assure yourself of racism. Hate comes in many forms, and is not always overt or obvious. You know that, man. You just suckle at the teat of FAUXNews' propaganda. It thrills you to have "an enemy", and they feed that flame in people of your ilk.
Hate in this case comes in the form of your vicious personal insults. And fabricated characterization of someone (me) you've never met. Only one of us here is stereotyping and making vicious assumptions. It's the manipulative hate-consumed jerk you look at every morning in the mirror. I post facts. You post opinions. This hasn't changed... As I said, your "facts" are the vicious opinions of an anonymous worm like yourself, who likewise wants to smear people who simply disagree with his political opinions. Whereas the facts I posted are actual facts. Quoted from taped interviews of Obama himself, his cabinet members, and well researched and extensively sourced works like Obamanomics by Tim Carney, The Roots Of Obama's Rage by Dinesh D'Souza, Suicide of A Superpower by Pat Buchanan, Why The Left Hates America, by Dan Flynn, Slander by Ann Coulter, and Culture Of Corruption by Michelle Malkin, to name just a few.
- from Do Racists have lower IQ's...
Liberals who bemoan discrimination, intolerance, restraint of Constitutional freedoms, and promotion of hatred toward various abberant minorities, have absolutely no problem with discriminating against, being intolerant of, restricting Constitutional freedoms of, and directing hate-filled scapegoat rhetoric against conservatives.
EXACTLY what they accuse Republicans/conservatives of doing, is EXACTLY what liberals/Democrats do themselves, to those who oppose their beliefs.
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terrible podcaster 15000+ posts
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terrible podcaster 15000+ posts
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so pro, how can you be sure this 'source' of yours can be trusted? I mean, they work for FOX NEWS, which if I recall correctly is grounds for your immediate dismissal of anything they have to say.
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Joined: Jun 2002
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Timelord. Drunkard. 15000+ posts
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Timelord. Drunkard. 15000+ posts
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whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet." Our Friendly Neighborhood Ray-man said: "no, the doctor's right. besides, he has seniority."
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Joined: Mar 2004
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Son of Anarchist 15000+ posts
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Son of Anarchist 15000+ posts
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Posts: 17,853 Likes: 3 |
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 33,385 Likes: 1
Regenerated 15000+ posts
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OP
Regenerated 15000+ posts
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 33,385 Likes: 1 |
so pro, how can you be sure this 'source' of yours can be trusted? I mean, they work for FOX NEWS, which if I recall correctly is grounds for your immediate dismissal of anything they have to say. First of all: "Hi! Where you been?" Second of all: I don't trust them. For all I know, it's someone just making shit up. I mean, besides the linked video he/she acquired. I posted an article, and David freaked out. If you don't believe it, don't believe it. Personally, I think it says more about those willing to have an open mind about objectivity and those who have already sworn allegiance to a corporate mouthpiece...
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 33,385 Likes: 1
Regenerated 15000+ posts
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OP
Regenerated 15000+ posts
Joined: Feb 2001
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Yes it is. I even cited the source and provided a link. Of course it's an article. It's written by a an anonymous guy who identifies himself as a liberal-partisan who hates Fox News, and is stabbing his employer in the back with whatever subjective observations he can, while he works there. And yet, it's all true. Whatcha going to do? Whine about it? Or face the reality staring you in the face from every angle? I have no allegiance to Fox news. I just get annoyed that they are unfairly maligned by yourself and others, when I see them, in my comparisons of the various networks, to actually give the most balanced coverage, despite slanders to the contrary. And, again, that's your opinion. Not a fact. The rest of the world will verify that. Look around, man. I've never seen any news organization take the kind of verbal abuse Fox News has. That's because no other channel promotes itself as "news" and "fair & balanced". Fox pretends to be something it's not, so it gets called on it's deception by honest people. That's just a fact, Dave. And honestly...why are you worried about a billionaire Aussie and his business? Don't think they can take a little abuse? For fuckssake, they take on the White House and are still on the air. I'm not sure who you think you are protecting here. Greta Van Sustern isn't coming to your house to give you thank-you-sex... And always from far-left front groups, and dishonest fronting far-left individuals like yourself. Labels, labels, labels. You must categorize, otherwise you cannot understand me. That seems to be a running trend with you. Blather on your part. So what. "Blather"? I posted a link to the actual site. I'm not sure what you're talking about here... They post recent stories, and viewers post unprofessional opinion comments. Again, that's no different than Youtube or Rob Kamphaausen's boards, and is not a reflection of the actual Fox News channel. Sure it is, since they're part of the "FOX Nation" propaganda that the channel promotes. As if to segregate those that do not swing hard-right as being in some OTHER nation, I guess. Same idea as Palin's ignorant "real America" comments. That's just divisive thinking. We all live in the same nation, man. And we're responsible for our own actions. Fox has a lot to answer for with the hate and division it's caused. Portrayal of the President's "Hip Hop Barbeque" coverage is not racist, but a playful humorous mockery That's an opinion, not a fact. To you, a white guy with questionable racial prejudices, it's a "humorous mockery" (as you puff on a tobacco pipe in your library, sipping brandy, chortling with condescending revelry). To the African-American community, it's simply another example in an endless parade of backhanded racism from a channel that specializes in hate speech and cultural division. Ignoring your stereotypes and baseless insinuations about me ....you're not white?  It's an allegedly "racist" article titled "The President's hip hop Barbeque", at which the president invited a bunch of black Hollywood hip hop entertainers and did, in fact, have a barbecue. What exactly is is racist or inaccurate about that? Where was "The President's Caucasian Cowboy Picnic" headlines with Bush? Why didn't they mention he was white and having other white people to the White House to "not create jobs"? Don't play dumb. If you cannot see the inherent backhanded racism in that article, then you're far more indoctrinated to your cause than I believe. And nothing I say will get through to you. Again, you make something out of nothing Birth certificate, teleprompters, preachers........do you REALLY want to talk about making "something out of nothing"? Kettle, your party brethren need to check the mirror. They're in for a shock. On many levels. By the way I neither smoke a pipe, sip brandy, or chortle. Yeah, neither do I. But, you didn't smile at that image? Lighten up, David.  And if truly racist comments were made by viewers, then Fox Nation, Fox News, or Roger Ailes himself are no more responsible for viewer comments than Rob Kamphausen is here for comments by BalloonKnot or Rex. They are absolutely responsible, as they promote that type of backroom discrimination and race-baiting. I think Rob, or any attorney, would disagree with you. Why would you bring Rob into this? RobKamphausen.com does not formerly associate itself with anything else. FOX Nation.com is part of the FOXNews Channel. There's no correlation to what you're talking about here. As for attorney's, that's the last type of people you need to put forth to me as "objective" and "honest". I've been around plenty of attorney's in my time, and G-Shill is a perfect example of a win-over-truth mentality they all carry. So, try again. Stop looking for the swastika to assure yourself of racism. Hate comes in many forms, and is not always overt or obvious. You know that, man. You just suckle at the teat of FAUXNews' propaganda. It thrills you to have "an enemy", and they feed that flame in people of your ilk.
Hat in this case comes in the form of your vicious personal insults. And fabricated characterization of someone (me) you've never met. Oh stop crying like a little girl, David. If I've never met you, then how can I be talking about you? I'm talking about your extremist persona you use on these boards. Are you saying that everything you've ever said to me is directed at me, the person, and not "Prometheus"? Obamanomics....The Roots Of Obama's Rage...Suicide of A Superpower by Pat Buchanan...Why The Left Hates America....Slander by Ann Coulter... Culture Of Corruption by Michelle Malkin .........are you serious? Can you read that list out loud and say to yourself, honestly, you think these are objective, factual, and written to inform truth? The three authors listed are ALL Extremist Rightwing nutjobs who fan the flames of hate every chance they get! You have GOT to be joking!! If you think that list of propaganda is supposed to sway me to your superior perception of the American politics and the world, you're faaar more gone than I suspected....
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