President Obama’s prime time press conference will air on one fewer channel this week.
Fox is “sticking with its regular schedule” on Wednesday night, The Associated Press reports, marking “the first time a broadcast network has refused Obama’s request” for airtime.
The press conference, scheduled for 8 p.m. Wednesday, will be Mr. Obama’s third of the year. It will mark his first 100 days in office. ABC, CBS and NBC, along with a multitude of cable networks, will carry the press conference live.
Maybe its time to look at the government issued licenses that Fox uses to air their programming over the public-owned airwaves.
Actually, since they’re airing it on Fox News and Fox Business Channel, I attribute this more to a financial decision than to a political decision, because every time the nets preempt their programming for one of these prime time press conferences, it costs them 10 million bucks in lost ad revenue.
Maybe its time to look at the government issued licenses that Fox uses to air their programming over the public-owned airwaves.
Aw, leave the America-hating, foreign-born media mogul alone.
“Maybe its time to look at the government issued licenses that Fox uses to air their programming over the public-owned airwaves.”
You guys cannot be taking that comment seriously. All kidding aside.
I’m curious where on FOX’s FCC license they’re required to broadcast routine pressers from anyone. I guess it’s always possible that the terms changed after the license was issued. That is all the rage with auto makers and financial institutions afterall.
So, Fox decides to air Obama’s “hey, I’ve been president 100 days!” conference on their news and business channels, while leaving their broadcast network’s programming untouched (news flash: presidential press conferences don’t have commercials) during sweeps week, and that’s some grand conspiracy worthy of threatening the network’s very existence? Sheesh, haven’t heard that kind of bullying since… well, since ABC wanted to air “The Path to 9/11.”
Just remember, it’s the CONSERVATIVES that are the fascists, the censors, the oppressors…
J.
FASCISM: When Republican controlled government handed trillions in taxpayer money to their corporate masters and used the power of government to help their corporate masters to evade the law, evade taxes, and evade any civic responsibility for the use of public resources.
That Jay Tea, a war criminal who has racist fantasies, doesn’t understand basic English or factual history isn’t particularly surprising, but it’s still disappointing.
Tea, you honestly think that if one of the big four television networks decided to not a press conference by (insert the name of any Republican president here), conservatives across the country wouldn’t be howling “Liberal media!” Liberal media!” at the top of their lungs?
“We don’t want to have too many black faces in a week. People might think we’re the new UPN”-Fox
should have been “air” after the word “not” in my last posting.
So, Fox decides to air Obama’s “hey, I’ve been president 100 days!” conference on their news and business channels, while leaving their broadcast network’s programming untouched (news flash: presidential press conferences don’t have commercials) during sweeps week, and that’s some grand conspiracy worthy of threatening the network’s very existence? Sheesh, haven’t heard that kind of bullying since… well, since ABC wanted to air “The Path to 9/11.”
Yep, the President giving a press conference is totally on the same level as a TV movie.
Yeah its a totally crazy idea that Fox should use the public airwaves we lease to them to broadcast a press conference by the leader of the free world.
One of the networks made grumbles a year or two ago about not showing one of Bush’s pressers or speeches and I was similarly disturbed. The tv networks do very little to uphold the generous terms of their broadcast licenses. The least they can do is broadcast important public policy statements from POTUS.
If they don’t, maybe they don’t need those licenses.
Doesn’t bother me at all. FOX is all about creating an ideological cocoon/fall-out bunker for Republican dead-enders/bed-wetters. Allowing Obama to be seen speaking, an articulate and charismatic guy who makes George W. Bush look like the moronic disaster that he was, simply mind-fucks the loony right these days. They can’t handle a popular, successful, Democratic and (god forbid) black president. They’d much rather stay in their moms’ basements and pretend 2008 never happened. Which is fine with me.
Sheesh, haven’t heard that kind of bullying since… well, since ABC wanted to air “The Path to 9/11.”
I swear to god, Jay Tea, you must have every right wing outrage/whine fest memorized forwards and backwards. That must be why you have no room left over to store any actual facts.
You’re like a talking point machine.
Tea, Democrats no more “bullied” ABC to not air”The Path to 9/11″ than Republicans “bullied” CBS to not air that miniseries about the Reagans.
Tea, you honestly think that if one of the big four television networks decided to not a press conference by (insert the name of any Republican president here), conservatives across the country wouldn’t be howling “Liberal media!” Liberal media!” at the top of their lungs?
Yeah, but we’re better than them, so we should just stfu and enjoy watching fox pigeonhole itself as the right wing hack network.
Jay Tea: “Sheesh, haven’t heard that kind of bullying since… “
Since Bill Maher lost his show on ABC because of right wing political manipulation?
Since Bill Donahue lost his show on MSNBC because of right wing political manipulation?
Since Republican Ari Fleischer made the explicit threat that American’s need to watch what they say?
Since Murdoch’s FOX fascist Glenn Beck started spouting insane, often violent rhetoric?
Since Murdoch’s FOX fascist Sean Hannity started making ‘enemies lists?’
Since Murdoch’s FOX fascist Bill O’Reilly started stalking American citizens?
I’ve got to come out on Murdoch’s side on this, only because when I was a kid I HATED it when my shows got preempted. Especially the Simpsons; I wanted to mail Clinton a xerox of my raised middle finger.
Pick the channel that has the worst prime time lineup (usually CBS, if memory serves), and grant it to them exclusively, like the Super Bowl. That way if people want to see it, they can see it, right?
If I want to watch the President speak, I have plenty of options. I honestly don’t care as long as it gets broadcast somewhere I can see it. If I want to. And I don’t think ESPN or Animal Planet ever broadcast a Presidential speech, so either they are partisan fools or they’re networks devoted to sports and animals and infomercials.
If the President wanted to do speeches at hours when all those damn Girls Gone Wild, Extenze, P90X, and other bullshit infomercials aired, then I’d be pissed if they networks didn’t pre-empt. But with the current financing of network shows making more and more reality garbage seem like a good idea, the dramas and comedies don’t need to be pre-empted any more than GM needs to revive the civilian Hummer H1.
It all boils down to this: instead of having about 25 channels to see Obama’s new video showing Air Force One overflying New York City, there will only be 24.
And I apologize for the “Road to 9/11″ comparison. In that case, it was actual members of Congress threatening broadcast licenses. Here, it’s just Oliver parroting the Media Masters party line.
J.
‘Just remember, it’s the CONSERVATIVES that are the fascists, the censors, the oppressors…’
Finally something to be agreed on.
The least they can do is broadcast important public policy statements from POTUS.
No one, not even POTUS, is claiming that Wednesday’s press conference includes “important public policy statements”. So you can stop with the feaux outrage.
The totalitarian impulses are strong with you. Why on earth would you want to threaten an economic entity that directly employs thousands of people, and indirectly acts as an economic engine by providing an audience for advertisers to sell their wares. All because what, they aren’t showing the proper respect for your hero? Are you angry because all ten people who still get TV from their antenna and can only pick up Fox won’t be able to watch? Clearly Oliver is no fan of the first amendment, since the obviously has no problems using the power of government to shut down a broadcast entity for not airing content he deems acceptable. It’s ironic then that he is no different from the Fundamentalist Christians that threaten to use government power to shut down broadcasters for content they find unacceptable.
Learn to spell “faux,” poser. Or should I say “poseur?”
Let’s be fair here. I remember Fox didn’t air W’s State of the Union and decided to air the premiere of Dark Angel instead,which got killer ratings). It’s not a Republican conspiracy issue. It’s a ‘nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public’ issue.
So the President’s press conference will be aired on CBS, NBC, MSNBC, C-Span, CNBC, Fox News, Fox Business Channel, PBS, ABC, the Internet, and probably a host of other stations, yet Fox not showing it on their network station is evidence of them attempting to ’sabotage’ the Presidency and worthy of yanking their license?
And while you may have been disturbed when NBC didn’t air a Bush press conference in 2008 (largely to promote MNSBC), I am certain you did not raise it to the level of NBC sabotaging the White House.
In addition, this is a press conference, not a speech. As I understand it, networks do clear space for Presidential speeches, but there’s no clear set of guidelines for press conferences.
Oh, stop it, all of you.
I have no problem with FOX’s descision. Maybe they’ll air some of their quality programming like Do Not Disturb, Temptation Island, Life on a Stick or Blind Date With Bill O’Reilly.
daniel rotter: Tea, you honestly think that if one of the big four television networks decided to not a press conference by (insert the name of any Republican president here), conservatives across the country wouldn’t be howling “Liberal media!” Liberal media!” at the top of their lungs?
So… your excuse for yelling “Right wing media! Right wing media!” is that they would do it if the situation were reversed?
In other words, IOKIYAD?
I do wish the supposed “party of reasonable people amd adults” would actually act like it and not demonstrate the childish behaviors they criticize about the other side.
Tea, Democrats no more “bullied” ABC to not air “The Path to 9/11″ than Republicans “bullied” CBS to not air that miniseries about the Reagans.
I’m curious. Do you see those actions as equally wrong or right?
.
OW: One of the networks made grumbles a year or two ago about not showing one of Bush’s pressers or speeches and I was similarly disturbed. The tv networks do very little to uphold the generous terms of their broadcast licenses. The least they can do is broadcast important public policy statements from POTUS.
Agreed. Regardless of which party the POTUS belongs to.
To avoid the whole “we don’t want to lose revenue” issue and any appearance of favoring on side there is a simple answer: Regularly scheduled (monthly?) addresses (or, better still, press conferences) from the Pres and the leader of the other party. It becomes part of the regular, expected, planned schedule so networks have no reason to bitch, and the public gets a more visible government.
there is a simple answer: Regularly scheduled addresses from the Pres and the leader of the other party
We’ve already got that: it’s called ‘State of the Union’.
Sean, if you don’t know what a “concern troll” is you should look it up.
The fact is there IS a “right wing media” dominance in television, in radio, and in print.*
The fact that the left isn’t screaming “Right wing media! Right wing media!” more often is because concern trolls like yourself, Sean, apparently think that right wing dominance is okay or are too full of themselves to recognize the right wing’s dominance of those mediums and so go out of their way to criticize those that point out the facts.**
GE/Disney/Viacom/TV have significant right wing tilts. That is a fact. Media analyses has shown over and over and over that the major TV networks overwhelmingly favor right wingers and right wing narratives.
Even while the right wing are given disproportionate air time on all the major networks, the right wing is still pushing the false ‘liberal media’ meme to continue to ‘work the refs.’
Still, the networks gets tarred with a ‘left wing’ label because concern trolls are all too willing to help out the right wing obscure the fact that the networks are huge right wing enablers.
So Sean, when you want to put words in someones mouth: “Right wing media! Right wing media!” at least don’t pretend that that isn’t something that is very, very real.
* on the internet there might be a small left wing advantage, but it is largely overstated and too often taken for granted.
** facts apparently really do have a ‘liberal’ bias.
We’ve already got that: it’s called ‘State of the Union’.
I love that you clipped out the word “monthly” from Sean’s post so you can make a not-witty quip. Pure awesome.
PD100 said:
GE/Disney/Viacom/TV have significant right wing tilts. That is a fact.
Yes and there are people who say:
“The moon landings were faked. That is a fact.”"
instead of having about 25 channels to see Obama’s new video showing Air Force One overflying New York City,
Still can’t be bothered with facts, Mr. Tea?
It was an Air Force operation, start to finish.
SaveFarris: We’ve already got that: it’s called ‘State of the Union’.
What I actually said was: Regularly scheduled (monthly?) addresses …
So I was obviously thinking of something more frequent (but am not at all surprised you missed the obvious or failed to read it correctly).
News Reference: <i.The fact that the left isn’t screaming “Right wing media! Right wing media!” more often is because concern trolls like yourself, Sean, apparently think that right wing dominance is okay or are too full of themselves to recognize the right wing’s dominance of those mediums and so go out of their way to criticize those that point out the facts.
Oh dear god. I am seriously going to have to find a way to charge a nickel for every time someone tells me they know what I’m thinking better than I do, or misrepresents what I said so they can make their own (supposed) point.
QiaB: Still can’t be bothered with facts, Mr. Tea?
What? Didn’t you know that the only fact there is is that Obama can do nothing right and is personally responsible for all that goes wrong?
Where have you been living? The real world?
Oh dear god. I am seriously going to have to find a way to charge a nickel for every time someone tells me they know what I’m thinking better than I do, or misrepresents what I said so they can make their own (supposed) point.
Indeed. Sign me up for that income stream.
Facts are stubborn things.
GE’s CNBC is nearly 24/7 right wing quackery. GE’s MSNBC had three hours of a Republican politician spouting fictions for years before they ‘balanced’ that with two hours of lefties telling truths (Maddow & Schultz, unless you include the centrist Olbermann*).
Before that MSNBC FIRED the popular and profitable lefty Phil Donahue. And on NBC, Meet the Press replaced Republican Cheney’s mouthpiece Tim Russert with right winger Karl Rove’s dance partner David Gregory.
Disney/ABC pushed the right wing 9/11 movie right before the election for political purposes. ABC’s This Week’s host Stephanopoulos still brings on right wing global climate change denier George Will despite his complete lack of credibility.
Viacom/CBS’s Face the Nation’s host Bob Schieffer has degenerated into such a right wing sycophant that it’s astonishing how few have called him out on it. And Katie Couric’s fluffer piece with Rush Limbaugh almost immediately after she got the Evening News anchor job was obscene.
Even PBS/NewsHour has a Republican insurance salesman as a host (Gwen Ifill) and often has two Republicans on to debate ‘both sides’ of issues.
If FACTS are liberal, then sure, occasionally each of those TV channels indulge in pushing facts. FACTS apparently offend delicate right wing sensibilities. To right wingers, when the news media reports facts, the right wing screams ‘liberal media’.
Nonetheless, media studies repeatedly show that the TV networks tilt to the right, the most recent example was the study that showed that the TV networks were bringing on two Republicans to every one Democratic leader during the stimulus debates.
And of course the FOX Republican Channel has no balance or sense of fairness and is currently indulging in the right wing lunatic fantasies of sociopaths.
That’s the major TV stations. How about radio? Nine channels out of ten are controlled by right wingers.
Print? Major periodicals like Time and Newsweek are both conservative centrist publications. Though they aren’t as extreme right wing as Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal, Moonie’s Wasington Times, or Zell’s Chicago Tribune and now the LATimes.
The New York Times? It was pushing Republican Cheney’s false intelligence through his puppet journalists. The NYT was even publishing Murdoch’s right wing extremist Bill Kristol for heaven’s sake.
* Olbermann does NOT push lefty policies, he could even be called a conservative law enforcement guy, it was Republican lawlessness that kept enraging him, though for the right wing lawlessness that currently grips the right wing, ‘law and order’ is now clearly a left wing trait.
Indeed. Sign me up for that income stream.
Perhaps we can securitize it and sell it off in tranches.
QIB: It was an Air Force operation, start to finish.
Wrong. The order came from the White House.
“Last week, I approved a mission over New York. I take responsibility for that decision,”
Dave, do you know what the word “approved” means?
Clearly not a Republican.
Dave, do you know what the word “approved” means?
I do. Can you comprehend that “White House Military Office Director” is not in fact part of the Air Force, negating your “Air Force operation, start to finish” statement?
>One of the networks made grumbles a year or two ago about not showing one of Bush’s pressers or speeches and I was similarly disturbed.
Curious – Oliver, do you have any evidence at all (such as a blog post) showing how “disturbed” you were about networks thinking of skipping Bush’s events? Maybe I’m wrong, but I think you are full of it. “My outrage runs in both directions!” claims from someone as reliably partisan as you just aren’t very credible.
Can you comprehend that “White House Military Office Director” is not in fact part of the Air Force, negating your “Air Force operation, start to finish” statement?
So if Mr. Caldera “approved” it, is it likely that he also “initiated” the request for the flight? If he didn’t, then who did? Why was his approval necessary? What, exactly, did he approve? The use of the aircraft? The flight path?
Stop me when you have the answer to any question other than “Can we try to blame this on Obama?”
Stop me when you have the answer to any question other than “Can we try to blame this on Obama?”
You can stop now.
We’ll see, Dave.
In other stories, it was characterized as a “department of defense” photo-op. Notice also the word “apparently” in this story.
I’m sticking with my interpretation until we know who requested the photo op.
I’m sticking with my interpretation until we know who requested the photo op.
Regardless of where the request originated (or what the purpose was), it was the White House that signed off on it. And it’s hard to argue with the fact that the White House exercised extremely poor judgment in approving the low flyby of a large commercial* aircraft over Manhattan. And that the FAA used equally bad judgment in requiring the whole thing to be kept secret from the public.
Note to White House staff: Even though a whole 8 years have passed since 9/11, there are a whole lot of New Yorkers who apparently still haven’t gotten over that whole aircraft-into-a-building thing.
* I know the VC-137’s are technically military aircraft, but they are based on the instantly recognizable 747 commercial jet.
I know the VC-137’s are technically military aircraft
That should be VC-25’s. VC-137’s are the old (i.e. 707) transports.
And it’s hard to argue with the fact that the White House exercised extremely poor judgment in approving the low flyby of a large commercial* aircraft over Manhattan.
But apparently quite easy to turn Mr. Caldera into “The White House.” Let’s watch and see what develops.
Fox won the 8-9 time slot last night.
Color me shocked.