September 26, 2007
From Media Matters and;
David Brock,
President and CEO
Media Matters for America
Last Friday, while discussing his recent dinner with Rev. Al Sharpton at Sylvia's, a restaurant in Harlem, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly said that he "couldn't get over the fact that there was no difference between Sylvia's restaurant and any other restaurant in New York City. I mean, it was exactly the same, even though it's run by blacks, primarily black patronship." O'Reilly added: "There wasn't one person in Sylvia's who was screaming, 'M-Fer, I want more iced tea.' "
Have trouble believing that anyone with their own television and radio program -- even Bill O'Reilly -- could get away with saying something so ignorant and racially charged? You can hear it for yourself or read the complete transcript right here.
» Tell Fox to Stop the Racially Divisive Coverage -- Contact them TODAY!
It gets worse.
When Fox News was forced to respond to O'Reilly's comments, the network issued a statement reading: "This is nothing more than left-wing outlets stirring up false racism accusations for ratings. It's sad."
Fox News' statement ignores the larger problem that comments like O'Reilly's present for the network's integrity, instead launching into an attack of news organizations that do not dismiss public outcry over racially charged commentary outright. Their response to the uproar sounds more like the spin you'd hear from a political campaign in damage control mode, than what you'd expect from a legitimate news organization.
» Tell Fox to Stop the Racially Divisive Coverage -- Contact them TODAY!
In fact, Fox's response clearly demonstrates that the problem goes much deeper than just O'Reilly. As Media Matters for America has repeatedly documented, this kind of ignorant, racial commentary is commonplace on Fox News and is part of a long history of racially divisive reporting and commentary.
Commenting on the demonstrations in Jena, Louisiana, during the September 21 broadcast of his radio show, another Fox News Channel and Fox News Radio host, John Gibson, said: "[W]hat they're worried about is a mirage of 1950s-style American segregation, racism from the South. They wanna fight the white devil. ... [T]here's no -- can't go fight the black devil. Black devils stalking their streets every night gunning down their own people -- can't go fight that. That would be snitchin'." (Full transcript here)
These recent comments by O'Reilly and Gibson are just the tip of the iceberg. Over the past three years, Media Matters has documented a clear pattern of racially divisive reporting and commentary by Fox News Radio and Fox News Channel hosts and guests. I've included many of those examples at the end of this email -- I hope you'll review them to see just how troubling this issue truly is.
» Tell Fox to Stop the Racially Divisive Coverage -- Contact them TODAY!
Fox needs to hear from you. Please contact the network today and let their hosts and reporters know that this type of commentary has no place on a legitimate cable news network -- it's time for them to clean up their act.
Source link: Bill O'Reilly's Ignorant, Radically Charged Comments
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