The White House continues attack on Fox News

October 20, 2:51 PMJacksonville Republican ExaminerPatrick McMahon

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The confrontation between Fox News and the White House continues into this week, as White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs continued the assault on the news outlet. Today during a briefing, ABC News correspondent Jake Tapper questioned Gibbs about the White House’s assertion that Fox News is not a news outlet and other media outlets should essentially shun them. Here is the exchange:

Tapper: It’s escaped none of our notice that the White House has decided in the last few weeks to declare one of our sister organizations “not a news organization” and to tell the rest of us not to treat them like a news organization. Can you explain why it’s appropriate for the White House to decide that a news organization is not one –

Gibbs: Jake, we render, we render an opinion based on some of their coverage and the fairness that, the fairness of that coverage.

Tapper: But that’s a pretty sweeping declaration that they are “not a news organization.” How are they any different from, say –

Gibbs: ABC -

Tapper: ABC. MSNBC. Univision. I mean how are they any different?

Gibbs: You and I should watch sometime around 9 o’clock tonight. Or 5 o’clock this afternoon.

Tapper: I’m not talking about their opinion programming or issues you have with certain reports. I’m talking about saying thousands of individuals who work for a media organization, do not work for a “news organization” -- why is that appropriate for the White House to say?

Gibbs: That’s our opinion.

Now, it appears the Gibbs is asserting that Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity are the reason why the Obama Administration is blacklisting Fox. He apparently cannot distinguish the difference between opinion and news reporting. Everyone, Fox News included, admits that the primetime lineup is full of conservative stars, but what is wrong with that? Anyone who watches those shows should be able to determine that it is opinion and commentary.

The White House needs to give up their battle against Fox. One, it is beneath the executive branch to conduct a war against a news network. Can anyone say David vs. Goliath? Fox News has the largest audience that tunes in out of the other networks and to alienate millions of Americans is just wrong. It should be worth noting that this is a dangerous precedent to set, especially in the modern news age we live in. When a Republican comes into the White House, are they going to blacklist the New York Times and MSNBC? No, because they are news outlets, albeit ones that are biased. If this is the case, President Obama should just keep Fox News at a distance, but to urge other outlets to repudiate them and to not provide officials for interviews reeks of pettiness. Hopefully, the White House will see the error of their ways and stop this pointless feud. In the end, they will lose. Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Greta van Sustren, and every other Fox News reporter, anchor, and commentator will get the last word on the subject seeing how they have the airtime to do so. To drag this out will only make the White House look bad and to further boost Fox News’ already astronomical ratings.