Two Fox News Producers Resign Over Middle East Coverage

[babylonsister]

Coming up on Democracy Now.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/08/16/148232

Two weeks ago, two producers working for Fox News in Amman, Jordan resigned in protest of the network's coverage. In their resignation letter, Serene Sabbagh and Jomana Karadsheh wrote "We can no longer work with a news organization that claims to be fair and balanced when you are so far from that." We go to Amman to speak with producer Serene Sabbagh. As the ceasefire in Lebanon enters its third day, the Middle East crisis continues to be one of the top news stories in the US press. But the coverage of the conflict in the corporate media has come under criticism from some quarters.

Two weeks ago, two producers working for Fox News in Amman Jordan resigned in protest of the network's coverage. In their resignation letter, Serene Sabbagh and Jomana Karadsheh wrote "We can no longer work with a news organization that claims to be fair and balanced when you are so far from that." They went on to write "Not only are you an instrument of the Bush White House, and Israeli propaganda, you are war mongers with no sense of decency, nor professionalism."

One of the two authors of that letter joins us on the line from Amman, Jordan.

* Serene Sabbagh, freelance TV producer who has worked with CNN, ABC News, Al Jazeera and Fox News. She joins us on the line from Amman, Jordan.

[ConcernedCanuk]

1. Finally, the dam is breaking - the TRUTH is leaking out

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.
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The following documentary supports their views.



About Outfoxed

"Outfoxed" examines how media empires, led by Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, have been running a "race to the bottom" in television news. This film provides an in-depth look at Fox News and the dangers of ever-enlarging corporations taking control of the public's right to know.

The film explores Murdoch's burgeoning kingdom and the impact on society when a broad swath of media is controlled by one person.

Media experts, including Jeff Cohen (FAIR) Bob McChesney (Free Press), Chellie Pingree (Common Cause), Jeff Chester (Center for Digital Democracy) and David Brock (Media Matters) provide context and guidance for the story of Fox News and its effect on society.

This documentary also reveals the secrets of Former Fox news producers, reporters, bookers and writers who expose what it's like to work for Fox News. These former Fox employees talk about how they were forced to push a "right-wing" point of view or risk their jobs. Some have even chosen to remain anonymous in order to protect their current livelihoods. As one employee said "There's no sense of integrity as far as having a line that can't be crossed."

http://www.outfoxed.org/OutfoxedSummary.php


1 Watch the Trailer 2 Buy the DVD 3 Take Action <<links at above link

[CoffeeCat]

2. Unfortunately, the truth is out there....

...for the entire plane to see.

Everyone knows, including the mindless dolts who are slaves to Fox News--that Fox News is
anything but "fair and balanced."

I do think it's good news that insiders are stating the obvious.

However, the truth is out there. The problem is--too many people see it and ignore it.

People who watch Fox News are like boxed-in rats that repeatedly eat their own feces.

[Mr_Spock]

3. I wish this story got more coverage.

I think I will make sure to tell everyone I know about these people forced to resign from Pravda.

If we all make it a point to show how awful Faux is...

[gratuitous]

7. Ah, who's going to listen to Serene and Jomana?

Foreign-sounding names; prolly not even Murikans. George Felix Allen would know what to say to them.

[Mr_Spock]

9. Hmmm, I will not mention their names

See if the bigots draw that conclusion on thier own.

"I bet they were dirty rotten towel heads" they'll say.

RW bigots.

[Nothing Without Hope]

13. Besides, they're "wimmin," and all females are soft on commies, er,

terrerrists. They're just being hysterical. Probably even eat tofu when they think nobody's looking. They obviously need some good GOP men to set them straight. :sarcasm:

[izzybeans]

4. Were these the same two abducted by unknown assailants?

:)

[IChing]

5. I am watching her now on Dem. Now

she is telling her story

[IChing]

11. READ HER STATEMENT....HERE

SERENE SABBAGH: After three years and watching their coverage, I thought I could make a difference working with them. I could influence some of the people that are coming into the region, because they have recently just, you know, come into this part of the world. I thought that I could give them an insight of how things are run here, the politics of -- the complicated politics and history of politics in this part of the region.

But from the onset of the war in Lebanon, I was devastated at the way that Fox was handling the coverage from Lebanon in the U.S., and I felt there was bias, the slant, the racist remarks, the use of the word “we” meaning Israel, and it was just unbearable up until basically the massacre at Qana. And as a mother of three, watching the images, the raw images of children being pulled out of the rubble, and then I switched to Fox News to hear some of their anchors claiming that these little kids that were killed, these innocent victims that were killed, were human shields used by Hezbollah. And one of the anchors went as far as saying they were planted there by Hezbollah to win support in this war. And it was unbelievable. For me, that was the breaking point, and this is when I decided, me and my colleague Jomana, to hand in our resignation.

AMY GOODMAN: Did you try to have conversations with them, though you talk about this as a sort of breaking point, over the three years?

SERENE SABBAGH: When I signed with Fox News, when I started working with them, I knew that they were very pro-Israel, that the coverage of the Middle East was very slanted. And I did have conversations with reporters that I worked with and producers that I also worked with. I got to know a couple of people from management who came to visit in Amman and who went on to Baghdad, and we sort of had conversations. We never had a direct conversation regarding their coverage, all in all, but they all knew what we felt like in Amman in the Amman bureau.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/08/16/148232

[Arugula Latte]

6. Gee, they worked for Fox and they're just noticing they're unfair

and unbalanced?

Oooooo-kaaaaaay.

[babylonsister]

8. They were freelance, worked for many networks, but scratched

Fox off their list.

[Sherman A1]

14. That is a valid question

Of course we all need to work and a paycheck is a much better than no paycheck. I wouldn't be too hard on them.

[Supersedeas]

10. there really are some 'people' behind the FOX curtain

[chelsea0011]

12. Only idiots think Faux is fair and balanced and unfortunately, they

belong to that 50% that still think Iraq had WMD's.

[krkaufman]

15. Frickin' duh!! It took the Lebanon coverage for them to realize this?!? nt

[ShortnFiery]

16. That required courage and personal integrity that's rare in this world.

Kudos for Serene Sabbagh and Jomana Karadsheh! :applause: :thumbsup:

[Joanne98]

17. I hate Fox and Friends the most. They drive me up the wall.

[RebelOne]

24. Well, don't watch them.

[civildisoBDence]

18. Natural selection, FoxNews style

Anyone with a conscience leaves the herd.

Before he died, Lee Atwater rediscovered his conscience and apologized for the dirty tricks he'd used against Democrats.

Is there ANY chance one of the neocons will do the right thing and condemn this whole Bush fiasco?

The Oinky Boinky Machine

[NewJeffCT]

19. Welcome to DU...

I don't think Bill Kristol, Dick Cheney or Paul Wolfowitz ever had a conscience to recover. Right now, anybody that speaks up against them risks being Swift-Boated and/or having their families threatened by Freeper types.

[Vidar]

20. Applauding the two producers.

[eccles12]

21. There are some truly courageous people in journalism. I applaud

their action.

[Kolesar]

23. Yes. And they played it "straight up" and tried to get the news out

Even if they had to do it through Fox News. Welcome to our message board, eccles12 :hi:

[fuzzyball]

22. I am sure there were 200 job applications in Jordan for the 2 vacancies

Money will corrupt anyone's soul.