Jake Tapper Challenges White House Over Fox News Claims

ABC News' Jake Tapper challenged White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs Tuesday over the White House's claims that Fox News is not a legitimate news organization (transcript via ABCNews):

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 -

(Crosstalk)

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.

"Hundreds of journalists come to work each day at FOX News all deeply committed to their craft," Fox News' Senior Vice President of News, Michael Clemente, said in response to Gibbs' comments. "It's disappointing that the White House would be so dismissive of their fine work and continue their vengeful war against a news organization."

Comments

[WorkingClass]

09:38 AM on 10/23/2009

ABC is no better than FOX. All the corporate media are on the same team. They are the "perception control unit" serving corporate interests in the ongoing war against the middle and working classes.

[Ramsis]

09:31 AM on 10/23/2009

This guy is a realidiot.He should be working for Fox publicly as he is undercover.

[Mahi Joe]

08:31 AM on 10/23/2009

Sounds like Jake Tapper is keeping his options open and may one day wish to apply for a job at Faux News. Any legitimate newsperson (except Tapper) can see Faux for what it really is, a right wing propoganda tool.

[Knowledgeseeker]

02:13 AM on 10/23/2009

Fox is for Republicans only..

[merger]

12:53 AM on 10/23/2009

Every news organization in the country better take notice of what is being done. The ramifications are far reaching. Whether we like or dislike Fox News, whether we watch them or not is not the concern. The concern is that the WH has put out far too many statements that target people and a network that often disagrees with them. This sounds way too much like Venezuela and not the US that champions free speech and a free press.

[NewRiver]

01:47 AM on 10/23/2009

or Richard Nixon

[merger]

08:00 AM on 10/23/2009

...and he resigned in disgrace.

[WorkingClass]

09:43 AM on 10/23/2009

FOX and ALL the corporate media are on the side of our corporate rulers against the middle and working classes. Which side are YOU on?

[Angrygrrl]

10:33 PM on 10/22/2009

Tapper is such a tool.
Where was he when Bush refused to work with "media sister" NYT?
or (truly mentioned, sister) MSNBC?
...or didn't he hear Dana Perrino admit to just that a few days ago?

You like Faux so much? Why not marry it?....Juvenile comment...juvenile response.

[jleed]

08:17 PM on 10/22/2009

fox is anti american

[supertim]

06:53 PM on 10/22/2009

prima donna...this is what you get when you hire starlets from MTV

[Sobeton]

06:09 PM on 10/22/2009

who is Jake Tapper? better yet, who cares??

[GoldsteinD]

04:07 PM on 10/22/2009

wow. A reporter that actually asks a seemingly tough question and all he gets is grief because he is not a bootlicker

[NewRiver]

01:50 AM on 10/23/2009

Yea, it's amazing to me that so many don't see the slippery slope this can become because they look at this issue through partisan eyes. This isn't a right versus left issue, it's right versus wrong.

[BuzzingAlong]

01:59 AM on 10/23/2009

Oh please. Learn to use the google and at least try to get a clue.

For starters:

Jake Tapper can't figure out how Fox News is different from ABC News?
October 21, 2009 7:44 am ET by Eric Boehlert

http://mediamatters.org/blog/200910210003

1/20/09
Fox News has been waging a partisan political war against the White House since Inauguration Day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDR47EKTrCQ
http://mediamatters.org/press/releases/200910220010

People who have clues already know this.

God, I hate morans.

[fliponon]

03:02 PM on 10/22/2009

Anything to get a little attention.

[atoonce]

02:43 PM on 10/22/2009

yeah, someone explain to me the dichotomy between the supposed huge ratings that RW Fox News gets with the crash and burn that the RW suffered on all levels in the last election? Is conservatism rising or falling? Maybe it's couch-potato conservatism!

[JakeMontero]

01:51 PM on 10/22/2009

this whole thing reminds me of Nixon's fight against the NY Times
Barak Millhouse Obama

[GoldsteinD]

03:58 PM on 10/22/2009

yes. and look how he ended up. I predicted months ago that history will draw similarities between Obama and Nixon...embattered

[bobbybee]

04:01 PM on 10/22/2009

embattered - with tartar sauce .... yummy!

[celtic08]

04:36 PM on 10/22/2009

keep dreaming t r o l l....look back at your history...Nixon is your humiliation...President Obama is our redeemer from RW, evangelical, in your face, take away individual rights (ie: a woman's right to choose, gays right to marry), hypocritical, lying (ie:death panels) angry, Southern white men...and they wonder why only 19% of ppl describe themselves as R's? In addition, I love the poll just out that shows how over 80% of ppl under 25 are registered to vote and now voting Democrat :-) The best part of this is that 20% of them come from Republican households!!! The R party is done!!

[Martha12]

01:28 PM on 10/22/2009

Jake Tapper is a Rupert Murdoch knob polisher........

[NewRiver]

01:51 AM on 10/23/2009

yea, that adds to the discussion.

[Arrech]

01:20 PM on 10/22/2009

Let's be optimists here:

The media loves to create a circus.
The only good thing about this circus is that at least animals are not being mistreated.