Fox News Responds To Anita Dunn Again — This Time With More Spice

Fox News has responded to outgoing White House communications director Anita Dunn, again wishing her well — but this time with more spice.

"We wish her well in her new position where we're sure she'll continue providing brilliant strategic vision," a Fox News spokesperson told the Huffington Post in response to Dunn's parting shots against the network.

Earlier in the day, Dunn — seen as the "general" in the administration's feud with Fox News — spoke out against Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck, as well as the network at large, in an appearance at the Bloomberg News Washington Summit.

Last week, in response to the news that Dunn would be leaving the White House, Fox News merely said, "We wish Anita well in her future endeavors."

The "well-wish" is a classic response from the Fox News PR department, and is "usually accompanied by a kneecapping. It's something like a kiss from a Mafia don," the AP's David Bauder wrote in a 2006 article.. The network — which hadn't 'wished anyone well' in over three years before Dunn — has various degrees of response depending on the situation:

A wish-well is generally a team effort by Fox's PR staff, [Fox News PR Chief Brian] Lewis said....

Each line is a counter-punch, Lewis noted. Fox doesn't "go nuclear" unless provoked. And he doesn't want the lines to lose impact by overdoing it.

"Not every attack on us deserves a response," he said. "It could be no response. That's a strategy. It could be mild, medium or spicy, depending on what our needs are."

Clearly, this week's response is one degree "spicier" than last week's.

The Fox News spokesperson added that Dunn was incorrect in one of her statements about the network Friday.

"We have not made a decision network on whether or not we are going to do those," Dunn said in response to recent reports that President Obama would be interviewed by Fox News' Major Garrett while he is in China. "There are no confirmed television interviews in China. And if, oh, some network sent out a press release announcing that was going to happen you'd have to ask about that network and whether or not they really had their facts confirmed before they leaked that."

"Once again, Anita has her facts wrong," the spokesperson said. "Fox News never issued a press release."

Comments

[Lander]

FoxNews is entitled to have a position and to maintain it, as MSNBC does in favor of the left. Socialists demand the right to air their views with no restriction whatsoever. But that changes EVERYWHERE as soon as they assume power. The real judges are the people, not government or allies.

[tedmore123]

I don't what the commotion is; what is the problem if the current administration calls Fox out for what is plainly obvious and has been since Fox helped get the previous administration voted into office; that it is and has always been the political propaganda arm of the Republican Party ?? It was created specifically for this purpose by Roger Ailes; every one knows that. What is silly is that Fox maintains it is a 'news' program yet executes each and every hour of programming without following any basic journalistic ethic...su­ch as fact checking or being neutral on the issues. Fox should change its motto from 'fair and balanced' to 'slanted right and repeated ad nauseum'. The 15 - 20% of Americans that are too lazy to check facts, too stupid to read a book, are bigots and racists that make up 100% of Fox's target audience - you know; your average Republican will just have to get used to it.

[sc300nc]

I hope the administration hasn't given up the fight with Fox. It's been an eye-opening experience seeing the WH acting so petty and stupid. I'm sure they still have some left, even after Anita leaves.

[Shaddup]

The courts have confirmed: Fox is not http://www.philly2philly.com/politics_community/politics_community_articles/2009/6/29/4854/fox_news_wins_lawsuit_misinform_publicpublic . Why are they still allowed to advertise as such?

[whiteboyblues]

All I see is hate

[jimrs6]

Try another web site...

[FerrellGummitt]

Every time this woman opens her mouth I hear “Mooo”.

[AProudLiberalDem]

Funny... when she opens her mouth I hear "Maoooo"

[respected]

I only hear the truth.

[Shaddup]

I thought that was Bush's press secretary?

[Mosby12]

Dunn is a professional malcontent. She took on FOX and LOST! Just like so many on the Left.. she doesn't get it. Common sense, a sense of fair play, robust debate from both sides... gives FOX its ratings. The left is blind and deaf to its own bias but FOX hears and sees both sides.. but it challenges both. Not all shows are balanced BUT they don't pretend to be balanced .... UNLIKE the stuff found elsewhere.on cable or mainstream news In the end, ratings matter and FOX has them... Big Time!

[Vetinari]

Oh man, best sarcasm I've seen in a long time.

[Ratu]

Why do you need to "balance" the truth?

[Indon]

Because at the heart of conservatism apparently lies a belief that reality isn't about facts and evidence, but about opinions and propaganda.

[AnotherTry]

Only an id!ot would think ratings matter over credibility.

[whiteboyblues]

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-12/903959/the_optimist.jpg

[flhu]

LOST has better ratings than FOX "news"... does that mean somewhere there's an island in the Pacific that can go through time?

[jwredd]

My money is on the island long before FOX routinely telling the truth.

[ClearingtheAir2010]

What a completely useless article.

[Mosby12]

A pithy and utterly accurate assessment.

[EWeiss]

Nothing more needs be said, really.

[Indon]

I disagree.

Some people need to be reminded of the obvious, particularly when those obvious things are things they are only periphreally interested in.

[JakeMontero]

Aniti is Obama's Levi Johnson.

[escribacat]

Huh?

[whiteboyblues]

And Palin is Trig's grandmother

[joyce2]

http://www.relfe.com/media_can_legally_lie.html about faux noise and how they can embellish about any news they want to.Fox claims not to be a news station but an infotainment station only

[GeneralDisarray]

USA, The biggest schoolyard in the world, turning into "Lord of the Flies"

[Vetinari]

Nah, the Simpsons already did it

[EverFaithfulXXX]

Do you think Anita Dunn has a chance with Rosie ?
Ya know......­the tongue-thing that Anita's famed ?

[brahdog]

ba dum bum

[Hamartia]

I know FOX news bends the truth as does every cable media outlet. That's why I watch FOX, MSNBC, CNN daily and read reports from various organizations on-line like Pravda, BBC, Cato, AP, KC star, Washington post, etc. The only problem with bias is the people who aren't sharp enough to separate the wheat from the chaff.

I feel it is foolish to disregard legitimate and honest reporting from any organization because they have made inaccurate reports in the past, whether the inaccuracy was intentional or otherwise. The first thing I do when I see a report that I care about is scour the Internet for more details.

I find accurate, and inaccurate, reports from each of the organizations previously mentioned.

With Dunn I saw everything I needed in a video presented by the illustrious Glenn Beck. However, I still decided to search the Internet for the same video from an alternate source. I found comparable content in that regard. Therefore, Dunn expressed reverence for the chairman in a academic setting. Ultimately she is a fool and/or a deviant and that is putting it mildly. Things like this are precisely why my child will never set foot in a public school. She will slither somewhere else and have continued influence much like Jones.

[escribacat]

You saw everything you needed about Dunn from the "illustrious" Glenn Beck...and then you pretended to research further. Or, am I misunderstanding the meaning of "I saw everything I needed?"

And please explain how it then follows that your child should never set foot in a public school?

[QUO-VADIS]

I guess when you see an ACTUAL video of the statements made it means nothing?

[Hamartia]

I did see everything I needed in the videos presented by Mr. Beck. However, I like to verify the authenticity of evidence regardless of whether or not I admire the person presenting it. I do not "pretend" to have done further research and I fail to understand why anyone would do so. Maybe you can explain this to me.

Let me list a few of the reasons I don't intend to have my child publicly schooled:

1. I don't want my child singing the praises of any political leader regardless of how wonderful he or she might be. School is the place for learning not political motivation or guidance.
2. I do not want the state deciding which speaker is appropriate and which is not. A speaker's praise of a murderous dictator is not appropriate by any stretch of the imagination even when balanced with a figure worthy of sainthood.
3. If one disapproves of the curriculum being taught in the public school attended by one's child, one's only option is to move to another district. In private school the only thing that restricts me is cost.
4. Public schools are required to teach children that don't want to learn or obey the rules. Private schools teach only the children that are willing to learn and obey the rules. Private schools separate the wheat from the chaff while public schools exert themselves bringing the delinquents up which conversely brings the good students down.

[mmonarch]

I couldn't have said it better myself. Fanned and faved. Thanks.

[AnotherTry]

You're both dolts.

[Indon]

I question the value of your approach.

Faced with a variety of almost-worthless news sources, you... seek out _more_ almost-worthless news sources? Then you cross-reference them all with each other as well as with investigative journalism of your own?

Why not, you know... use a _good_ news source? Like the Daily Show? Or just rely solely on your own investigative abilities, since clearly you're singlehandedly pulling all the weight as far as your news is concerned.

Don't tune in to bad news shows. You know they're bad, why are you rewarding them by paying attention to them?

[Hamartia]

I tried to make sense of your post but it seems impossible.

Can you do away with the misplaced punctuation and broken statements and simply say what you mean?

Your post resembles the result of a keyboard vomiting.

[jwredd]

Let me make it simple-- Hamartia is absolutely full of shlt. Nobody that routinely tracks down multiple sources and fact checks everything would continually go back to FOX, convinced they are getting legitimate news not designed to push a right wing agenda.

[Shaddup]

While you're researching: http://www.philly2philly.com/politics_community/politics_community_articles/2009/6/29/4854/fox_news_wins_lawsuit_misinform_public . Remember, Fox is not news.

[Hamartia]

If this is the story about the cows and the hormones from eight years ago, I don't care.

That's a local Fox affiliate and a local problem. Furthermore, the woman complained that her report was falsified.

She reported what she chose to report and profited through frivolous litigation.

Who cares, she made her choice.

Does this make Fox as a whole evil? No.

What about MSNBC misrepresenting an armed black man as a gun toting white supremacist at a town hall last summer? Does that make MSNBC as a whole evil? No.

Separate wheat from chaff and consume.

[rocketman19]

is she a he in drag?

[thepoliticalcat]

Why? Are you looking for company?

[lynettema]

Are yous.ex obsessed or deprived? Why do so many right w.ing posters have to go to s.ex to attempt to make a point? What does this article have to do with that?

[Manhattanite]

Both obsessed and deprived. A very unhealthy combination.

[Hamartia]

rocketman19 took a juvenile approach with his criticism and you respond in-kind. What does that say about you?

It's a recursive "am not, are too" reciprocated by you and yours.

[igmond50]

Dunn Der?! Dunn Duh? Mao Se Dunn.

[audit]

As long as you're concerned with Fox - the real wprld is passing by.....una­pposed.

[Indon]

On the contrary, Fox opposes the real world on a fairly regular basis.