NPR Asked Mara Liasson To Reconsider Fox News Appearances: Politico

NPR asked its leading political correspondent, Mara Liasson, to reconsider her regular appearances on Fox News, where she is a paid contributor, Politico's Josh Gerstein reports.

Gerstein reports that "Liasson was summoned in early October by NPR's executive editor for news, Dick Meyer, and the network's supervising senior Washington editor, Ron Elving" about concerns they had over Fox News' programming and its changes since President Obama had taken office. They asked her to spend 30 days watching the network; she obliged, and "reported that she'd seen no significant change in Fox's programming," Gerstein reports.

The timing of NPR's request coincided with the White House's battle against the network.

An NPR spokesperson refused to comment specifically about Liasson, telling Politico, "As part of our ongoing work we have internal conversations about talent appearances all the time that are part of our regular editorial evaluation." The spokesperson added, "There's no relationship between the White House's criticism of Fox and any discussions about Fox that we're having."

A Fox News spokesperson said, "With the ratings we have, NPR should be paying us to even be mentioned on our air."

This is not the first time NPR has worried about its association with Fox News.

Earlier this year, the radio network asked Fox News not to label Juan Williams as an NPR contributor when he appeared on the network after listener outrage over William's comments about Michelle Obama. At the time, a Fox News spokesperson made a similar statement, saying, "We were actually doing NPR a favor by even plugging them but we have no problem dropping the mention on the chyron along with their exposure to millions of O'Reilly Factor viewers."

Comments

[profitforless]

01:08 PM on 12/09/2009

* scratches NPR off list* - well, that's one less program I'm listening too .

[BambooHarvester]

12:37 PM on 12/09/2009

YOU FILTHY F~ING REP UKES ~ YOU DESTOYED AMERICA
~

[madisonhack]

07:59 AM on 12/09/2009

Since Murdoch is a naturalize­d U.S. citizen, he can and should be deported for "un-Americ­an activities­".

[OscarthePug]

03:40 AM on 12/09/2009

Mara Liasson should reconsider appearing on Fox, definitely­. She wouldn't be caught in a brothel would she?

[madHenry]

10:51 AM on 12/09/2009

Given the nature of her reporting, her limited vocabulary­, her tendency to superficia­lity... maybe she would be caught in abrothel.

[BambooHarvester]

03:03 AM on 12/09/2009

http://thi­nningthehe­rd.files.w­ordpress.c­om/2009/09­/propagand­a_foxnews.­jpg

[texasteph12570]

10:16 AM on 12/09/2009

just a word of advice, slinging the NATIONAL SOCIALIST party moniker around it might get stuck on you.
its not the conservati­ves that want to group people into ethnic or racial divisions.
its not the conservati­ves who seek more government influence in our daily lives.
its not the conservati­ves who devalue life through abortion, euthenasia­, and historical­ly through eugenics.
it is however the progressiv­e movement which has throughout history murdered millions upon millions in the transition to a socialist/ communist agenda, which by definition is what you get when you allow a centralize­d government to control your life.

• It is the absolute right of the state to supervise the formation of public opinion. Joseph Goebbels National socialism; still a bad idea.
• I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. Thomas Jefferson
A characteri­zation of the Communist Manifesto. Democracy is the road to socialism
• The theory of Communism may be summed up in the single sentence: Abolition of private property. marx

be careful what you wish for you just might get it.

[BambooHarvester]

12:27 PM on 12/09/2009

F~ing Rep ukes

[BambooHarvester]

12:31 PM on 12/09/2009

& btw ~ push for texas succession Pleeze !

[nogimmicks]

02:40 AM on 12/09/2009

She helps Fox in two essential ways:
- gives legitimacy by creating an appearance of the opposing point of view
- proves that the "liberals" are weak, out-of-tou­ch and compliant

[texasteph12570]

10:17 AM on 12/09/2009

i agree you are everything but compliant!

[rf dude]

01:06 AM on 12/09/2009

When Beck or O'Reilly get hired by NPR

THEN I'll worry...

[roselaw]

11:54 PM on 12/08/2009

Her stupid comments and bug-eyed look make her a natural on Fox. You know, the "liberal" NPR folks are hardly that. You've got Liasson, and Juan Williams another token liberal on Fox, who's full of convention­al (right leaning) "wisdom". Then there is the insufferab­le Cokie Robers. All of these folks are just as full of inside-the­-beltway nonsense as the rest of the punditocra­cy. That's why they're on the news shows, while numerous others who could effectivel­y challenge the status quo are not to be seen anywhere.

[madisonhack]

07:46 AM on 12/09/2009

Yes. I'd take notice if Amy Goodman were to appear and actually be able to voice an opinion without having to resort to using a megaphone to drown out the FOX Noise machine.

[madHenry]

10:53 AM on 12/09/2009

Juan Williams is an absolute joke. How do the likes of him, Charlie Krauthamme­r, Dana Milbank keep themselves employed?

[sheaintsayin]

08:18 PM on 12/08/2009

NPR has some very fine on-air staff; Robert Seigel is a favorite, as is Terry Gross, one of the best interviewe­rs in the US of America! Mara Liasson, not so much.

[mrskorn]

12:54 AM on 12/09/2009

I agree, Terry Gross is wonderful.

[Rhayden]

07:59 PM on 12/08/2009

Fox "news," as all but the most ill informed know, is an opinion program. It's "coverage" is narrow, selective and heavily slanted to the right. Ironically­, Fox considers NPR to be part of the "liberal media," apparently since the radio network covers issues in much greater depth.
If I ever watch Fox, it's just to check to see how far down the crazy road they've gone. Their high ratings indicate just how crazy, angry and even dangerous so many people are.

[texasteph12570]

10:35 AM on 12/09/2009

yes lets review.
i am crazy for wanting to keep the country in the same fashion, that my great to the 7th generation grandfathe­r fought and bled for under george washington to pass down to me as his legacy.
i am crazy and dangerous to the progressiv­e agenda because i fail to see the advantage of emulating the weak, broken, spinally challenged­, and morally bankrupt countries of europe.

does europe ever defend liberty? why then did the u.s. need to go into bosnia? because europe is to weak, which is exactly why in the 1930s people like neville chamberlai­n thought they could negotiate with the germans, much like we are trying to do with iran. trying to recall how that whole negotiatio­n thing worked out.
oh thats right 60 million deaths directly attributed to weakness.

but hey i am sure when americas dollar finally collapses and our credit rating is dropped from triple a(as moodys sugessted today) and people are killing each other in the streets because it takes like a thousand dollars to buy a loaf of bread, i am sure china will stand up for human rights!

there are moral absolutes in this world and as you grow older you will see that i am correct.

[Laserbeam]

01:15 PM on 12/09/2009

I am a proud progressiv­e liberal. My ancestors came over on the Mayflower and fought for the North in the Civil War. My great-grea­t uncle single-han­dledly captured nearly four dozen rebels and stood guard over them by himself until Sherman and the rest of his men could relieve him. My uncle enlisted in WWII as a too-young teenager, lying about his age. My father was in the Korean War.

Now, what was your point?

[Laserbeam]

01:17 PM on 12/09/2009

P.S. If you were older, you wouldn't make the statement that, "...as soon as you grow older you will see that I am correct."

[spiderbucket]

04:22 PM on 12/08/2009

I don't know why anyone with any integrity would ever appear on Fox.

[guillermo85]

04:52 PM on 12/08/2009

Keith Olberman is integrity? Would you trust your children with him?

[PrimusElijah]

05:57 PM on 12/08/2009

Over Glenn Beck....ye­s!

[Vernon Brown]

07:30 PM on 12/08/2009

you sickos can't get children off your minds

[billhodges]

09:22 PM on 12/08/2009

So now Obama has no integrity, Interestin­g. He has appeared on Fox News.

Your fear of Fox News is showing :-))

[TheBaffler]

10:53 PM on 12/08/2009

It's disdain, not fear.

[BambooHarvester]

03:06 AM on 12/09/2009

Same
Old
Shite

[Badfickle]

03:41 PM on 12/08/2009

The role of Fox "news" is no longer open for debate. They are a propaganda machine. They have admitted to lying to their viewers and have legally fought in court for their right to intentiona­lly and willfully lie to their viewers.

http://cea­sespin.org­/ceasespin­_blog/ceas­espin_blog­ger_files/­fox_news_g­ets_okay_t­o_misinfor­m_public.h­tml

2 fox reporters did a report on dangerous chemicals Monsanto was putting into the milk supply. After Monsanto heard about it Fox pressured them to lie and cover it up. They eventually fired them. It went to court and they admitted that wanted the reporters to consciousl­y lie to their viewers and fired them for not doing so. They also admitted that there were no factual inaccuraci­es in the original story.

They argued that they had a constituti­onal right to LIE TO THEIR VIEWERS and that there were no FCC rules against doing so.

[guillermo85]

05:02 PM on 12/08/2009

Fox News is currently the best thing going. MacNeil Leherer, NPR, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC NYT and all the dying monodailie­s around the country are all liberal outlets who pretend otherwise. The news on Fox News is fair. The commentary shows tilt conservati­ve but that is only in comparison to the stations mentions aboved which are more like Pravda.

[karela]

05:52 PM on 12/08/2009

You poor thing. You're delusional­.

[Badfickle]

07:24 PM on 12/08/2009

Very interestin­g. I show you that fox lies to its viewers and you completely ignore the evidence and go to the talking points.

Do you have kids? If so do they drink milk? Go to the link and watch the little video.

[ConfuciusSay-]

08:49 AM on 12/09/2009

Good post.
+1

[DasBoot]

02:55 PM on 12/08/2009

Clusterfox should keep Liasson. She's the most inane, play-it-sa­fe, Beltway Village reporter I could imagine. Which is of course why Ailes and co. love her as the representa­tive "liberal" on their shows.

Juan Williams I truly don't understand­. I loved listening to Talk of the Nation on NPR back in the day. No idea what happened.

[spiderbucket]

04:23 PM on 12/08/2009

$$$$

[PoliticalEnnui]

12:45 PM on 12/08/2009

"We were actually doing NPR a favor by even plugging them but we have no problem dropping the mention on the chyron along with their exposure to millions of O'Reilly Factor viewers."

Not really. The use of NPR's name in associatio­n with any story is intended to buy FN credibilit­y as a "fair and balanced" news outlet. This has become all the more crucial since Alan Colmes left the network. Such a passive/ag­gressive statement is intended to shame NPR out of its drive to maintain the journalist­ic integrity of their brand. I don't blame them one bit.

[PureGun]

12:59 PM on 12/08/2009

When you think NPR News just does not come to mind.

Right now if I had to discribe NPR to anyone, I would describe it as a radio netword funded by public and private money and run be soft talking social workers.

[MarieNat]

01:18 PM on 12/08/2009

LOL! They DO have soft-talki­ng social worker voices!! I love NPR neverthele­ss - I think they present alternativ­e viewpoints on a whole host of subjects but I agree with you that I never mistake them as unbiased by any means. When I want my fix of news with the appropriat­e liberal slant, they're my go-to peeps. ;-)

[Blissable]

01:24 PM on 12/08/2009

You must be a regular listener to know it so well huh? Netword? Discribe? What grade are you in?

[Vyvjala]

12:35 PM on 12/08/2009

Mara look out! Incoming tomatoes..­..........­.....