Fox News Calls Michelle "Obama's Baby Mama"... FOX: Producer Used Poor Judgment

UPDATE: Politico Reports that
Fox addresses baby mama drama: Producer used "poor judgment"

Since Salon's Alex Koppelman caught Fox News characterizing Michelle Obama as "Obama's Baby Mama," there's been an uproar over use of such an offensive term.

"A producer on the program exercised poor judgment in using this chyron during the segment," said Fox's Senior Vice President of Programming Bill Shine, in a statement to Politico.

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ORIGINAL REPORT:
As if implicating her as one half of a "terrorist fist jab" wasn't enough, Fox News has gone on to label Michelle Obama "Obama's baby mama."

Salon's Alex Koppelman writes:

An alert reader wrote in just a little while ago to let us know about something he'd spotted on Fox News Wednesday afternoon. During a segment discussing conservative attacks against Michelle Obama, the wife of presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama, the network described the former as "Obama's baby mama."

I checked, and sure enough, as you can see below, our e-mailer was right. In fact, that description was displayed on screen several times during the segment, which featured anchor Megyn Kelly and conservative blogger Michelle Malkin, an FNC contributor.

Koppelman has the video here, and you can see the stills below.

To be fair, Michelle Obama referred to Barack as her "baby's daddy" on the night he won his Senate seat in 2004.

Comments

[Buddy McCue]

Notice that the headline on the screen says, "Outraged Liberals: Stop Picking on Obama's Baby Mama!"

What "outraged liberal" said these words? FOX News chose to use these words to describe Mrs. Obama, not some "outraged liberal." It's dishonest on the face of it.

[Taaj]

As soon as I am aware of anything coming from Fox news, or supporting Fox News, it is cut off.
The only way for us to take power away is to refuse to be a consumer. fox news needs to go away. It is the news station for the KKK, neo-nazis and farrakans in this country. Decide not to be a bigot and turn off that venomous news organization.

[synthfiend]

Karl Rove works for Fox News as a "contributor". This quite honestly should not be a surprise to anyone. I mean, come on. First the "Terrorist Fist Jab" ( which actually sounds like a pretty cool Kung Fu move. "Master teach me the terrorist fist jab so that I may avenge my family") and now Obama's baby mama. Look for more of this crap as Rove steers Fox news into litigation. When Obama is president he will unleash the IRS' hell hounds on Fox and on Rove.

[awenyyds]

Really would you call Laura Bush George's Baby Mama.

[debonair06]

Exactly,no one in their right mind would call Laura Bush George"s "Baby Momma." First of all it is very disrespectful and isn"t true! I mean come on folks lets treat people with due respect, regardless of their skin color or anything else to that effect. To think that the "baby momma" comment isn"t a big deal is just plain stupid, it is blatantly disrespectful comment and to say that someone "exercised poor judgment" is complete BS. It amazes me how the Bush lovers and right winged conservative folks don"t see anything wrong with the way Fox News is portraying the Obamas. This is also one of many reasons why I can not stand the conservative folks. They don"t feel as though Bush and his administration have done any wrong. From the Iraqi War, to the debt, to Katrina, to everything else under the sun, Bush supporters hate to deny facts! Case in point look at all of the posts that 'REMEMBER THE ALAMO' has posted and tell me that he/she isn't delusional.

[nellie]

Fox is so venal. It's unendingly stunning. I wonder at their audience.

[oliverwest]

Please, do NOT try this on the street

[rolitt]

This is why my family across this country stopped watching FoxNews and switched to MSNBC and CNN calling each other trading information from these networks instead of FoxNews. FoxNews is triffling and need to learn some lessons from the class exemplied by Tim Russert. Grow up FoxNews for we are a lot smarter than what you give us credit for.

[BigRube]

Here is a way to get back at FOX.
1. Do not watch Fox all.
2. Look for anything that Fox said on Huffingtonpost.
3.Write whatever you want to say about Fox on Huffingtonpost.
4. Email Fox everyday and tell them just how their programs SUX. Everyday,Everyday,Everyday.

[ObamaEdwards]

Hoist with their own petard, Fox "News" gets more laughable every day. Their age and lack of connection to America is so obvious, they won't be able to save themselves. They are out of touch and going down. Just change the channel.

[LeftVetPatriot]

Poor judgement, my asz. It was blatant, deliberate, racist horseshit.

[RememberTheAlamo]

Hi All . . . entertaining outrage,

Looks like you are missing the point . . .

(1) There are a lot of us who don't like Obama or his wife
(2) There are a lot of us disappointed by their discourse
(3) There are a lot of us who find no connection to Obama
(4) There are a lot of us disappointed with the direction liberals have taken the blue states
(5) . . . and a lot of us are tired by the exit of families from the liberal states to the red states
(6) . . . and their a lot of us who like to watch FOX . . . Go E.D.!
(7) Oh, well . . . free speech . . . don't you just love it!

Rock Solid Conservative . . .and proud of it!

[shellshell77]

Yes conservative Republicans like Bush and McCain like people by the name of Clayton Williams that state, ""Well, bad weather is like rape: if it's inevitable, you might as well relax and enjoy it." Wow, women should go vote for conservatives and Republicans right away! "Well, bad weather is like rape: if it's inevitable, you might as well relax and enjoy it." "Well, bad weather is like rape: if it's inevitable, you might as well relax and enjoy it."

[noamjunior]

by "a lot" you mean about 28% and falling

[nellie]

So, when you don't like someone or disagree, that means you no longer need to follow rules of civility or social conduct. You just spew?

And conservatives talk about the culture wars. What hypocrites.

[nonconformist2]

And this has what exacty to with Fox news slandering Obama's lawful wife? How would you feel if they talked about YOUR WIFE like that?

[Buddy McCue]

If I were Obama, I'd feel like popping somebody in the nose.

[nonconformist2]

How white of you!

[PatA]

I work in a prison and I can certainly see that Fox News grabbed the term, out of prison lingo (for instance) and tried to use it to be racist....once again. Male offenders frequently refer to their children's mothers as "my baby's mama". Wonder how many Fox employees know, first hand, about prison language?
I believe that Fox has people working, day and night, to come up with anything racial that they can use against the Obamas. We'll just have to deal with it for the next 8 years.
A thought, does Fox ever refer to McCain being an "old white man"?

[reasoniskey]

I have a personal problem with this type of language because it denotes the Obama children are illegitimate. This is ironic when two of McCain's children, Douglas (1960) and Andrew (1962) were birthed out of wedlock prior to McCain's marriage to his first wife, Carol Shepp (1965). You would think an American woman of Michelle Obama's caliber would warrant more respect than Fox has shown. Moreover, she and her family most closely mirror the conventional American values championed by the right wing. This is why, in my opinion, the vote for evangelicals is up for grabs. Yet only time will tell.

[AdultFilmLegend]

I didn't even know Baby Mama was a "term."

[incontempt]

It was more then poor judgement...poor genetics or poor parenting is more likely the culprit here.