Controlling The News

The First Amendment is important to me. If you want to get me crazed just begin talking about banning books. The current attempt by White House staff to tell news networks that they shouldn't carry stories from Fox News is an example of government trying to stifle free speech. This is what the government should NOT do.

The focus on Fox News is silly. When we look at the Pew Research Center's evaluation of the 2008 Election Fox News did indeed come out "fair and balanced."

BEST--FOX NEWS

• Positive Obama Stories 25%
• Positive McCain Stories 22%
• Negative Obama Stories 40%
• Negative McCain Stories 40%

WORST--MSNBC

• Positive Obama Stories 73%
• Positive McCain Stories 10%
• Negative Obama Stories 14%
• Negative McCain Stories 43%

TOTAL COVERAGE
(all media added together - 2,412 stories from 48 outlets)

• Positive Obama Stories 36%
• Positive McCain Stories 14%
• Negative Obama Stories 29%
• Negative McCain Stories 57%

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton credited Fox with giving her the best coverage during the 2008 primaries. So, let's remember her words about the right to dissent:

Hillary Clinton Speech