Nearly every major media outlet covered the unprecedented $1 million contribution the Republican Governors Association received from News Corp, the parent company of Fox News. But wait…can you guess which big media player is missing from this list?
Fox Parent’s Donation Causes Stir [Politico] “News Corp.’s $1 million donation to the Republican Governors Association isn’t business as usual – in either size or style. And it’s got media analysts and political pros wondering just what News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch – the man behind Fox News and the Wall Street Journal — is up to now…Democrats charged that the million-dollar donation, first reported by Bloomberg Businessweek, was proof positive that Murdoch’s claim that Fox News is ‘fair and balanced’ is a myth. ‘They’re bankrolling the GOP,’ the executive director of the Democratic Governors Association, Nathan Daschle, said of News Corp. Some Democrats said it would be impossible for Fox to continue to claim objectivity.” http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0810/41191.html
Fox News parent firm gives $1 million to GOP group [AP] “The parent company of the Fox News Channel has donated $1 million to the Republican Governors Association and helped the GOP group more than double its fundraising in the second quarter of the year. The RGA helps elect Republican gubernatorial candidates…DGA executive director Nathan Daschle said that with the News America contribution, ‘Fox has crossed a bright line.’ ‘Fox can no longer pretend that it is a ‘fair and balanced’ news organization when Rupert Murdoch greenlights a million dollar contribution to defeat Democratic governors,’ Daschle said.” http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/politics&id=7614887
News Corp. defends $1M gift to Republican Governors Association [WP] “Rupert Murdoch, who has never been shy about making his political views known, has voted with his sizable checkbook. Murdoch’s News Corp. has made a $1 million donation to the Republican Governors Association, triggering swift criticism from Democrats that a contribution of that magnitude casts a shadow on his media properties, particularly Fox News. Murdoch’s News Corp. has made a $1 million donation to the Republican Governors Association, triggering swift criticism from Democrats that a contribution of that magnitude casts a shadow on his media properties, particularly Fox News. ‘For a media company — particularly one whose slogan is ‘fair and balanced’ — to be injecting themselves into the outcome of races is stunning,’ Nathan Daschle, executive director of the Democratic Governors Association, said Tuesday. ‘The people owning Fox News have made a decision that they want to see Democratic governors go down to defeat. It’s a jaw-dropping violation of the boundary between the media and corporate realm.’” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/17/AR2010081704338.html
News Corp. Gives $1 Million to GOP [WSJ] “News Corp., owner of the Fox network, Fox News and newspapers including the New York Post and The Wall Street Journal, gave $1 million in late June to the Republican Governors Association, making it one of the largest corporate donors to the GOP group this election season. The donation, disclosed in Internal Revenue Service filings, marks a shift for the media giant, which traditionally has given smaller sums to candidates and committees and spread them relatively evenly between the two parties.” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703824304575435922310302654.html
News Corp. Gives Republicans $1 Million [NYT] “With Republicans hoping to recapture a number of statehouses in November, the media conglomerate headed by Rupert Murdoch is inserting itself into the races in bold fashion with a $1 million donation to the Republican Governors Association. The contribution from Mr. Murdoch’s News Corporation, which owns Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post and other news outlets, is one of the biggest ever given by a media organization, campaign finance experts said… Officials at the governors’ association did not respond to requests for comment. The contribution, first reported by Bloomberg News, was made in June and is included in the Republican group’s most recent second-quarter filings.” http://mail.dga.net/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://links.mkt2079.com/ctt?kn=12%26m=3209357%26r=MTUwNTIxODI3NTMS1%26b=0%26j=MTkxNTc4MTMxS0%26mt=1%26rt=0
Fox News Parent News Corp. Gives $1 Million to GOP [CBS News] “Fox News parent company News Corp. has given $1 million to the Republican Governors Association. A spokesman for News Corp., which also owns the New York Post and other media properties around the world, said in an email to Politico’s Ben Smith that the company ‘believes in the power of free markets, and the RGA’s pro-business agenda supports our priorities at this most critical time for our economy.’ The Republican Governors Association’s most recent disclosure filing is here. The News Corp. donation is listed under ‘News America Inc.’ The news was first reported by Bloomberg Businessweek.” http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20013876-503544.html
Fox Won’t Return Top Dem’s Request To Discuss Its $1 Million GOP Donation [Huffington Post] “A top official with the Democratic Governors Association said on Tuesday that Fox News has declined repeated efforts to put him on air to discuss the decision of the network’s parent company to donate $1 million to the Republican Governors Association. In a brief interview with the Huffington Post, Nathan Daschle, the executive director of the DGA, said that he has tried on numerous occasions to go on Fox News to discuss the donation made by News Corp. None of his entreaties have been answered as of 3:30 p.m on Tuesday.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/17/fox-news-wont-return-requ_n_685318.html
DROPPING AN ALREADY-THIN PRETENSE…. Try To Contain Your Surprise. [Washington Monthly] “News Corp., which owns Fox News and the New York Post, gave $1 million to Haley Barbour’s Republican Governors Association this year, according to the RGA’s most recent filing. The company’s media outlets play politics more openly than most, but the huge contribution to a party committee is a new step toward an open identification between Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. and the GOP. The company’s highest-ranking Democratic executive, Peter Chernin, recently departed…On a related note, anyone want to lay odds on whether Fox News’ on-air broadcasters, reporting on gubernatorial races, disclose that the same company paying their salary is also helping finance the Republican candidate they’re covering?” http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_08/025237.php
A Fair and Balanced $1 Million [Daily Kos] “News Corp., which owns Fox News and the New York Post, gave $1 million to Haley Barbour’s Republican Governors Association this year, according to the RGA’s most recent filing. The company’s media outlets play politics more openly than most, but the huge contribution to a party committee is a new step toward an open identification between Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. and the GOP. The company’s highest-ranking Democratic executive, Peter Chernin, recently departed.” http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/8/17/893852/-A-fair-and-balanced-$1-million
Murdoch’s News Corp. Donates $1 Million To Republican Governors Association [Talking Points Memo] “News Corporation, the Rupert Murdoch media empire that serves as the parent corporation of Fox News and other properties, is now throwing its monetary weight around in politics with a big contribution to the Republican Governors Association. As Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports, News Corporation donated $1 million to the RGA, which is able to take in unlimited corporate contributions. This is, of course, in addition to the massive in-kind contributions that the company makes to the GOP on a daily basis.” http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/8/17/893852/-A-fair-and-balanced-$1-million
Isn’t that something, Fox Noise Recusing Itself From Coverage Of All The 2010 Governors’ Races? [Down With Tyranny] “You have to wonder if those wonderful folks at Rupert Murdoch’s NewsCorp… really thought this through when they decided to give $1 million to the Republican Governors Association, a gift that seems to have startled even Politico superhack Ben Smith…Obviously this means that NewsCorp ‘news’ subsidiary Fox Noise won’t be covering any gubernatorial races in this election cycle. I mean, how can they? At least not without preceding each such on-air piece with a disclaimer along the lines.” http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2010/08/isnt-that-something-fox-noise-recusing.html
