Friday, October 2, 2020

the last book I ever read (Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News, and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth by Brian Stelter, excerpt nine)

from Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News, and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth by Brian Stelter:

Ingraham was a steady ally for the nomination fight, and far from the only one. Whenever the White House needed help with the nomination, Shine phoned his former network. Kavanaugh’s pivotal interview defending himself from Christine Blasey Ford’s sexual assault allegation was awarded to Fox’s Martha MacCallum. Trump reminded his Twitter followers to tune in. MacCallum’s questions were tough, but most of Fox’s commentary around Kavanaugh’s combative confirmation hearing was in his favor. A female staffer told me that several of her colleagues were so troubled by the tenor of the Kavanaugh coverage that they brought it up in therapy. Overworked television producers seeing therapists is nothing new, or in any way unique to Fox, but the rah-rah win-at-any-cost defense of Kavanuagh was triggering for some.

Supreme Court watchers said Kavanaugh’s use of the Fox airwaves was extremely unusual and at odds with his commitments to neutrality and nonpartisanship. “The Supreme Court must never be viewed as a partisan institution,” Kavanaugh said at his confirmation hearing, leading NBC’s Chuck Todd to ask: “How impartial can a Supreme Court nominee be when he goes on Fox News—of all possible platforms—to defend himself?”



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