Fox News crosses the line on Joe Biden

[spanone]

Washington (CNN)For anyone who watches Fox News Channel, it's not at all surprising that its anchors and hosts (with few notable exceptions) talk up President Donald Trump while knocking down the Democrats running against him in 2020.

While that position puts Fox somewhere in the gray area between journalism and activism, it's not exactly new. There are ratings in partisanship -- so Fox News engages in partisanship.

But even partisanship should have its limits. And one of those limits should be raising entirely unfounded questions about a presidential candidate's health. Which is exactly what two Fox News personalities -- Kennedy and Sean Hannity -- have done, according to this terrific piece by the Daily Beast Justin Baragona:

"Since the end of May, Fox Business Network and Fox News star Lisa 'Kennedy' Montgomery and Fox News prime-time host Sean Hannity have speculated on-air, on at least four separate occasions, that the current Democratic presidential frontrunner is secretly dealing with health issues, often comparing his condition to illness-related conspiracy theories the network pushed about Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election."

https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/10/politics/joe-biden-age-fox-news-oldest-2020-democrats/index.html

[marble falls]

1. News would be "Fox doesn't cross the line this time!"

[dlk]

2. When Ronald Reagan Ended the Fairness Doctrine, He Paved the Way for Fox

What we are witnessing are the results of a 40-year game plan by Republicans to drown the airwaves with right wing propaganda. The fascists are here.

[Va Lefty]

4. Spot on dlk!

[sop]

3. Two years after FOX's diagnosis Hillary's looking pretty spry...Trump, not so much

[zanana1]

5. Sounds like some of Roger Stone's work. nt

[Thrill]

6. He's the one they fear

Trump isn’t likely to beat him in places like Iowa and Pennsylvania

[Wounded Bear]

7. "Dog bites man"

[Scurrilous]

8. As they put it at Wonkette:

Which Of Hillary Clinton's Diseases Is Joe Biden Dying From Today?

https://www.wonkette.com/fox-news-just-wondering-what-joe-biden-is-dying-from-today

[Takket]

9. Whelp...

It works and... nothing has been done to stop fake news conspiracy theories so... they are going to keep doing it.

[Hortensis]

10. THIS from CNN, which worked and works to sabotage

Democrats and empower Republicans. This, of course, being the smoke screen of respectable journalism sent out to attract and keep viewers and obscure the swiftboating.

CNN might have more accurately, and honorably, pointed out that Fox normally operates on the wrong side of the line and not suggested it normally does not.

[uponit7771]

11. Without fairness doctrine political parties can coordinate with large media outlets like Fox news

[malaise]

12. I think the world knows that the Con has way more health issues

than Biden. Fuck Fox.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

13. I've noticed a couple references in this thread to the Fairness Doctrine and Fox News but...

...but the Fairness Doctrine was only for broadcast media-- TV and Radio-- so Fox would never have been affected by it.
You could argue dropping the Fairness Doctrine did pave the way for Rush Limbaugh and the other RWNJs with radio shows stirring up a market for a big cable fake news outlet but Fox could conceivably have done it either way.

Now Sinclair, on the other hand...