Eric Boehlert smacks down Jake Tapper for trying to defend Fox Noise

[ProSense]

Jake Tapper can't figure out how Fox News is different from ABC News?

by Eric Boehlert

At Tuesday's White House briefing Tapper seemed completely baffled, and quite insulted, by the White House's claim that Fox News is not a real news organization. Tapper demanded WH spokesman Robert Gibbs back up the claim (emphasis added):

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Oh my, Tapper has no idea how Fox News is different than ABC News, and he works there. Tapper can't tell what Fox News does differently that his own network. And Tapper was clearly irked that the White House had offered up an opinion that one of the Village's "sister organizations" wasn't professional. "Why is that appropriate for the White House to say?" Tapper demanded to know. (Hint: As a Beltway rule, Democratic White Houses are forbidden from calling out the press by name.)

In response to the WashPost's Ruth Marcus who on Tuesday obediently typed up what virtually every Beltway journalist has said about the White House and Fox News (i.e. it's the White House that's way out of bounds; Fox News is fine), I offered up some examples of how Fox News isn't quite like the others. My hunch was that Marcus doesn't really watch Fox News, even though she pretended to be an expert in the dispute involving the White House.

So for the benefit of Tapper I'll reproduce the cheat sheet, and yes, many of the examples below involve the supposedly serious "news" side at Fox.

For instance, here's an example of how the Fox News family isn't quite like ABC. Here's another another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and , and another, and another, and another.

My guess is if ABC News (inadvertently) broadcast just three or four of those kinds of obvious falsehood during an entire calender year, executives would be quite embarrassed. At Fox News though, they flow like a runny faucet and nobody there takes responsibility for the falsehoods, or even pretends there's anything wrong with them.

But Tapper is stumped. He can't figure out how Fox News is different from ABC News. (Psst Jake, I wouldn't say that too loudly around David Westin.)

UPDATED: How is Fox News different from ABC? Fox News has proudly co-sponsored partisan political rallies this year. Maybe I missed it, but did ABC News market anti-war rallies in 2002 and 2003? Still, Jake Tapper can't figure out how Fox News is different from ABC.

UPDATED: How is Fox News different from ABC? Fox News recently purchased a full-page ad in the Washington Post and http://www.politico.com/blogs/michaelcalderone/0909/Tapper_calls_Fox_ad_demonstrably_untrue.html#">lied about its TV news competitors, including ABC News.

Fox News claimed that the other cable and network news outlets had "miss(ed)" the Sept. 12, anti-Obama rally in Washington, D.C., when in fact TV news orgs, like ABC, covered the protest extensively. So, Fox News publicly smeared Tapper's employer, but Tapper can't figure out how Fox News is different from ABC.

UPDATED: At least Tapper's performance earned him the warm embrace of the Fox News family.

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Networks respond to false Fox ad

[Cha]

1. Pro Sense..thank you for this excellent

compilation! Who among us is shocked that jake tapper would come to faux's defense over the White House?:wow:

Keith Olbermann is very happy the White House is doing the "heavy lifting" now!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x391108

[movonne]

4. I think maybe he might be looking for a job at faux....

[Cha]

5. Jake Tapper is auditioning for faux..he

certainly meets the mediaWHORE requirements.:silly:

[Cha]

2. This needs to go VIRAL!

Proof that jake tapper is a disingenuous mediawhore.

[Qutzupalotl]

3. Ruth Marcus is horrible.

When she fills in for Mark Shields on PBS, she concedes everything she should defend. A stealth Republican. I hope they find someone else to fill in for Shields before she replaces him permanently.

[depakid]

6. Fact is, ABC isn't all that different from Fox- maybe he's been "insulted" by proxy

It's a propaganda outlet too- formerly home to liars like John Stossel and Charles Gibson.

[ProSense]

7. Fox Noise is in a category all its own. n/t

[depakid]

8. Hard to argue with that- though since they make no pretence anymore

it's important to recognize that the likes of ABC and CNN (well, less so with CNN- as they're going off the deep end) are much more insidious, because people look at them as more objective- when the actual evidence from media studies shows the contrary.

[tanyev]

9. If Fake Yapper can't tell the difference, then he needs to go work for Fox.

[itsrobert]

10. A lot of these News people and Pundits don't want to attack a possible future employer

It's a paycheck to them. If they don't defend Fox News, they may be out of a future well paying job.