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Rudy Giuliani's ties to Fox News
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/11/15/regan/
Judith Regan's lawsuit against News Corp. alleges that Rupert Murdoch's
firm, which owns Fox News, wants Giuliani to be president. A look at links
between the candidate and the company.
By Alex Koppelman and Erin Renzas
[Fox news has much in common with Giuliani, hypocrisy in particular. This
right-wing biased media giant's porn peddling is documented in the article
below this one].
Nov. 16, 2007 | Of all the allegations contained in former ReganBooks
Publisher Judith Regan's lawsuit against her one-time employers at Rupert
Murdoch's News Corp., the most explosive is the first. Regan charges that
News Corp. executives wanted to destroy her reputation because she knew too
much about her ex-boyfriend, former New York City Police Commissioner Bernie
Kerik, and that what she knew could be harmful to the presidential hopes of
Rudy Giuliani -- whom she depicts as the preferred candidate of News Corp.
and its subsidiary, Fox News. According to Regan's suit, "This smear
campaign was necessary to advance News Corp.'s political agenda, which has
long centered on protecting Rudy Giuliani's presidential ambitions."
Regan and the married Kerik had a well-publicized yearlong affair. Their
assignations often took place in a lower Manhattan apartment that had been
specifically reserved for the use of workers in the aftermath of 9/11. After
Giuliani left the mayor's office on January 1, 2002, Kerik went to work for
him as a consultant at Giuliani Partners. Kerik and Regan broke up later in
2002. In December 2004, according to Regan's complaint, when President Bush
tapped Kerik, at Giuliani's recommendation, to head the federal Department
of Homeland Security, Regan was pressured to keep quiet, and asked to lie on
Kerik's behalf. "[A] senior executive in the News Corp. organization told
Regan that he believed she had information about Kerik that, if disclosed,
would harm Giuliani's presidential campaign. This executive advised Regan to
lie to, and to withhold information from, investigators concerning Kerik.
.... [D]efendants knew they would be protecting Giuliani if they could
preemptively discredit her."
This is not the first time that News Corp. has been accused of having a
political agenda. Fox News is often accused of favoring Republicans. In the
current presidential election cycle, however, there have also been repeated
suggestions, from critics on both the right and the left, that the network
prefers Giuliani over the other GOP contenders.
As it happens, Giuliani and News Corp. do have a history. Giuliani has
several personal and financial connections to News Corp. and Fox News --
beginning with Fox's top executive -- and those connections seem to have
proven mutually beneficial:
Roger Ailes: The head of Fox News, Ailes was a veteran Republican operative
long before he was a news executive, having worked as a media consultant in
the presidential campaigns of Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and the first
President Bush. In 1989, he worked as a media consultant on the unsuccessful
first mayoral campaign of a former federal prosecutor named Rudy Giuliani,
with whom he had bonded at dinner parties over their shared admiration for
Ronald Reagan. Since then, Giuliani and Ailes have remained good friends.
Giuliani officiated at Ailes' wedding and brought presents to Ailes' room
when Ailes was hospitalized in 1998. The New York Times has reported that
aides to the two men say they don't see each other often, but they did sit
together at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in April 2007 -- which
Giuliani attended as a guest of News Corp. (Ailes has also socialized with
Bernie Kerik.)
The Time Warner lawsuit: In 1994, according to the New York Times, Giuliani
prepared a speech for a reception honoring Ailes in which he wrote, "Roger
has played an important role in my own career." In 1996, Giuliani had an
opportunity to repay the favor. Fox News was launching, with Ailes at the
helm, and Time Warner, which provided cable service to 12 million homes
nationwide, had decided it would not carry Fox News. Time Warner was the
dominant cable operator in New York City, meaning that not only would 1.1
million city homes not get Fox, but the fledgling network would go unseen by
media powerbrokers in the nation's media capital.
Three days after Murdoch learned of Time Warner's decision, a call from
Ailes to Giuliani set in motion a series of unprecedented moves in favor of
a cable network by the Giuliani administration. As calls and meetings
continued between Fox and city officials, including Giuliani, the Giuliani
administration reportedly threatened Time Warner executives with the loss of
their cable franchise if the cable provider didn't accept a deal in which
the city would give up one of its own government channels so Fox News could
take the slot. (Some 30 other cable networks had tried and failed to win
channel space on Time Warner.) When Time Warner refused to take the deal,
the city announced that it would go ahead with the plan anyway and force the
cable provider to carry Fox News. A legal battle ensued.
Ultimately, the two warring parties made peace and Fox won carriage, but not
before a judge and an appeals panel both ruled against the city's plan. In
granting Time Warner a temporary injunction, a federal district court judge
issued a harsh rebuke to the Giuliani administration, saying the city had
repeatedly shifted the legal justifications for its stand, indicating that
"the City does not believe its own positions." The judge further wrote, "The
City's purpose in acting to compel Time Warner to give Fox one of its
commercial channels was to reward a friend... The very fact that the City
chose Fox News out of all other news programs -- not to mention the
significant number of other programs which have been denied space on Time
Warner's commercial network -- is by itself substantial evidence that the
City chose Fox News based on its content."
Lobbying: Giuliani's connections to News Corp. extend to his law and
lobbying firm, Bracewell & Giuliani. Giuliani announced his partnership in
the firm previously known as Bracewell & Patterson in March 2005. Beginning
the next month, according to congressional lobbying disclosure records, the
firm billed News Corp. and DirecTV, which was then a subsidiary of News
Corp., for $120,000 in federal lobbying during 2005. The firm represented
News Corp. on issues including regulations on violent and indecent
programming and the potential re-write of the 1996 Telecommunications Act.
In the years prior to Giuliani joining the firm, congressional records do
not show any lobbying work performed for News Corp.
Airtime: Earlier this year, a study by the political journal Hotline found
that Giuliani had been interviewed on Fox News during the first 196 days of
2007 for a total of 115 minutes, more than any other presidential contender,
and 14 minutes more than the runner-up, the then-undeclared Fred Thompson.
Sean Hannity: In Fox's defense, the bulk of the time Giuliani was on the
network he was talking to Sean Hannity, the Long Island-bred cohost of
"Hannity & Colmes." And no wonder -- though Hannity claims not to be
supporting a candidate (a denial he was forced to make when Ariz. Sen. John
McCain accused him on-air, albeit obliquely, of supporting Giuliani), he
flew to Ohio to introduce the former mayor at a campaign fundraiser in
August. When a New York Times reporter asked a Fox spokeswoman about the
Hotline figures, she responded that Hannity makes his own booking decisions.
Hannity has also handled post-debate anchor duties for all three Fox GOP
debates held to date.
Cease-and-desist: In October, Fox lawyers sent a cease and desist letter to
John McCain's campaign after he included footage from Fox's October 21
Orlando debate in a TV commercial. The ad featured a McCain quip aimed at
Senator Clinton's push for a so-called "Woodstock museum." The letter
demanded McCain pull the ad and remove footage of the debate from his Web
site, according to Talking Points Memo.
However, similar letters were not sent to two other GOP presidential
hopefuls who were also using footage from the Fox debate -- Rudy Giuliani
and Mitt Romney. After initial reports showed that only McCain had been sent
such an order, a Fox spokesperson told the New York Times, "Our legal team
has been alerted and there will be cease and desist orders." Letters were
sent to both the Romney and Giuliani campaigns, but they are apparently not
being heeded. Giuliani's Web site still makes liberal use of Fox footage,
including one clip added at least a week after the date of the cease and
desist letter. Romney's site also continues to feature material from the
debate.
Steve Forbes: Himself a former Republican presidential candidate, the
magazine magnate is now a national co-chair and senior policy advisor with
the Giuliani campaign. He's also, in the words of a Giuliani campaign press
release, "a frequent business commentator for Fox News Channel's 'Forbes on
Fox.'" Though that show is actually hosted by a Fox News employee, David
Asman, its guests come from the editorial staff of Forbes Magazine. Steve
Forbes is both the editor-in-chief of Forbes Magazine and the president and
CEO of its publisher, Forbes, Inc.
-------------------
"Can you quote us so not giving a ****?"
That was FOX's classy response to the half a million viewers who saw our FOX
Attacks Decency video.
Looks like we got to FOX this time, and it wasn't a debate about policy in
Iran that did it, or a video displaying their racism, or even our coverage
of their abject hypocrisy on environmental issues.
No, what got the attack dogs at FOX hungry and looking for flesh was none
other than an expose of their smut peddling! It makes sense in a way,
because advertisers tend not to like their products being promoted between
segments of soft porn. And a large part of their conservative base hates
this as well, which might be why one Christian organization compared the way
women were dressed on FOX to the manner in which "hookers" are attired.
So what did we do?
With the News Hounds help, we found enough FOX lasciviousness for a whole
porn site!!
Really, we did. And it wasn't that hard to do. In fact, if you thought FOX
Attacks: Decency was a glimpse into the lustful thoughts of your favorite
FOX anchor, you ain't seen nothing yet.
Watch the video: http://foxnewsporn.com/?utm_source=rgemail
Satire and parody aside, we think this is extremely objectionable,
misogynistic content. We still don't understand how FOX is allowed to call
this "news." So let's make this campaign count, and hit FOX where it
hurts -- their Fair and Balance Sheet.
Many of you have been helping to create a massive database of local FOX
advertisers. Now it's time to start calling them. Pick one or two to call
and ask them to please not advertise on a channel that shows Girls Gone Wild
during prime time, and exploits women 24/7. Let them know in very personal
terms why this matters to you.
Click for a list of FOX advertisers near you:
http://foxattacks.com/attacker/?utm_source=rgemail
And please let us know how it goes! When you click on the 'call' or 'email'
advertiser link, you'll get an example script, and a form where you can
describe what happened. Fill it out so we can all share information on how
advertisers are reacting to the campaign. Plus, others will be inspired to
act and we can keep the pressure on these merchants of immorality. Be
creative make it personal and express how you feel.
Robert Greenwald, Cliff Schecter, and the Brave New Films team.
P.S. It's getting close to gift-giving time, so we've put together a special
edition DVD of Outfoxed with all the FOX Attacks videos and other bonus
features. The perfect stocking stuffer for that special conservative in your
life. Get one for $12.95 or a 5 pack for $50.
http://store.bravenewfilms.org/?utm_source=rgemail
---
Brave New Films creates videos and campaigns for social change. We are
located at 10510 Culver Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232 and
info@bravenewfilms.org. You can get us on iTunes and Facebook, and you can
stop receiving email from us by clicking here:
http://bravenewfilms.org/unsubscribe
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/11/15/regan/
Judith Regan's lawsuit against News Corp. alleges that Rupert Murdoch's
firm, which owns Fox News, wants Giuliani to be president. A look at links
between the candidate and the company.
By Alex Koppelman and Erin Renzas
[Fox news has much in common with Giuliani, hypocrisy in particular. This
right-wing biased media giant's porn peddling is documented in the article
below this one].
Nov. 16, 2007 | Of all the allegations contained in former ReganBooks
Publisher Judith Regan's lawsuit against her one-time employers at Rupert
Murdoch's News Corp., the most explosive is the first. Regan charges that
News Corp. executives wanted to destroy her reputation because she knew too
much about her ex-boyfriend, former New York City Police Commissioner Bernie
Kerik, and that what she knew could be harmful to the presidential hopes of
Rudy Giuliani -- whom she depicts as the preferred candidate of News Corp.
and its subsidiary, Fox News. According to Regan's suit, "This smear
campaign was necessary to advance News Corp.'s political agenda, which has
long centered on protecting Rudy Giuliani's presidential ambitions."
Regan and the married Kerik had a well-publicized yearlong affair. Their
assignations often took place in a lower Manhattan apartment that had been
specifically reserved for the use of workers in the aftermath of 9/11. After
Giuliani left the mayor's office on January 1, 2002, Kerik went to work for
him as a consultant at Giuliani Partners. Kerik and Regan broke up later in
2002. In December 2004, according to Regan's complaint, when President Bush
tapped Kerik, at Giuliani's recommendation, to head the federal Department
of Homeland Security, Regan was pressured to keep quiet, and asked to lie on
Kerik's behalf. "[A] senior executive in the News Corp. organization told
Regan that he believed she had information about Kerik that, if disclosed,
would harm Giuliani's presidential campaign. This executive advised Regan to
lie to, and to withhold information from, investigators concerning Kerik.
.... [D]efendants knew they would be protecting Giuliani if they could
preemptively discredit her."
This is not the first time that News Corp. has been accused of having a
political agenda. Fox News is often accused of favoring Republicans. In the
current presidential election cycle, however, there have also been repeated
suggestions, from critics on both the right and the left, that the network
prefers Giuliani over the other GOP contenders.
As it happens, Giuliani and News Corp. do have a history. Giuliani has
several personal and financial connections to News Corp. and Fox News --
beginning with Fox's top executive -- and those connections seem to have
proven mutually beneficial:
Roger Ailes: The head of Fox News, Ailes was a veteran Republican operative
long before he was a news executive, having worked as a media consultant in
the presidential campaigns of Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and the first
President Bush. In 1989, he worked as a media consultant on the unsuccessful
first mayoral campaign of a former federal prosecutor named Rudy Giuliani,
with whom he had bonded at dinner parties over their shared admiration for
Ronald Reagan. Since then, Giuliani and Ailes have remained good friends.
Giuliani officiated at Ailes' wedding and brought presents to Ailes' room
when Ailes was hospitalized in 1998. The New York Times has reported that
aides to the two men say they don't see each other often, but they did sit
together at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in April 2007 -- which
Giuliani attended as a guest of News Corp. (Ailes has also socialized with
Bernie Kerik.)
The Time Warner lawsuit: In 1994, according to the New York Times, Giuliani
prepared a speech for a reception honoring Ailes in which he wrote, "Roger
has played an important role in my own career." In 1996, Giuliani had an
opportunity to repay the favor. Fox News was launching, with Ailes at the
helm, and Time Warner, which provided cable service to 12 million homes
nationwide, had decided it would not carry Fox News. Time Warner was the
dominant cable operator in New York City, meaning that not only would 1.1
million city homes not get Fox, but the fledgling network would go unseen by
media powerbrokers in the nation's media capital.
Three days after Murdoch learned of Time Warner's decision, a call from
Ailes to Giuliani set in motion a series of unprecedented moves in favor of
a cable network by the Giuliani administration. As calls and meetings
continued between Fox and city officials, including Giuliani, the Giuliani
administration reportedly threatened Time Warner executives with the loss of
their cable franchise if the cable provider didn't accept a deal in which
the city would give up one of its own government channels so Fox News could
take the slot. (Some 30 other cable networks had tried and failed to win
channel space on Time Warner.) When Time Warner refused to take the deal,
the city announced that it would go ahead with the plan anyway and force the
cable provider to carry Fox News. A legal battle ensued.
Ultimately, the two warring parties made peace and Fox won carriage, but not
before a judge and an appeals panel both ruled against the city's plan. In
granting Time Warner a temporary injunction, a federal district court judge
issued a harsh rebuke to the Giuliani administration, saying the city had
repeatedly shifted the legal justifications for its stand, indicating that
"the City does not believe its own positions." The judge further wrote, "The
City's purpose in acting to compel Time Warner to give Fox one of its
commercial channels was to reward a friend... The very fact that the City
chose Fox News out of all other news programs -- not to mention the
significant number of other programs which have been denied space on Time
Warner's commercial network -- is by itself substantial evidence that the
City chose Fox News based on its content."
Lobbying: Giuliani's connections to News Corp. extend to his law and
lobbying firm, Bracewell & Giuliani. Giuliani announced his partnership in
the firm previously known as Bracewell & Patterson in March 2005. Beginning
the next month, according to congressional lobbying disclosure records, the
firm billed News Corp. and DirecTV, which was then a subsidiary of News
Corp., for $120,000 in federal lobbying during 2005. The firm represented
News Corp. on issues including regulations on violent and indecent
programming and the potential re-write of the 1996 Telecommunications Act.
In the years prior to Giuliani joining the firm, congressional records do
not show any lobbying work performed for News Corp.
Airtime: Earlier this year, a study by the political journal Hotline found
that Giuliani had been interviewed on Fox News during the first 196 days of
2007 for a total of 115 minutes, more than any other presidential contender,
and 14 minutes more than the runner-up, the then-undeclared Fred Thompson.
Sean Hannity: In Fox's defense, the bulk of the time Giuliani was on the
network he was talking to Sean Hannity, the Long Island-bred cohost of
"Hannity & Colmes." And no wonder -- though Hannity claims not to be
supporting a candidate (a denial he was forced to make when Ariz. Sen. John
McCain accused him on-air, albeit obliquely, of supporting Giuliani), he
flew to Ohio to introduce the former mayor at a campaign fundraiser in
August. When a New York Times reporter asked a Fox spokeswoman about the
Hotline figures, she responded that Hannity makes his own booking decisions.
Hannity has also handled post-debate anchor duties for all three Fox GOP
debates held to date.
Cease-and-desist: In October, Fox lawyers sent a cease and desist letter to
John McCain's campaign after he included footage from Fox's October 21
Orlando debate in a TV commercial. The ad featured a McCain quip aimed at
Senator Clinton's push for a so-called "Woodstock museum." The letter
demanded McCain pull the ad and remove footage of the debate from his Web
site, according to Talking Points Memo.
However, similar letters were not sent to two other GOP presidential
hopefuls who were also using footage from the Fox debate -- Rudy Giuliani
and Mitt Romney. After initial reports showed that only McCain had been sent
such an order, a Fox spokesperson told the New York Times, "Our legal team
has been alerted and there will be cease and desist orders." Letters were
sent to both the Romney and Giuliani campaigns, but they are apparently not
being heeded. Giuliani's Web site still makes liberal use of Fox footage,
including one clip added at least a week after the date of the cease and
desist letter. Romney's site also continues to feature material from the
debate.
Steve Forbes: Himself a former Republican presidential candidate, the
magazine magnate is now a national co-chair and senior policy advisor with
the Giuliani campaign. He's also, in the words of a Giuliani campaign press
release, "a frequent business commentator for Fox News Channel's 'Forbes on
Fox.'" Though that show is actually hosted by a Fox News employee, David
Asman, its guests come from the editorial staff of Forbes Magazine. Steve
Forbes is both the editor-in-chief of Forbes Magazine and the president and
CEO of its publisher, Forbes, Inc.
-------------------
"Can you quote us so not giving a ****?"
That was FOX's classy response to the half a million viewers who saw our FOX
Attacks Decency video.
Looks like we got to FOX this time, and it wasn't a debate about policy in
Iran that did it, or a video displaying their racism, or even our coverage
of their abject hypocrisy on environmental issues.
No, what got the attack dogs at FOX hungry and looking for flesh was none
other than an expose of their smut peddling! It makes sense in a way,
because advertisers tend not to like their products being promoted between
segments of soft porn. And a large part of their conservative base hates
this as well, which might be why one Christian organization compared the way
women were dressed on FOX to the manner in which "hookers" are attired.
So what did we do?
With the News Hounds help, we found enough FOX lasciviousness for a whole
porn site!!
Really, we did. And it wasn't that hard to do. In fact, if you thought FOX
Attacks: Decency was a glimpse into the lustful thoughts of your favorite
FOX anchor, you ain't seen nothing yet.
Watch the video: http://foxnewsporn.com/?utm_source=rgemail
Satire and parody aside, we think this is extremely objectionable,
misogynistic content. We still don't understand how FOX is allowed to call
this "news." So let's make this campaign count, and hit FOX where it
hurts -- their Fair and Balance Sheet.
Many of you have been helping to create a massive database of local FOX
advertisers. Now it's time to start calling them. Pick one or two to call
and ask them to please not advertise on a channel that shows Girls Gone Wild
during prime time, and exploits women 24/7. Let them know in very personal
terms why this matters to you.
Click for a list of FOX advertisers near you:
http://foxattacks.com/attacker/?utm_source=rgemail
And please let us know how it goes! When you click on the 'call' or 'email'
advertiser link, you'll get an example script, and a form where you can
describe what happened. Fill it out so we can all share information on how
advertisers are reacting to the campaign. Plus, others will be inspired to
act and we can keep the pressure on these merchants of immorality. Be
creative make it personal and express how you feel.
Robert Greenwald, Cliff Schecter, and the Brave New Films team.
P.S. It's getting close to gift-giving time, so we've put together a special
edition DVD of Outfoxed with all the FOX Attacks videos and other bonus
features. The perfect stocking stuffer for that special conservative in your
life. Get one for $12.95 or a 5 pack for $50.
http://store.bravenewfilms.org/?utm_source=rgemail
---
Brave New Films creates videos and campaigns for social change. We are
located at 10510 Culver Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232 and
info@bravenewfilms.org. You can get us on iTunes and Facebook, and you can
stop receiving email from us by clicking here:
http://bravenewfilms.org/unsubscribe