As early as Sunday, the White House Correspondents’ Association will decide which news organization will be awarded a recently-vacated front-row center seat in the White House briefing room.

The contenders? National Public Radio, Bloomberg News—and Fox.

Yes, Fox—which we all know is actually a tool in the right-wing propaganda machine, not a legitimate news organization. They simply don’t deserve the best seat in the White House briefing room—a seat held for years by journalist Helen Thomas until she retired recently.

So we’re joining our friends at CREDO Action to petition the Correspondents’ Association to award the seat to a real, public news organization: NPR.

Can you sign the petition today? Tell the Correspondents’ Association to give the best seat in the briefing room to NPR, not Fox.

http://pol.moveon.org/nprvsfox/

The petition says, “Give Helen Thomas’ former briefing room seat to NPR, which has provided public interest coverage for decades—not Fox, which is a right-wing propaganda tool, not a legitimate news organization.”

Then, please forward this email to your friends and post on Facebook and Twitter so we can spread the news faster. Already 140,000 people have signed onto this call through CREDO Action. Help us get up to 250,000 before the meeting on Sunday!

Winning this seat would give Fox legitimacy it simply doesn’t deserve—not after years of race-baiting, smears against progressives and Democrats, and spreading right-wing propaganda 24/7.

So instead we’re calling on the Association to award the seat to one of our nation’s premiere news organizations, which has served the public for years and currently reaches an audience of 27 million.

Will you sign the petition today? Just click here:

http://pol.moveon.org/nprvsfox/

Thanks for all you do.

–Kat, Marika, Jeff, Duncan, and the rest of the team

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From MoveOn.org:

All year, FOX has worked 24/7 to block President Obama’s agenda—repeating lies about “death panels,” promoting Tea Party protests, and whipping up fake political scandals.1

Now, President Obama is fighting back. The White House communications director said FOX is a “wing of the Republican Party…let’s not pretend they’re a news network.”2 To draw attention to its biased coverage, President Obama will not appear on FOX for the rest of this year.3

It’s about time Democrats stood up to FOX! Can you sign this petition asking Democrats to support President Obama’s stance by staying off FOX as long as he does? We’ll deliver it to Sen. Boxer and Sen. Feinstein and Rep. Matsui. Clicking here will add your name:

http://civic.moveon.org/foxobama/

The petition says: “Democrats should support President Obama’s effort to call out FOX. Please stay off FOX for as long as he does.”

Democrats often appear on FOX in hopes of reaching out to conservative viewers. But FOX cuts off their mic, distorts what they say, or runs biased headlines at the bottom of the screen.4 In the end, Democrats always lose on FOX.

FOX insists there’s a difference between its news shows and its right-wing opinion shows with Glenn Beck, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, and others.

But in August, FOX’s so-called news shows “aired 22 clips of town hall meeting attendees opposed” to Obama’s health care plans and zero in support. CNN and MSNBC were more fair and balanced.5

In another “news” story, FOX passed off a GOP press release as its own research—typo and all.6

FOX executives now describe the channel as “the voice of opposition” to Obama’s agenda. FOX president Roger Ailes—a former adviser to Nixon, Reagan, and George H.W. Bush—said, “I see this as the Alamo.”7

But a Capitol Hill newspaper reports, “In the House and Senate, Democrats who pledged to follow the administration’s near-boycott of Fox were hard to find, although many expressed support for Obama’s stance.”8

Democrats will only find the courage to join Obama if they hear from enough concerned voters. Sign this petition to ask Sen. Boxer and Sen. Feinstein and Rep. Matsui to stay off FOX. Clicking here will add your name:

http://civic.moveon.org/foxobama/

Thanks for all you do.

–Noah, Nita, Michael, Kat, and the rest of the team

Sources:
1. “Fox News viewers overwhelmingly misinformed about health care reform proposals,” Think Progress, August 19, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=84884

“Fox News Signs On To Tea Party Agenda, Aggressively Promotes Anti-Obama Protests,” Think Progress, April 10, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=84885

“Beck-led Fox News “czar” witch hunt moves to ridiculous smear of Anita Dunn,” Media Matters for America, October 16, 2009

http://mediamatters.org/research/200910160004

2. “White House: Fox News ‘a wing of the Republican Party’,” New York Daily News, October 12, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=84886

3. “The Battle Between the White House and Fox News,” The New York Times, October 17, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=84898

4. “Outfoxed: Fox News technique: cut their mic!” Brave New Films, May 11, 2007

“The Case Against FOX,” FOXAttacks.com

http://foxattacks.com/facts.php

5. “Fox News’ town hall coverage amplifies opponents of health care reform, ignores supporters,” Media Matters for America, September 8, 2009

http://mediamatters.org/print/research/200909080004

6. “Fox passes off GOP press release as its own research—typo and all,” Media Matters for America, February 10, 2009

http://mediamatters.org/research/200902100019

7. “‘Voice of the opposition’: Fox News openly advocates against Democratic Congress, White House,” Media Matters for America, September 11, 2009

http://mediamatters.org/reports/200909110016

8. “Congressional Democrats defend the White House’s snub of Fox News,” The Hill, October 14, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=84899

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