It looks as if Fox News has a special animus against GOP candidate Ron Paul, though that way it doctored the AP story about Ron Paul getting an endorsement from a brothel owner in Nevada is almost more inept than malicious. Since Chadwick Matlin over at Slate did a fairly comprehensive critique, I'll just give you his whole post:
Doctored Paul
At 11 a.m. today, one of FoxNews.com's top stories was an article about a Nevada brothel owner endorsing Ron Paul. But the story wasn't written by Fox News; it was a tweaked version of an Associated Press story that hit the wires early Monday. And, to make matters even more muddled, that story was taken from a Reno Gazette-Journal piece. Something was lost in translation.
The original article was a solid piece about a strange scene at a Ron Paul event in Reno. Tucker Carlson, who was trailing Paul for a magazine piece, invited his friend Dennis Hof out to the event. Hof, who owns the Moonlite BunnyRanch brothel, emerged from a limousine with Carlson and two prostitutes. He then took a liking to Paul and decided to endorse the Republican, saying that he would "get all the Bunnies together, and we can raise him some money."
The Associated Press then adapted the story and sent it out on the wires. But the AP story that Fox News published is different than the one the AP originally ran.
Changes include:
The headline: "Paul Endorsed by Nevada Brothel Owner" became " ‘BunnyRanch' Brothel Owner Endorses Underdog GOP Candidate Ron Paul." Note that Fox News thinks you need more detail to know who Ron Paul is. Also, they add the brothel's name in the headline--the Playboy bunny allusion makes it a bit sexier. It's common practice for news organizations to spice up AP headlines.
The donation box: One of the best details in the AP story is Hof's plan to put a "collection box" outside the brothel's door for patrons to donate money to Paul. It's not in Fox's story.
The kicker: In the most curious change, Fox took a sentence from the middle of the AP's article and stuck it at the end. By concluding the piece with the true statement, "Paul also is a devout Christian who opposes abortion," it makes Paul sound like a hypocrite for accepting the brothel owner's endorsement. You don't get that impression reading the AP's article, which is more about the oddity that a political candidate isn't trying to distance himself from Nevada's brothel industry.
In principle, Fox hasn't done anything wrong. News outlets edit AP content all the time, and the AP's senior managing editor told me that Fox was within its rights to make changes to the copy. He added that he doesn't think Fox's tweaks change the fundamental tone of the story.I disagree. The emphasis on its home page and the altered kicker suggest Fox is getting in a dig at Paul, however minor it may be. But if Fox wanted to make Paul look like he was taking money from prostitutes and their patrons, why remove the detail about the donation box? I'm not asking for fairness or balance--just consistency.One more detail that Fox inexplicably eliminated: The damning revelation that MSNBC anchor Tucker Carlson emerged from a limousine with prostitutes at a political event. Have Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes gone soft?
Posted Monday, November 26, 2007 5:58 PM by
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Chadwick Matlin
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5 comments:
Alan don't worry about it. Hillary is endorsed by the communist party usa, the biggest and most organized racist group in the USA (LaRaza) and by porn star Jenna Jamison....
They said nothing about it after it was reported.
The more you talk about these things, the more viral they become. IGNORE IGNORE IGNORE!
God bless!
People see though the propaganda.
It's interesting how Tucker Carlson set this up, then all the media runs with it. Watching you have to know that there is very little real jounalism today. It's all cut and paste someone else's story even if it's wrong or staged.
In 1988, when Ron Paul was running for the Libertarian Party nomination, he was asked straight out, "Who would you accept as a Vice-Presidential candidate?"
His answer:
"Anyone but Norma Jean Almodovar."
Norma Jean was the famous "Cop to Call Girl" who was running for California Lt. Gov. at the time on the Libertarian ticket.
Kind of ironic that back then Paul was bashing Prostitutes, but now he's taking contributions from them.
Isn't it great that Ron Paul has excited people from all different circles. In this case we have people that have decided to work instead of sponging off the government and they are coming out to support their candidate. It's the message that they are supporting though. If Ron Paul was like all the other Fat Cats running for President, then we would hear nothing. Support the message or empty your wallet for a Fat Cat!
I would say there's a difference between having a prostitute for a running mate and getting support from one. Actually, I met Norma Jean Almodovar (and her husband!) a few times, after she was out of the business,and found her quite intelligent and respectable. However, there's no denying that her former profession allowed most of the media to treat her candidacy as a dirty joke. However, as R.C. Hoiles used to say, a brothel is more morally respectable than a government school because all its customers are there by their own choice.
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