We're not talking about the heads of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi or Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, though many Fox viewers would cheer those figurative decapitations. We’re talking about the heads of screw-ups who have been running images of overinflated attendance at Sean Hannity's Tea Parties and huge crowds at book signings of Sarah Palin's "Going Rogue."
It seems that Fox wants to appear more than just the political arm of the Republican National Committee and cheerleader for hard-core conservatives still smarting that Barack Obama is president of the U.S. Fox wants to be "fair and balanced," of all things. It wants to rise from the bush leagues to the majors. The FishBowlDC site has a memo from Fox News management, a group that is mad as hell and not willing to take it anymore. The Foxies are steaming over the "latest series of mistakes."
The last straw: showing the book cover of "Going Rouge. Sarah Palin: An American Nightmare" compiled by editors at the lefty Nation magazine. That boneheaded move is especially galling since it was done during a love session report on Palin's book.
Going Rouge is a collection of 23 essays from the likes of Jim Hightower and Naomi Klein skewering the gravitas and capability of Alaska's former governor to lead the U.S. The snarky tome received more publicity from Fox than what the writers could ever have hoped for in the mainstream media. They bless Fox.
Instead of looking for mistakes, Fox News should explore whether there is a political mole manning the switch.
According to the memo, there is now "zero tolerance for on-screen errors." On-air errors may result in disciplinary actions against those who played a big role in the "mistake chain." Jobs are on the line. Caution is now Job 1. The Fox newsroom is going to hit the air with basic news blocks and then build up slowly as deadlines approach. That will allow fact-checking before anything hits the air. The ultimate goal: Fox News will never have to explain, retract, qualify or apologize again.
You go, Fox. Best of luck.
One question remains: Will Fox fact-checkers review commentaries from Hannity, Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly?
They sure could use some help.