The Fox Effect: How Roger Ailes Turned a Network into a Propaganda Machine

by David Brock

  Hannity continued helping O’Donnell through Election Day. In a remarkable display of hypocrisy, Hannity attacked the media for paying attention to O’Donnell’s “witchcraft” comments because they occurred in the past, despite repeatedly attacking Coons as a “bearded Marxist,” which was a reference to the tongue-in-cheek headline of an article Coons wrote in college. Recognizing the value of Hannity’s support, O’Donnell praised him as “a leader of the band in saying we have got to stand on our principles.”35

  O’Donnell wasn’t the only Republican candidate who understood the benefits of Sean Hannity’s support. California Senate candidate Carly Fiorina, Ohio gubernatorial hopeful John Kasich, and a myriad of other Republican candidates went on his show to solicit campaign funds.

  Sharron Angle, who was running against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, was particularly shameless about using Fox News and Hannity to raise money. On September 10, Angle appeared on Hannity’s show to tout her push to raise $1 million by the end of the month. Angle called Hannity—who had previously said that Nevada voters “have a duty”36 to defeat Reid— a “great American.” After Hannity accused Reid of running negative ads and asked how Angle would respond, she said, “Harry Reid has $25 million, and I need a million people with $25 to go to SharronAngle.com.”37

  Angle went so far as to actually attach a monetary value to her appearances on his show. At a Nevada house party she was recorded saying,

  I’ve been criticized for saying that I like to be friends with the [press]—but here’s the deal: when I get a friendly press outlet—not so much the guy that’s interviewing me—it’s their audience that I’m trying to reach. So, if I can get on Rush Limbaugh, and I can say, “Harry Reid needs twenty-five million dollars. I need a million people to send twenty-five dollars to SharronAngle.com”… When I said it on Sean Hannity’s television show we made forty thousand dollars before we even got out of the studio in New York. It was just [great]. So that’s what I’m really reaching out to is that audience that’s had it with Harry, and you can watch that happen when I go on those shows. Go on my website, it starts coming in.38

  No wonder Republicans loved appearing on Fox News at 9 p.m. Less than fifteen minutes of time could bring in forty thousand dollars, far more efficient than almost any other form of grassroots fundraising.

  In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network’s David Brody, Angle expounded on her strategy, noting that Fox News was the only major network that would let her raise funds on the air:

  DAVID BRODY: Not to harp on the point, but when you’re on Fox News or talking to more conservative outlets but maybe not going on Meet the Press or a This Week, those type of news shows, then the perception and the narrative starts to be like you are avoiding those mainstream media outlets.

  SHARRON ANGLE: Well, in that audience will they let me say

  I need 25 dollars from a million people go to Sharron Angle.com send money? Will they let me say that? Will I get a bump on my website and you can watch whenever I go on to a show like that we get an immediate bump. You can see the little spinners. People say, “Oh, I heard that. I am going and I’m going to help Sharron out” because they realize this is a national effort and that I need people from all around the nation. They may not be able to vote for me but they can certainly help.39

  Hannity not only assisted Angle’s fund-raising efforts, but he also helped spread lies about her opponent. In October, he praised one especially dishonest attack ad that claimed Reid “voted to use taxpayer dollars to pay for Viagra for convicted child molesters and sex offenders” as “the template that I think every candidate could use against Democrats.”40 Contrary to Hannity’s insistence that it was “in the [health care] bill,” the law included no such provision.

  And whenever Republican candidates committed a gaffe, Hannity could be counted on to come to the rescue. For instance, after Rand Paul attracted widespread criticism for suggesting that elements of the Civil Rights Act were unconstitutional, Hannity was eager to help him recover. In an interview with the Kentucky Tea Party candidate, Hannity said, “When I first saw the news coverage of it, I said, ‘What? He doesn’t support the Civil Rights Act?’ That’s how it was portrayed. And you clearly laid out just the opposite, and it was very clear.”41 It was the media, Hannity claimed, that were at fault and had “tried to purposely distort” Paul’s words.

  Fox News was not the only venue for Hannity’s political efforts. In March, Hannity was the keynote speaker at a fund-raiser for the National Republican Congressional Committee that raised $7 million for the party. According to Roll Call, “The dinner is traditionally one of the committee’s biggest single sources of fundraising for the year.”42

  Hannity’s political activism extended back several years. In 2008, he helped raise money for Rudy Giuliani’s presidential campaign. As the Daily News reported, “It’s no secret that Sean Hannity, the conservative Fox News commentator, has helped to raise Rudy Giuliani’s profile—but now he’s helped the former mayor raise money, too. In a little noticed event this month, Hannity—co-host of Fox News’ Hannity & Colmes and host of a popular WABC radio show—introduced the Republican front-runner at a closed-door, $250-per-head fund-raiser Aug. 9 in Cincinnati, campaign officials acknowledge.”43

  Two years earlier, Hannity pledged on his radio show to contribute “the maximum that I can give” to Republican Jeanine Pirro’s campaign to unseat Hillary Clinton in New York. He also told his radio audience, “Listen, I’m gonna have to run, but I want people to donate to your campaign.”44

  According to Bill Shine, all of this was okay because “Sean is not a journalist—Sean is a conservative commentator.” He added, “Sean doesn’t hide, and never has hidden, his beliefs from anyone.”45

  In the final days of the campaign, Sean Hannity continued his all-out efforts to elect Republicans to office. Raising funds, attacking their opponents, and Hannitizing their campaign for Fox News’s activist audience. More than any host on Fox, Sean Hannity could be counted on to help Republican candidates in need.

  In 2010 there was no Democrat whom Republicans wanted to defeat more than Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Even though the party had to nominate their strongest candidate, according to public polling, Tea Party darling Sharron Angle was running ahead. With the economy reeling and anticipation of a Republican wave in November, Reid appeared likely to lose. Fox News was dedicated to making that happen.

  A little more than a week before Election Day, the network unveiled an October surprise for Reid. Blared across the home page of FoxNews.com was the headline “Harry Reid Aide Lied to Fed over Sham Marriage.” According to the article, “An aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid repeatedly lied to federal immigration and FBI agents and submitted false federal documents to the Department of Homeland Security to cover up her illegal seven-year marriage to a Lebanese national who was the subject of an Oklahoma City Joint Terror Task Force investigation, FoxNews.com has learned.”46

  The story had all the elements of a Fox News scandal: race, terrorism, and a leading Democratic member of Congress. The report, though, was much ado about nothing, at least as it pertained to Reid. The aide was never charged with a crime, and the incident had occurred years before she joined the senator’s staff.

  Reid’s office was quick to respond. In a statement, Reid spokesman Jim Manley said, “Our office was not previously aware of these allegations and, following an internal investigation, the staffer at issue is no longer with our office. The conduct alleged, which took place several years before the staffer worked for Senator Reid, was clearly wrong. But the bottom line remains that this story was a desperation measure by partisan Republicans, who have stooped to slinging mud about junior staffers to score points in the waning days of her campaign.”47

  The banner headline was hypocritical, considering the network had essentially ignored reports that an aide to Louisiana Republican Senator David Vitter had been arrested for attacking his ex-girlfriend wit
h a knife. Not only did Vitter not fire the staffer following his arrest, but he allowed him to continue working on women’s issues. The aide resigned only after ABC News reported on the investigation several months later. Fox mentioned the story only once in passing.

  The next day, Bret Baier introduced the Reid story, claiming, “The last thing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid needed was a political scandal as he fights to hold on to his seat from Nevada. But he has one tonight.”48 To keep the “scandal” alive, Fox deceptively cropped Manley’s quote to eliminate the sentence making it clear that the incident took place before the staffer in question worked for Reid, as well as the fact that the senator’s office had not been aware of her actions. Fox’s version of the quote read, “The staffer at issue is no longer with our office … the bottom line remains that this story was a desperation measure by partisan Republicans, who have stooped to slinging mud about junior staffers to score points in the waning days of [Sharron Angle’s] campaign.”49 Due to the specious nature of the charges, the story died and did not have an impact on the election.

  After kicking off election week with a dubious attack on Reid, Fox News began a nonstop promotional campaign for Republi-

  can candidates on its airwaves. This final push began on October 26, when Fox & Friends interviewed Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele from inside the “Fire Pelosi” bus, on which he had been touring the country. “You want a job, then you’re going to have to fire Pelosi,” Steele proclaimed, “because she’s the one who’s blocking your ability to get that job.”50

  In the next hour, Fox hosted Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul to respond to charges that one of his campaign volunteers had assaulted a female member of the progressive organization MoveOn.org outside of a debate.

  Later, Neil Cavuto hosted Florida gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott to attack his Democratic opponent for her debate performance. Glenn Beck hosted Tea Party superstars Jim DeMint, Michele Bachmann, and Jason Chaffetz, complimenting the trio as “good representatives in Washington that are—that are standing there in a lion’s den every day” and “good guys that need your help.” Doing everything he could for his friends, Beck asked, “What kind of help do you need?”51

  In prime time, Sean Hannity hosted Michael Steele for his second Fox News appearance of the day. During the interview, Steele insulted President Obama as “not very presidential”52 and presented Hannity with a “Fire Pelosi” baseball cap and miniature football.

  After chatting with Steele, Hannity interviewed Sean Bielat, who was running against Massachusetts congressman Barney Frank. Hannity introduced the segment by playing a clip of Frank saying, “The right-wing media, talk-show hosts decided to target me. I’ve had Hannity, Limbaugh, Beck, basically saying things about me that weren’t true.” Hannity responded, “Nice try, Congressman, but I think the reason you are in the toughest race of your career has nothing to do with me or any other talk show host and everything to do with our next guest.”53 Bielat proceeded to ask for contributions and plug his website.

  Hannity also included California congressional candidate Nick Popaditch on that night’s “Great American Panel.” Popaditch used the platform to level attacks on the president, who he claimed was “out there only representing some of the people, and a pretty extreme some.”54

  The only Democratic official who appeared on Fox News that day was Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine, whose interview on Fox & Friends took on a far different tone. Rather than friendly banter, Kaine had to respond to combative statements, such as Gretchen Carlson’s claim that “one of the things the voters are upset about with many of the Blue Dogs and Democrats in general was that they voted for health care.”55

  “You could go state to state, any of those closely contested races where the candidate aligned with the Fox ideology got easy access to the airwaves,”56 said Tom Fiedler, dean of the Boston University College of Communications.

  Although some hosts claimed that candidates had turned down requests for interviews, the fact was that Democrats had nothing to gain by appearing on Fox so close to the election. With the network in campaign mode, they wouldn’t get a fair shake.

  Meanwhile, Fox’s attacks became even more outlandish. For instance, President Obama had been using variations of the following metaphor on the campaign trail since August:

  Finally we got this car up on level ground. And, yes, it’s a little beat up. It needs to go to the body shop. It’s got some dents; it needs a tune-up. But it’s pointing in the right direction. And now we’ve got the Republicans tapping us on the shoulder, saying, “We want the keys back.” You can’t have the keys back. You don’t know how to drive. You can ride with us if you want, but you got to sit in the backseat. We’re going to put middle-class America in the front seat. We’re looking out for them.57

  Suddenly, a week before the election, Fox News heard racial overtones in the president’s stump speech. On Fox News, the bad driver in the backseat of the car was a reference to segregation. “Talk about sit in the back of the bus,” Sean Hannity commented, wondering aloud what would happen if “a talk show host and a conservative commentator made such a reference.”58 Echoing Hannity, Stuart Varney said, “When I looked at that, being foreign born, I know the association that that was bringing to the public mind … It’s unpresidential.”59

  On Fox & Friends, Peter Johnson, Jr., described Obama’s metaphor as “a peculiar and strange and haunting and really backward reference that we’re seeing by the president and what we’re really seeing is a reference to the notion of being in the back of the bus, and that’s a matter of sad American history, embarrassing American history.”60

  In the afternoon, Monica Crowley stated, “I think after the civil rights movement of the 1950s, riding in the back certainly does have some civil rights and racial overtones to it and you can’t tell me that the president of the United States was not aware of that when he said it.”61

  Obama had spoken about Republicans driving the country into a ditch for months without controversy. The quote obviously had nothing to do with the institutional racism of the South. Fox News simply couldn’t pass up the chance to stir up racial divisions one last time before the 2010 elections.

  On the second day of election week, Fox’s lineup skewed even more toward Republicans, as the network didn’t host a single Democratic candidate or party official. On America’s Newsroom, Martha MacCallum bent over backward to help California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman improve on her performance in the previous night’s debate. “Did you think that was a fair question from Matt Lauer last night?” MacCallum asked, referencing Lauer’s attempt to get the candidates to renounce negative ads. “Was it fair that he put you both on the spot in that way?” Later in the interview, MacCallum told Whitman, “I’m going to give you a do-over right now.”62

  Megyn Kelly talked with a lawyer representing Sharron Angle, who claimed that Harry Reid would attempt to steal the election. “We follow the law—try to follow the law scrupulously, and we’re always held to a higher standard,” the lawyer claimed. “We get punished when we get even close to the line; the Democrats skate very close to the line.”63

  Sean Hannity hosted West Virginia senatorial candidate John Raese, whom he referred to as a “real Republican,” and accused Democrat Joe Manchin of “running as far away from being a Democrat and Barack Obama and Harry Reid [as] anybody else out there.”64

  Greta Van Susteren concluded the evening by giving Meg Whitman an opportunity to respond to allegations from her former housekeeper, saying that the woman’s lawyer, Gloria Allred, was “ambushing” the gubernatorial candidate.

  The next day offered more of the same, as Fox & Friends started by interviewing conservative Senate hopefuls Marco Rubio and Pat Toomey. On America’s Newsroom, Bill Hemmer interviewed New York gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino. Opening the interview, Hemmer said, “You started your campaign as a guy—you were mad as hell, and that’s what all your yar
d signs said. And people are like, ‘Yeah, I’m mad as hell, too, Carl.’ ”65 Later, Hannity hosted one of his favorite candidates, Christine O’Donnell, as well as New York congressional candidate Michael Grimm. Van Susteren ended the night with Arizona governor Jan Brewer.

  Tim Kaine, Democratic Senate candidate Kendrick Meek, and Republican-turned-Independent Charlie Crist were the only non-Republicans to show up.

  In the final twenty-four hours before the election, Fox News hosted thirteen Republican candidates or officials and just three Democrats (along with one candidate from the right-wing Constitution Party). From Carly Fiorina in California to Joe Miller in Alaska to Tom Coburn in Oklahoma, Republican candidates flocked to Fox News, where they were given free rein to promote their campaigns and urge the party faithful to get out the vote. Several of the hosts seemed to cheer on their favorite candidates. During an interview with former Republican congressman Tom Tancredo, who was running for Colorado governor as a member of the conservative Constitution Party, Neil Cavuto gushed, “Tom Tancredo, who was written off, now has the momentum maybe to be the next governor … If the polls are right, you’re on fire.”66

  Later that evening, Sean Hannity closed his interview with Sharron Angle by expressing excitement about her potential victory. “I think there are a lot of conservatives like myself looking forward to the announcement tomorrow,”67 he said.

  The Democrats who appeared on the network received no such treatment. Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen was asked by Bill Hemmer how Democrats would “work with Tea Party candidates that—who will no doubt be swept into office tomorrow” if “you lose the House and you come razor thin to even hanging on in the Senate.”68

  There was no balance. The line between news and opinion did not matter. Fox News had chosen its team and was rooting them on. Hope was high as the voting began. Now all that was left was the counting. For two years, Fox had worked toward this moment. It had served as the communications hub of the Republican Party, contributed more than two million dollars and raised tens of millions more, and used the Tea Parties to build a movement that supplied bodies for the Republican field operation. Now it was time to see the fruits of that labor materialize.