Is There a Snitch at Fox News?

Fox News had better watch its back now that a snitch is apparently feeding memos to the media exposing it as more of a conservative propaganda machine than a news operation. Two memos leaked to Media Matters revealed orders from the top directing staff to put a right-wing spin on issues of the day. Now America's "most influential right-wing media outlet is facing up to the chilling prospect of having a whistleblower in its own newsroom," notes the Independent. It could be even more cloak-and-dagger. "Liberal website Media Matters has an informant planted at Fox leaking memos, crows Contact Music.

One of the memos ordered reporters to use terms implying skepticism of global warming, another dictated terms when referring to the federal health care bill (such as referring to the "so-called public option') which polled poorly with Americans in research conducted by the Republican Party. Both memos came from Bill Sammon, managing editor of Fox News' DC operation. The Union of Concerned Scientists yesterday blasted Fox for its "unscientific" take on global warming. "Emails now suggest that this bias comes directly from the executives responsible for their news coverage," said a statement from the organization.
(More Media Matters stories.)