Zippyjuan
11-06-2018, 01:48 PM
https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/fox-news-hannity-campaign-appearance-trump-1203021007/
Fox News Channel said it did not condone host Sean Hannity’s appearance Monday night during President Donald Trump’s campaign rally and called the episode “an unfortunate distraction.”
Hannity on Monday night was called up to the stage by President Trump at an event held in Missouri, and then told the audience that reporters in attendance to cover it “are fake news.”
“Fox News does not condone any talent participating in campaign events,” the 21st Century Fox-owned news network said in a statement. “We have an extraordinary team of journalists helming our coverage tonight and we are extremely proud of their work. This was an unfortunate distraction and has been addressed.” A spokeswoman for the parent company referred an inquiry to Fox News, which did not elaborate on whether Hannity had been reprimanded in any other fashion.
Hannity, who considers himself an opinion host and not a traditional journalists, has in the past skirted norms that would typically apply to an editorial employee of a news organization. Hannity in 2016 appeared in a promotional video for the Trump campaign, but Fox News at the time issued a statement saying that executives had not been aware of it, noting he would not appear in any more through the remainder of the election. In 2010, he was ordered not to broadcast his program as part of a Tea Party rally originating from Cincinnati.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/06/media/fox-news-sean-hannity-jeanine-pirro-trump-rally/index.html
'It disturbs me to my core': Fox News staffers express outrage over Hannity's rally appearance
Fox News journalists were outraged and disgusted after Sean Hannity, the network's star host, campaigned with President Donald Trump on Monday night ahead of the midterm elections, more than half a dozen employees told CNN Business.
"People throughout the company think a new line was crossed," one senior Fox News employee told CNN Business on Tuesday.
"It disturbs me to my core," said another senior Fox News employee, who added, "I am so f---ing mad."
"We were all told that Hannity was going to interview the president, but no one that I spoke with expected what happened last night," added a third senior Fox News employee. "I'm aghast as are a number of other people."
The Fox News employees all spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.
Some of Fox News' biggest names, including Hannity, the hosts of "Fox & Friends," and Jeanine Pirro — who also appeared with Trump on stage Monday night — have turned into full-time Trump supporters on television over the past two years. Some, like Hannity, Pirro and Fox Business Network host Lou Dobbs, reportedly even act as unofficial advisers to Trump at times. But Monday night's rally crossed a new line, making explicit what had long been implicit.
The Trump campaign had promoted Hannity over the weekend as a "special guest" at Trump's final rally before Tuesday's midterm election. But a Fox News spokesperson told CNN Business and other news outlets soon after that Hannity would simply be at the rally in Missouri to broadcast his show and cover the event for the network. Hannity offered an identical message in a Monday morning tweet, saying, "To be clear, I will not be on stage campaigning with the president."
Yet just hours later, Hannity and Pirro were both on stage with Trump, energizing the Republican base ahead of Election Day.
After having expressly denied that he would be campaigning on stage with the President, the first move from Hannity when he walked on stage was to slam members of the media stationed at the back of the auditorium as "fake news," apparently not realizing -- or caring -- that Fox News journalists were among the "people in the back" that he had insulted.
One Fox News employee described to CNN Business the scene at the New York headquarters of Fox News at the time, as a number of journalists inside the company's news division watched the episode unfold live. The person said that the employees were dismayed at what they saw.
Other Fox News employees questioned why network executives have not taken any action.
"The whole thing is just so embarrassing that this guy basically has free rein to do whatever he wants, and management is either helpless or uninterested in doing anything about it," said one Fox News employee.
Another employee said that Hannity's behavior, both Monday night and generally, "continues to make the task of the news side all that much harder."
One former senior Fox News employee told CNN Business that he had spoken to a number of former colleagues who are still at the network about the matter. He described them as "livid."
In a Tuesday afternoon statement, a Fox News spokesperson said, "Fox News does not condone any talent participating in campaign events. We have an extraordinary team of journalists helming our coverage tonight and we are extremely proud of their work. This was an unfortunate distraction and has been addressed."
Asked by CNN Business exactly how the matter had been addressed, the spokesperson declined to elaborate.
Fox News Channel said it did not condone host Sean Hannity’s appearance Monday night during President Donald Trump’s campaign rally and called the episode “an unfortunate distraction.”
Hannity on Monday night was called up to the stage by President Trump at an event held in Missouri, and then told the audience that reporters in attendance to cover it “are fake news.”
“Fox News does not condone any talent participating in campaign events,” the 21st Century Fox-owned news network said in a statement. “We have an extraordinary team of journalists helming our coverage tonight and we are extremely proud of their work. This was an unfortunate distraction and has been addressed.” A spokeswoman for the parent company referred an inquiry to Fox News, which did not elaborate on whether Hannity had been reprimanded in any other fashion.
Hannity, who considers himself an opinion host and not a traditional journalists, has in the past skirted norms that would typically apply to an editorial employee of a news organization. Hannity in 2016 appeared in a promotional video for the Trump campaign, but Fox News at the time issued a statement saying that executives had not been aware of it, noting he would not appear in any more through the remainder of the election. In 2010, he was ordered not to broadcast his program as part of a Tea Party rally originating from Cincinnati.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/06/media/fox-news-sean-hannity-jeanine-pirro-trump-rally/index.html
'It disturbs me to my core': Fox News staffers express outrage over Hannity's rally appearance
Fox News journalists were outraged and disgusted after Sean Hannity, the network's star host, campaigned with President Donald Trump on Monday night ahead of the midterm elections, more than half a dozen employees told CNN Business.
"People throughout the company think a new line was crossed," one senior Fox News employee told CNN Business on Tuesday.
"It disturbs me to my core," said another senior Fox News employee, who added, "I am so f---ing mad."
"We were all told that Hannity was going to interview the president, but no one that I spoke with expected what happened last night," added a third senior Fox News employee. "I'm aghast as are a number of other people."
The Fox News employees all spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.
Some of Fox News' biggest names, including Hannity, the hosts of "Fox & Friends," and Jeanine Pirro — who also appeared with Trump on stage Monday night — have turned into full-time Trump supporters on television over the past two years. Some, like Hannity, Pirro and Fox Business Network host Lou Dobbs, reportedly even act as unofficial advisers to Trump at times. But Monday night's rally crossed a new line, making explicit what had long been implicit.
The Trump campaign had promoted Hannity over the weekend as a "special guest" at Trump's final rally before Tuesday's midterm election. But a Fox News spokesperson told CNN Business and other news outlets soon after that Hannity would simply be at the rally in Missouri to broadcast his show and cover the event for the network. Hannity offered an identical message in a Monday morning tweet, saying, "To be clear, I will not be on stage campaigning with the president."
Yet just hours later, Hannity and Pirro were both on stage with Trump, energizing the Republican base ahead of Election Day.
After having expressly denied that he would be campaigning on stage with the President, the first move from Hannity when he walked on stage was to slam members of the media stationed at the back of the auditorium as "fake news," apparently not realizing -- or caring -- that Fox News journalists were among the "people in the back" that he had insulted.
One Fox News employee described to CNN Business the scene at the New York headquarters of Fox News at the time, as a number of journalists inside the company's news division watched the episode unfold live. The person said that the employees were dismayed at what they saw.
Other Fox News employees questioned why network executives have not taken any action.
"The whole thing is just so embarrassing that this guy basically has free rein to do whatever he wants, and management is either helpless or uninterested in doing anything about it," said one Fox News employee.
Another employee said that Hannity's behavior, both Monday night and generally, "continues to make the task of the news side all that much harder."
One former senior Fox News employee told CNN Business that he had spoken to a number of former colleagues who are still at the network about the matter. He described them as "livid."
In a Tuesday afternoon statement, a Fox News spokesperson said, "Fox News does not condone any talent participating in campaign events. We have an extraordinary team of journalists helming our coverage tonight and we are extremely proud of their work. This was an unfortunate distraction and has been addressed."
Asked by CNN Business exactly how the matter had been addressed, the spokesperson declined to elaborate.