GOODY TWO SHOES: The Devil Is In The Disclosure Details
Salon.com notes that in the 57 appearances Karl Rove has made on Fox News since his debut as a political analyst, he has been variously introduced as a “former senior advisor to President Bush,” “the architect,” a “political wizard” and a “famed political consultant.”
All true enough. However, there’s one additional descriptor that Fox leaves out: “[N]ever has he been introduced as he should be - as an informal advisor and maxed-out donor to John McCain's presidential campaign.” In other words, he is hardly a disinterested, independent observer, and the Rupert Murdoch-owned Fox News does not seem inclined to disclose this fact to viewers.
And The Wall Street Journal, another Murdoch property, is also routinely remiss in disclosing the conflict of interest when publishing his op-ed pieces (but then, The Journal’s opinion pages have a history of not disclosing conflicts that predates Rupe).
To its credit, Salon.com also points out that “Newsweek, where Rove is a contributor, simply calls him a "former senior adviser for President Bush” and that until recently CNN did not disclose that Paul Begala and James Carville both contributed to Hillary Clinton’s campaign: “CNN now regularly identifies Begala and Carville as Clinton supporters and typically pairs them with an Obama supporter in conversation.”
BTW, Salon.com could have also mentioned that CNN also had not disclosed to viewers that election analyst William J. Bennett had contributed to both McCain and Mitt Romney.
Editorial Note: In other Wall Street Journal-related news, publisher Robert Thomson who had stepped in as interim managing editor after the sudden departure (second item) of Marcus Brauchli last month will take on the position permanently. Dow Jones Chief Executive Leslie Hinton will become the paper’s publisher.
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