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Now, it is certainly legal for a news network to promote any cause it likes.
And it is almost certainly legal for any PAC to cheerfully accept free TV time.
But when a regular host hawks for a partisan cause, we clearly have, at best, an ethics problem.
http://mediamatters.org/resear...
On two Fox News shows in October, Fox News host Mike Huckabee directed viewers to "go to [website]," urging them to sign a petition telling Congress to "balance the budget," "cut their spending," and "save American families"; however, [website] redirects visitors to Huckabee's political action committee, which financially supports Republican candidates and also pays Huckabee's daughter's salary. Subsequently, Huck PAC apparently emailed petition signers -- who were required to provide an email address in order to sign the "[website]" petition -- "newsletters" urging political action on behalf of Republican-backed candidates and soliciting donations for campaigns against Democrats who voted for health care reform.
Among activists, Fox's Republicanism is taken as such a given that we tend to ignore stuff like this.
Any network reporter would be fired instantly if he/she urged donations to a Democratic PAC -- and rightly so.
We shouldn't get jaded to Fox's skirting of ethics, especially when they amount to an end run around campaign finance laws. Huck PAC is getting free advertising.
And let's not forget that this man would like to be president. If he accumulates considerable funds this way, at some point it will be too late to call him on it.
Phone calls, emails and letters from the public do make a difference. Remember that to be effective you must be polite, and professional. Express your specific concerns regarding that particular news report or commentary, and indicate what you would like the media outlet to do differently in the future.
* Fox News Channel
FOX News Channel
1-888-369-4762
1211 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
http://twitter.com/foxnews
