33 internal FOX editorial memos reviewed

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33 internal FOX editorial memos reviewed by MMFA reveal FOX News Channel's
inner workings
FOX news exec John Moody on 9-11 Commission:

"Do not turn this into Watergate"

Moody on George W. Bush:

"His political courage and tactical cunning ar[e] [wo]rth noting in our
reporting through the day"

Moody on Sen. John Kerry:

"starting to feel the heat for his flip-flop voting record"

Documentary filmmaker Robert Greenwald's new film Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's
War on Journalism, which interviews former FOX employees to provide "an in-
depth look at Fox News [Channel] and the dangers of ever-enlarging
corporations taking control of the public's right to know," premiered at the
New School University in New York on July 13. The FOX News Channel markets
itself as "fair and balanced," promising that "We report. You decide."

As The Washington Post reported on July 11, Greenwald's film features "a
handful of memos from a top FOX executive that appear to suggest tilting the
news." Media Matters for America has analyzed 33 such internal FOX memos,
issued by FOX News Senior Vice President, News Editorial John Moody and Los
Angeles Bureau Chief Ken LaCoste between May 9 and June 3, 2003 and March 12
and May 5, 2004.

In the memos, some of which appear in Outfoxed, Moody instructs employees on
the approach to take on particular stories. His instructions reflect a clear
interest in furthering a conservative agenda and in supporting the Bush
administration. The Post quoted Larry Johnson, identified by the paper as "a
former part-time Fox commentator who appears in the film," describing the
Moody memos as "talking points instructing us what the themes are supposed to
be, and God help you if you stray." On July 13, Salon.com reviewed the film,
and provided "some of the most notable excerpts" from the memos, referred to
as "marching orders" by Jon DuPre, whom Salon identifies as "formerly of Fox
News."

In an interview with the Post, Moody rejected "the implication that I'm
controlling the news coverage" and said, "People are free to call me or
message me and say, 'I think you're off base.' Sometimes I take the advice,
sometimes I don't."

The following is a sample of reporting instructions issued by Moody to the
FOX News staff.

Moody on the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal:

[T]he pictures from Abu Graeb [sic] prison are disturbing. They have rightly
provoked outrage. Today we have a picture