The Backstory on the BCB Fox News Debate.

[illinoisprogressive]

Matt Stoller of Mydd has an important story on the debates with Fox and how they came about:

Ok, so get ready for a really messed up backstory on the whole Fox News/CBC/Presidential politics angle. Ben Smith at the Politico reminded me this sordid episode, and it's a nice microcosm of horrible insider corporate Democratic politics. Here's the story.

Nielssn is the company that counts how many people watch a TV show so that ad buyers can plan their buys. A few years ago, they proposed a change to their ratings system, which was based on paper surveys of sample audiences. They wanted to automate counting with 'people meters' that could more accurately count viewership and demographics. This is a big deal, because Nielsen is the referee for ratings, and tens of billion of dollars in ad buys are contoured around their ratings system. When the service was first rolled out, initial tests suggested that certain Fox programs had lower minority audiences than was counted under the old paper system. If News Corp let this change happen, Fox was going to take a hit.

At first, according to the New York Times, News Corp just tried threatening Nielsen.


What happened at the meeting is in dispute. Ms. Whiting met with Peter Chernin, president of the News Corporation, and Lachlan Murdoch, who is the son of Rupert Murdoch and chief executive of the Fox stations group. Ms. Whiting said she was told that ''if you go ahead, we will do everything possible to discredit you and the company in Washington and legally, and we will start a competitor.''

''I have never been threatened like that before,'' she said. ''So we knew it was serious.''

The rest of the story is very important you link to it. it involves many people who work for or had the Clintons.

http://www.mydd.com/

[monmouth]

1. I just finished this "must read" and my mouth is still agape. This is not

what Hillary would want made known, I can't imagine. I knew something was up though when Murdoch had that party for her. Wow.... Very, very informative, and many thanks for posting. You surely don't get news like this MSM. It should be in NYT, LAT, etc. Great post. edited for typo.

[madfloridian]

2. Here is a link to one of the articles there.

It is making me agree that there is so much there with News Corp that the CBC should really not have this debate on Fox. You can not trust Fox.

I think the bottom line is News Corp lobbied congress against Neilson with the help of the Glover Park group and the Dewey Square Group. Many of the prominent players are on the Clinton campaign, or were with the Clinton White House.

This article from Prensa has more.

http://www.everyonecounts.tv/espanol/press/0404_rollcall.html

"After a year of failing to block Nielsen's plan through a city-by-city offensive on the legal and public-relations fronts, News Corp. is now going to rely on its ability to leverage its wide mix of audiences in a bid to influence Congress. To rally minority Democratic lawmakers to its cause, News Corp. is working quietly through a coalition called Don't Count Us Out, which argues that undercounting black and Hispanic households will cause Fox and other networks to cancel programs aimed at minority viewers.

To rope in Republicans, meanwhile, News Corp. is leaning on the credibility among conservatives of Fox News, the network known for its flag-waving graphics and conservative commentary by Bill O'Reilly. "Obviously, they've made a very, very strong effort to get Republicans," said an official close to the issue who asked not to be identified. "They're calling in their favors - because they're Fox News, because they've been with them on the conservative issues, and because they need
their help now."

"The draft letter circulated alongside talking points that outlined the case against Nielsen's technology. While the letter was new, the talking points were a year old - and they were written by lobbyists at the Glover Park Group, a firm founded by former Clinton administration
officials that was brought into the fight with Nielsen to help rally minority lawmakers, Roll Call reported last year.

Glover Park has helped organize the Don't Count Us Out Coalition, the public face of News Corp.'s advertising and grass-roots blitz designed to bring Nielsen to heel. The coalition describes itself on its Web site as a collection of "minority leaders, community groups, producers, directors, actors and everyday viewers." But it has acknowledged financial support from News Corp."

More.

And this link shows that News Corp founded a group of minorities to help them go after Neilson. The group was thought to be independent until:

"The Glover Park Group is admitting for the first time that it created, organized and directed the activities of the Don’t Count Us Out organization at the behest of News Corp. Don’t Count Us Out has always maintained that it was an independent group of community activists. However, this admission, which isfound on Glover Park’s own website as a “case study” to attract more clients, clearly shows that it was always acting to advance the corporate interests of News Corp. and its TV stations, which experienced lower ratings after Nielsen replaced paper diaries with more accurate electronic Local People Meters in major television markets."

http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:Gw1XhvAsyzwJ:www.nielsenmedia.com/newsreleases/2005/GloverPark.042205.pdf+nielsen+%22glover+park+group%22+%22don%27t+count+us+out%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us&client=firefox-a

New Corps is Murdoch's group which owns Fox.

[monmouth]

3. Wow, just plain ole wow!! n/t