Jann Wenner asks Obama, "What do you think of Fox News?" Obama: (Laughs) "Look, as President..."

[Amerigo Vespucci]

President Obama hit out hard at Fox News in an interview with Rolling Stone.

In the interview, which was released Tuesday, Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner asked Obama, "What do you think of Fox News? Do you think it's a good institution for America and for democracy?"

Obama's response:

(Laughs) Look, as president, I swore to uphold the Constitution, and part of that Constitution is a free press. We've got a tradition in this country of a press that oftentimes is opinionated. The golden age of an objective press was a pretty narrow span of time in our history. Before that, you had folks like Hearst who used their newspapers very intentionally to promote their viewpoints. I think Fox is part of that tradition -- it is part of the tradition that has a very clear, undeniable point of view. It's a point of view that I disagree with. It's a point of view that I think is ultimately destructive for the long-term growth of a country that has a vibrant middle class and is competitive in the world. But as an economic enterprise, it's been wildly successful. And I suspect that if you ask Mr. Murdoch what his number-one concern is, it's that Fox is very successful.

The president's comments are only the latest in a long line of battles between the Obama administration and Fox News. Last year, relations reached a low when then-Communications Director Anita Dunn publicly blasted the network, calling it "the communications arm of the Republican party."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/28/obama-fox-news-has-a-poin_n_741792.html

[Blue Owl]

1. FOX is as much of a legitimate news network

as Andrew Brietbart is a legitimate journalist.

[tomp]

2. i think obama's view of a free press in unnecessarily narrow.

the undue political influence of powerful corporations has to be restricted if we are to survive, literally.

hearst is a perfect example and "tradition" be damned.

and, if i may be so bold, if the constitution says otherwise, we're just going to have to do something about that.

obama is clearly not going to help by pussyfooting around media monopolies and tying pretty little constitutional
bows on fascist propaganda machines.