Media Research Center CyberAlert -- 04/26/2002 -- Did David Brock Dissemble on CNN's Crossfire About Whether He's Been Interviewed on the Fox News Channel?

Did David Brock Dissemble on CNN's Crossfire About Whether He's Been Interviewed on the Fox News Channel? -- Back to today's CyberAlert

Some Web sites and many e-mail postings and messages today have been picking up on David Brock's claim on Thursday's Crossfire -- that he has yet to be interviewed by FNC about his new book -- and sending readers to the March 19 CyberAlert for proof Brock lied. That CyberAlert features a picture of Brock being interviewed on the Fox News Channel about his book, Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative, by David Asman at about 12:45pm EST on March 18. To see the March 18 still shot: http://www.mediaresearch.org/cyberalerts/2002/cyb20020319.asp#1

David Brock on the Fox News Channel on March 18

The CNN-posted transcript for Crossfire is inaccurate. But, Brock did still leave a clearly misleading impression of his suppression by the Fox News Channel since he responded with a clear "no" to co-host James Carville's question about Fox: "They haven't even invited you on?" And Brock mocked FNC's "We report, you decide" motto: "It's they decide."

The CNN transcript for the April 25 Crossfire quotes Brock as declaring a moment earlier: "I have not been on Fox at all." In fact, when Brock got to the word "on" Carville started to talk over him. If you listen carefully you can hear that Brock actually said: "I have not been on Fox prime time at all."

Asked by Carville to confirm a Media Whores Online (http://www.mediawhoresonline.com/ ) claim that Brock has been blacklisted by the conservative media, this exchange occurred:

On CNN's Crossfire on Thursday night did David Brock dissemble on whether he's been interviewed on Fox?

     Brock: "As I was saying to Tucker [Carlson], conservative magazines have not reviewed the book. Conservative dominated talk shows that loved my previous work won't talk about it. And I think the conservatives are in denial."
     Carville: "How many talk shows have you been on let's just say the Fox network?"
     Brock: "I have not been on Fox prime time at all."
     Carville, starting this follow-up on top of Brock as Brock was saying "Fox prime time": "But I mean they haven't even invited you on?"
     Brock: "No."
     Carville: "Wait, I thought this is 'You decide,' huh?"
     Brock: "It's not."
     Carville: "No?"
     Brock: "It's they decide."
     Carville: "They decide?"
     Brock: "And they decide that the public shouldn't know what the conservatives did in the '90s."

++ Watch this exchange: The MRC's Mez Djouadi will soon post this as part of the posted version of this CyberAlert. Check: http://www.mediaresearch.org/cyberalerts/2002/cyb20020426_extra.asp

Bottom line: Brock dissembled, clearly trying to leave the impression that the Fox News Channel has refused to allow him onto the network when he did, in fact, appear on it.

Sitting beside Carville, Brock was very Clintonian. Why does anyone still believe anything that David Brock has to say? -- Brent Baker and Rich Noyes

Sign up for CyberAlerts:
Keep track of the latest instances of media bias and alerts to stories the major media are ignoring. Sign up to receive CyberAlerts via e-mail.

questions and comments about CyberAlert subscription

You can also learn what has been posted each day on the MRC's Web site by subscribing to the "MRC Web Site News" distributed every weekday afternoon. To subscribe, go to: http://www.mrc.org/newsletters