Dear Commons Community,
Rupert Murdoch may have become a vocal advocate of increased gun control in the wake of the massacre in Connecticut. Just don’t tell that to his “fair and balanced” network, Fox News.
The Huffington Post reported that the media mogul loudly called for a renewed push for tighter gun laws after the murders at Sandy Hook Elementary. Many of his papers followed suit. The New York Post’s front page on Monday blared, “ENOUGH!” The Sun cried, “END THE LUNACY.”
However, New York magazine’s Gabriel Sherman reported on Monday that top Fox News executives explicitly barred people from discussing the topic. According to Sherman, the edict came from David Clark, the man in charge of weekend coverage, as well as Michael Clemente, the powerful vice president for news, who backed Clark’s ruling that it was too soon to talk about guns. “We were expressly forbidden from discussing gun control,” one source said.
Fox News has traditionally not been the friendliest place for gun-control advocates. Both network chief Roger Ailes and host Sean Hannity reportedly have permits to carry concealed weapons in New York.
Tony