Dear Commons Community,

It is no secret that Fox News and Donald Trump are in a cozy relationship regarding his presidential candidacy. With the exception of the blip of a falling out over his treatment of Megyn Kelly during one of the Republican primary debates earlier this year, the rest of the Fox News crowd have been fawning over The Donald’s every word.  When it comes to economic news, Fox News has aired 175 segments in the past six months, and Donald Trump has been a guest for over 20 percent of them.  An analysis of prime-time weekday cable news coverage of the economy released by nonprofit watchdog Media Matters yesterday stated:

“According to Media Matters’ ongoing quarterly analyses of prime-time weekday cable news coverage of the economy, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was by far the most frequently featured guest during economic news segments in the first half of 2016. Trump used an apparent standing invitation for interviews from Fox News to fill the airwaves with misleading claims about the supposedly poor state of the economy, while dubiously promising to boost economic growth and job creation through trickle-down tax cuts and restrictions on free trade.

In the first and second quarters of 2016, Trump has been a featured guest during a cable prime-time segment focused on economic news and policy 40 times. Trump’s presence on television dwarfed appearances by Sen. Ted Cruz (20) and Gov. John Kasich (10) — his rivals for the GOP nomination — as well as Democratic presidential candidates Sen. Bernie Sanders (9) and Hillary Clinton (4).

Fox hosts Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity have come under heavy scrutiny for the lavish amount of airtime they give Trump. Hannity has served as the poster boy of Fox News’ embrace of the GOP nominee, leading to him being ridiculed as a Trump “fanboy” for his fawning over the candidate. O’Reilly’s softball interviews have also been seen as embarrassing for the network, leading to accusations that Fox News lacks journalistic integrity and is merely backing Trump to boost ratings. New York magazine correspondent Gabe Sherman reported on May 17 that, “According to one Fox News producer, the channel’s ratings dip whenever an anti-Trump segment airs.”

It is taken for granted by most media observers that Fox News’ “fair and balanced” reporting has a pro-Trump slant as it would for any Republican presidential candidate.  Kudos to Media Matters for doing the analysis.

Tony