http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/02/AR2008090202730_pf.html [SIZE=+2]Obama Met With Fox News Executives[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]By Howard Kurtz Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, September 3, 2008; A22 [/SIZE] ST. PAUL, Minn., Sept. 2 -- At a secret meeting with Barack Obama three months ago, Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes says, he tried to clear the air with the Democratic senator by saying that his organization was determined to be fair but would not be "in the tank" for Obama's campaign. During the sit-down in a Waldorf-Astoria hotel suite in Manhattan that included Rupert Murdoch, the network's owner, Obama expressed concern about the way Fox was covering him. "I just wanted to know if I'm going to get a fair shake from Fox News Channel," Ailes recalled him saying. "Senator, you're the one who boycotted us," Ailes says he replied. "We're not the ones who boycotted you. Nor did we retaliate for your boycott." The meeting appears to have eased tensions between the two camps, which began when all the Democratic candidates, complaining that the network favors Republicans, refused to hold any primary-season debates on Fox. After resisting invitations for months, Obama now plans to appear on Bill O'Reilly's prime-time Fox program on Thursday, the night that John McCain delivers his acceptance speech at the Republican convention here. Ailes said in an interview Tuesday that he would never have discussed the matter publicly had Vanity Fair not published an account of the earlier portion of the meeting, in which Murdoch sat on one side and Obama and advisers David Axelrod and Robert Gibbs on the other. The article, based on a forthcoming book about Murdoch by Michael Wolff, says Obama told the Australian-born mogul that he didn't want to waste time talking to Ailes if Fox was going to keep attacking the senator and his wife and portraying him as suspicious and foreign. Asked for comment about the meeting, Murdoch adviser Gary Ginsberg said both Ailes and Murdoch "had a really cordial and constructive conversation" with Obama. "They had a frank discussion, aired concerns on our side, and we're happy we were able to air our concerns," said Obama spokesman Bill Burton. Ailes, who joined the meeting in progress and spoke to Obama for 20 to 25 minutes, disputed the article's assertion that the candidate had "lit into" him. He called Obama "a very charming guy" who is "very smart" and was "gracious" throughout the meeting. Underneath all the politeness, each side clearly wanted something. Ailes was interested in smoothing relations and having Obama appear on his network, and the senator from Illinois hoped to neutralize a potential adversary and improve his treatment on the nation's top-rated cable news channel. Upon joining the meeting, Ailes shook Obama's hand and sat down next to him. As Ailes recalls it, he responded to Obama's concern about fairness by saying that "there are opinion shows and there are news shows." Some of the criticism, Ailes told him, has come from conservative commentator and co-host Sean Hannity -- whom he likened to MSNBC's more liberal pundits Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews. Hannity has led the media pack in repeatedly playing videos of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's controversial former pastor, and questioning his association with William Ayers, a member of the violent Weather Underground in the 1960s. In a recent interview with Glamour magazine, Obama said Fox News and others went after his wife, Michelle, "in a pretty systematic way. . . . If you start being subjected to rants by Sean Hannity and the like, day in and day out, that'll drive up your negatives." "If you're asking me if we're going to be in the tank for you, like MSNBC and CNN, the answer is no," Ailes recalls saying. Executives at the rival cable networks say it is Fox's political coverage that has been unfair. According to Ailes, a onetime adviser to Republican presidential candidates, when Obama asked what issues Ailes was concerned about, he replied, "The sovereignty and security of the United States of America, period." Obama, he said, responded by talking about his love of country and his plans to end the Iraq war. The talk turned to "The O'Reilly Factor," and Obama said he would appear on the show before the election. Ailes says he told the senator that there would be no "embarrassing or underhanded stuff" in the interview and that if he had any overall concerns about Fox's treatment in the future, he should call Ailes directly. Murdoch has a history of mending fences with political adversaries whom his news outlets have strongly criticized, from former British prime minister Tony Blair to Sen. Hillary Clinton. An executive familiar with Murdoch's thinking, who declined to be identified discussing private conversations, said Murdoch sought the meeting because he is fascinated by Obama but that the two still have serious policy disagreements. Asked to assess the sit-down, Ailes said: "I wanted him to understand that we're a real journalism organization and we're going to cover what's there. We're not out to get him. . . . Neither of us was overly aggressive but neither of us blinked." Howard Kurtz hosts CNN's weekly media program, "Reliable Sources." Not going to lie that should be an interesting interview.
Looks like Murdoch finally got that meeting he wanted... looks like Obama can "walk the walk," which in those guys' world is just talking.
Didn't Rupert Murdoch declare support for Obama's campaign a while ago? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhOm2fh5qXY&feature=related What Rupert wants, Rupert gets.
Haha, that was probably the meeting where Obama agreed to Murdochs demands, and got his support. I am excited to see how Obama will pander to the Republican viewers of O'Reilly. I feel like this interview will confuse some of his supporters. When was the last interview Obama ever did? Is he gonna be in person or on his Oz screen like he was for the Daily Show?
I believe he just did one two days ago in regards to Gustav? Initially, McCain declares that "I want more TV time." So Obama is now set to go on O'Lielly, but McCain cancels with Larry King because Campbell Brown "crossed the line" when interviewing spokesman Tucker Bounds. Yeah, Johnny's just itching for TV time. McCain's exposure has really taken a hit in the past two weeks and he isn't helping things at all.
Murdoch is seeing the changing of the guard. He'll need an ally in the Whitehouse to help push his acquisition of another 1294 media outlets in the coming year . ed: O'Lielly
Speaking of Gustav, why the hell was that story plastered all over the news for 3 days? Funny how they assert the Federal government needs to protect us from the weather too.
It was plastered all over the news so the government can say "hey look, we learned our lesson from Katrina, we're all prepared and stuff now" Can you imagine the Republicans having a big ol' celebration for McCain while the Gulf is getting hit again by a hurricane. Hey did you know Blackwater sent out an email about a week before the hurricane hit the US looking for recruits to deploy into the region again just like after Katrina. Minus the assault rifles this time.
Its easy to pander to everyone, when there's really no substance to your message you can format it for all
It's funny how he gets lambasted for refusing to appear on the show up until now, because he was "afraid" (which is just what McCain is currently doing, it seems). And now the criticism turns to him simply "pandering" to the Fox News crowd? Either way, he loses. How about we wait until the interview has been aired?
Yea, when he was running for Democratic nominee it wasn't in his best interest to go on O'Reilly and expose his centrists beliefs, and now that he's competing against Republicans he's pandering. That's how it happens every 4 years, get used to it.
O'Reilly, the registered independent. Why doesn't he just come out and register republican? Who is he trying to fool?
Whats Olbermann registered as? I hope democrat because if not he is fooling people. I think its great that Obama is doing the interview.
All I can say is that if I were running for president, there's not a chance in hell I would do an interview with O'Reilly. Not because he's extremely conservative and biased, but because he's a liar and a disrespectful scumbag. It boggles my mind to think that people actually value his opinion and look up to him. It's obvious that he is very insecure in his beliefs, and doesn't have the guts to admit when he's wrong. So he just invites people on his show who he disagrees with, and then yells and belittles them until the segment is over. Pathetic excuse for a journalist.
He's actually a registered republican, he lies about that all the time. On his registration form, the republican box is checked, and whenever that's brought up he claims that he left it blank and someone checked it for him. Yeah, but Olbermann doesn't claim to be independent. He doesn't claim to be giving unbiased views.
Do Centrists even watch that show? I don't think Obama is expecting to pull in any of the Fox contingent and it appears that he's simply trying to make "peace" with the network. If Obama can appear on possibly the most nonfactual and biased television show, McCain should stop whining and suck it up. He's coming across as someone that can't handle very basic criticism and what else did he expect when choosing an unknown as his VP?