You might be a Fox News watcher if…you are comfortable forming a strong opinion on a subject before the facts are in.
And, as Karl Frisch our new correspondent from Media Matters points out in his latest column, the people who produce the news at Fox just love it:
For the better part of a week, conservatives in the media have been on a witch hunt for Kevin Jennings, the director of the Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools. Led by Fox News, the right-wing media have claimed that 21 years ago, when Jennings was a 24-year-old teacher at Concord Academy in Massachusetts, he “cover[ed] up statutory rape” by not reporting to authorities a conversation he had with a student who told him about being involved with an “older man.”
The attacks on Jennings, the latest Obama administration official in the right’s crosshairs, have been disgusting, misleading, baseless, and at times pointedly anti-gay.
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In addition to the right’s attacks aimed at Jennings’ sexual orientation, conservative media outlets sought to paint Jennings as complicit in covering up a crime — specifically “statutory rape.” A Washington Times editorial accused Jennings of “encourag[ing]” a relationship that amounted to “statutory rape.” Led by Hannity, Fox News also baselessly claimed that Jennings “cover[ed] up statutory rape” and violated Massachusetts law by not reporting to authorities his 1988 conversation with the student.
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The conservative media made it abundantly clear that facts wouldn’t get in the way of their latest line of attack on the Obama administration. In a 2004 letter, Jennings’ attorney wrote that the student was 16 years old at the time of the incident, which is, and was at the time, the legal age of consent in Massachusetts.
Additionally, Media Matters exclusively confirmed the former student’s age was 16 at the time of his conversation with Jennings, posting a redacted copy of his current driver’s license, his Facebook message exchange with a FoxNews.com writer in which he said as much, and his statement on the matter.
If you’ve ever wondered what kind of folks regularly participate in polls sponsored by FoxNews.com, the answer is here. It’s two kinds of people: those who are comfortable forming a strong opinion on a subject before the facts are in, and people who get all of their news from Fox News. Ninety-eight percent of respondents to a FoxNews.com poll this week said that Jennings should resign due to his “actions” and “questionable past and experience.” I wonder where they could have gotten that idea. (After all, self-righteous indignation is what Sean Hannity does best.)
But don’t hold your breath hoping for any consistency from Hannity. After The Washington Times established a completely false equivalency between Jennings and former Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) (who, if you’ll recall, personally pursued young congressional pages), Media Matters went back and checked the record. It turns out that in 2006, while Dennis Hastert was on his way to being criticized by the House Ethics Committee for his failure to stop Foley’s actions, Hannity and his Fox News cohorts were among the then-speaker’s staunchest defenders. “The only thing that Hastert knew about was that there was an e-mail,” Hannity said at the time.
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When it comes to media conservatives, integrity may be dead, but irony certainly is not.
Lost in these right-wing caricatures of Jennings is the simple fact that education officials and others have spoken highly of the Obama administration official, who has received numerous awards and was an appointee of former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld, a Republican.
With this, the latest conservative media witch hunt debunked and put to bed, the timer starts anew. When will the next witch hunt begin? Who’s next on the list?
It’s OK though. We really needs Fox News to balance reality, which “has a well-known liberal bias.â€
I guess reading comprehension is not your strong suit, Ryan. Why do you insist on defending those who continue to lie to further their agenda? Do you like to win by cheating?
Both sides will play Gotcha!, and to an broad extent, that’s fine.
But, at best, this is a case of poor journalism. If any news organization had done this to a private citizen, that citizen would have an open-and-shut civil case. I’m a staunch defender of the First Amendment, but there should be consequences to such reckless behavior.
Time to go watch hockey. Good night, y’all.
If these people cared at all about “the greatest nation on earth,” you’d think they’d focus more on what Obama’s appointees CAN do to improve our country. The fact that people buy into FOX’s hypocrisy and lies is appalling. http://www.newsy.com/videos/new_czar_on_target
I thought this had nothing to do with homosexuality. (Of course, sodomy is technically any sex act not designed to procreate).
“Looks like sodomy is illegal in Mass., as well…”
You realize there are no more sodomy laws, right? Thank you, Lawrence v. Texas (2003).
Dean, go down a couple of paragraphs..
Looks like sodomy is illegal in Mass., as well.
I’m not a Mass. lawyer, but I know that most of the time under the age of 18 and 3 years difference in age constitutes statutory rape.
Check this out.. MGL c.272, s. 4
http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/subject/about/sex.html#18
Any child under 18.. the consent does not matter. That is true..
Under Mass. law — which I don’t agree with — the age of consent is 16. That, coupled with the fact we’re talking about a boarding school, makes the mentoring comparison extremely valid.
My children live in a state where the age of consent is 18. Thanks for asking.
The overriding point is that Fox reported the incident as statutory rape and that he covered up a crime. That is inherently false.
Dean.. how can you compare a teacher in a high school.. who’s job is to teach and protect their students, to a college professor who has a relationship with a student?
Are those the same? No.. one case is two consenting adults.. one case is a child confiding in an authority figure when said child could be in trouble.
I wonder what you would say if the 16 year old was your own child.. would it still be ok?
This has absolutely nothing to do with homosexuality..
I’m not sure how this makes Jennings a radical. I know a lot of professors who strike up a mentoring relationship with students, and sometimes the mentoring turns to personal matters.
Since the age of consent is different than most states, and because the relationship was homosexual, it’s easy to blur the issue.
I think the point is that whereas Fox News was quick to defend Dennis Hastert, they have been extremely quick to condemn Kevin Jennings.
“… standing behind someone that has relationships with a teenager because your President picked him… ”
By the way, Jennings is not baselessly accused of having a relationship with a teen — he is baselessly accused of knowing about a crime but not reporting it. Since the age of consent is 16 in Mass., there is no crime.
I know libel is difficult to prove when you’re a public official, but I would thing Jennings has a case.
Face it barry is bringing in his whole posse of radicals from Chitown. The Big O turns out to be the Big ZERO.
BWLIB, with your law skills and uncanny ability to “debunk” Fox News.. I think you are in the wrong occupation.. don’t lawyers make more money? What a joke you are… standing behind someone that has relationships with a teenager because your President picked him.. some morals you have… your Mom would be proud.