Megyn Kelly invited on TruthRevolt editor-in-chief Ben Shapiro and Mark Hannah, an Obama 2008 campaign aide, to debate the FCC’s new initiative to embed monitors in newsrooms to oversee the fairness of news coverage, in what an FCC commissioner has describe as “newsroom policing.”
Kelly turned first to Shapiro to comment on the study’s examination of “a station’s perceived bias” in selecting stories, asking, “What on earth would make the administration think they could get away with this?” Shapiro responded:
Well, why not? The administration has gotten away with everything else, whether it is the targeting of Fox News’ James Rosen or the targeting of the AP. The entire Associated Press wrote a letter to the administration back in November saying, you know it would be really nice if you would allow us to take photos at events at the White House, as opposed to just handing out your propaganda photos.
The truth is that this administration has been harder on the press than any administration in recent memory. And the press itself knows that. It’s just that the press itself is so addicted to Barack Obama and his agenda that they’re basically willing to cover for violations of press freedom that occur on a daily basis from this administration.
This is an administration, Megyn, that has really gone out of its way to give special benefits to the reporters that it likes and punish the reporters that it doesn’t. It’s gone out of its way to rip on Fox News while praising other outlets. It’s gone out of its way to benefit certain people at the expense of others, so if you are one of the beneficiaries, why would you object to a growing government presence in the media?
Kelly then gave the floor to Hannah, who accused Shapiro of being too “sensitive,” defending FCC’s new initiative as being something that is ultimately “in the interest of the American people,” and insisting that the news policing would focus on getting out stories that promote public safety and welfare.
Kelly then highlighted the liberal-leanings of the company contracted to perform the study, Social Solutions International Inc., which describes itself as representing the causes of “diversity, social responsibility, and equality, grounded in the concept of positive change.”
Shapiro responded to the FCC chair’s defense of the program by calling claims of the “voluntary” nature of the program as “ridiculous,” citing similar previous claims, like those made by Kathleen Sebelius about the voluntary nature of non-profit funding for Obamacare campaigns.