To My New Admirer at Fox News

As a “super far left” member of the press, I found common ground defending free speech. But accuracy? Not so much.

by

Shannon Bream

Anchor, FOX News @ Night with Shannon Bream 

Fox News Network

1211 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10036

August 20, 2019

Dear Ms. Bream,

Thank you for mentioning me in a positive light on your program, FOX News @ Night with Shannon Bream, last Thursday. 

You quoted what I said accurately, even if you did mispronounce my name (it’s Lee-ders, not Loo-ders). And hey, it’s not everyday that I get identified on prime-time cable television as being “like, super far left.”

I accept the label, so long as I can define it. More on this later.

Your segment was about how Wisconsin’s Democratic governor, Tony Evers, is being sued in federal court by the MacIver Institute, a conservative think tank that runs a conservative news outlet that has been denied access to a press briefing and media notifications. You noted that I, as president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council and editor of The Progressive magazine, have sided with MacIver on this issue, and quoted what I said:

“If Tony Evers has what it takes to lead state government, he ought to be able to withstand the inclusion and presence of reporters from a conservative news outlet.” You told your audience, referring to me: “He’s, like, super far left and even he’s out there supporting these guys. . . . Even he’s on their side.”

This is all accurate. I absolutely do support the MacIver News Service’s right to receive press notices and attend press events. I believe that selective restriction on this or any other news outlet is clearly contrary to Wisconsin’s long and proud tradition of open government. 

I’ll leave it to the courts to decide whether it is illegal. In a comparable case, CNN sued the Trump White House in federal court last fall for revoking reporter Jim Acosta’s credentials. After a judge appointed by President Donald Trump ordered the White House to restore them, Team Trump backed down, and the lawsuit was dismissed. 

Any denial of access predicated on whether the government likes a particular reporter or news outlet is improper, although the law does give public officials some leeway when it comes to granting (as opposed to denying) access. For instance, it is clearly within the right of President Trump to give an interview to Sean Hannity of Fox News but not to Rachel Maddow at MSNBC.

That said, I do take issue with the comments made by one of your guests, criminal defense attorney Bob Bianchi, who argued that Evers’ action enjoyed broad popular support among his supporters.

“This governor’s not playing to the court of law, in my opinion, Shannon,” Bianchi said. “He’s playing to the court of public opinion. His base loves this. So he wins even if he loses.”

If any part of this were true, there should be some evidence to back it up, but there is none. There has been no outpouring of support in Wisconsin for Evers’ decision to selectively exclude the MacIver News Service. No one, so far as I know, has applauded the governor for taking this tack. No one has challenged me for defending MacIver’s right to the same access afforded to other media. 

Most people in Wisconsin, even those of us on the “super far left,” support and defend free speech, which includes press access for news outlets with which we disagree.

That’s because most people in Wisconsin, even those of us on the “super far left,” support and defend free speech, which includes press access for news outlets with which we disagree. This is not an unusual position, which is why it’s so unfair for Bianchi to characterize Governor Evers’ denial of access as an act of political opportunism. It isn’t. It’s just a stupid blunder born of pettiness, and one I expect he’ll come to regret, if he doesn’t already.

As for being, like, super far left, I’m okay with being called that. The Progressive, now 110 years old, has an absolute commitment to nonviolence and a fundamental aversion to militarism and war. We support full equality under the law for women, people of color, and LGBTQ people. We are concerned about the urgent but largely unaddressed crisis of climate change, and the vast ignorance that allows some, including the President, to deny its very now-obvious existence. We want all Americans to receive quality health care, which must involve turning away from a system whose main purpose is to make money. We call for easing the crushing burden of student debt and making a college education affordable to all. We stand for reproductive rights and want to ban assault weapons. 

Oh, and it also means we are First Amendment absolutists who defend the right to free speech and a free press, including the MacIver News Service and Fox News. Have me on your program sometime, and I’ll tell you more.

Sincerely,

Bill Lueders

Editor, The Progressive