CNN To Fox News-“YOU LIE!”-Demands Apology

CNN’s Rick Sanchez became livid on his program Friday about a color ad that Fox News had placed in the September 17, 2009 edition of The Washington Post.

The ad contained a photo, which he said is suspiciously similar to a tower shot used by CNN of the Tea Party March on Washington D.C. The offending ad accused all of the major networks by name, including CNN, of intentionally not covering the event, and implying that only Fox covers “all” the news and no one else does. The event was referred to as a right-wing tea party and was heavily promoted and covered at Fox News.

Sanchez said Fox was “…using a lie to try and divide people into camps. And, you know, Americans are starting to get tired of this.”

Sanchez went on to use several methods to prove just how well the event was covered by CNN, showing a clip of the Fox News Bill O’Reilly program “The O’Reilly Factor” in which Bill says on camera, “…CNN, as we mentioned, covered the anti-Obama protests, of course…”

As further proof he ran several clips of CNN correspondents reporting on the event. CNN’s Paul Steinhauser reported on the route the protesters were taking and the approximate time the event would take place on the west front of the Capital building. CNN correspondent Kate Bolduan reported on traffic conditions for the rally, helpfully mentioning that many were still stuck on Pennsylvania Avenue and that crowds were still coming from Freedom Plaza. CNN’s Lisa Desjardins interviewed protesters in the crowd indicating that they all very strongly supported Congressman Joe Wilson’s outburst at President Obama.

Saving the best for last Sanchez played coast-to-coast clips of CNN correspondent Jim Spellman who had traveled with the “Tea Party Express” to some 30 rallies reporting on them in several news casts as they traveled east to Washington D.C. Spellman reported of the growing numbers within the protesters who loudly support, “…outlandish conspiracy theories about death camps about this takeover, people comparing President Obama to Hitler. And it really is a sizable thread. It's not just a couple of people on the edges.”

One protester was so proud of his stand that when he realized he was on camera, he actually turned his sign around so that it couldn't be read by viewers!

As Sanchez’s anger grew at the out-and-out lie that CNN didn’t cover the event he said this of the photo in their ad, “All right, let me show you this. You see the thing on the left now? That's our tower cam shot of the event that we used repeatedly throughout those shows. Funny how you can say that we didn't cover an event by using that picture, that picture that looks an awful lot like our tower cam shot, doesn't it? And you used it in your ad saying we didn't cover the story.”

Sanchez summed up his presentation by saying that the difference in the two competing network’s coverage of the event was that CNN “covered” it while Fox News went out of their way to “promote” it in order to divide the country along political lines and defied Fox to study the different meanings of those two words. He went on to reiterate that CNN covered the event with four correspondents, two satellite trucks, multiple live interviews with attendees, and on-camera lawmakers giving their views.

CNN put in a call to Fox News asking for a comment on Sanchez’s report, and informing them of Rick's on-camera demand of an apology for the false and misleading ad.

Apparently they’re still waiting for someone to return that call.

Sanchez ended his segment by saying,

“Let me address the FOX News Network now perhaps the most current way that I can, by quoting somebody who recently used a very pithy phrase, two words. It's all I need: You lie."

If you'd like to watch the actual news segment click here.



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