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Fox Reminds DC Staff They're Journalists

Workers warned against creating news after producer pumps up tea party crowd

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 22, 2009 1:54 AM CDT

(Newser) – Fox News reminded its staff to follow journalistic standards after a producer was caught on camera whipping up a crowd at a tea party protest, Mediaite reports. Bill Sammon, the channel's vice-president of news, sent staff at Fox's DC bureau an email warning: "We do not cheerlead for one cause or another. We do not rile up a crowd. If a crowd happens to be boisterous when we show it on TV, so be it. If it happens to be quiet, that’s fine, too. It’s not our job to affect the crowd’s behavior."

He said any effort to affect a crowd "undermines" journalists' role to be "detached" eyewitnesses. "Our viewers are counting on us to be honest brokers when it comes to reporting," Sammon added.

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A Fox producer encourages the crowd as Griff Jenkins prepares to speak to the camera. (YouTube)

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A member of the Fox News production crew directs a group of protesters to cheer for a Griff Jenkins live shot (fuckbush01)

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At news events, we’re supposed to function as dispassionate observers, not active participants. We are there to chronicle the news, not create it. - Fox News Vice President of News
Bill Sammon

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Fox Reminds DC Staff They're Journalists