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{{short description|American journalist}} |
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⚫ | '''Bill Sammon''' is a |
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{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}} |
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{{for|persons of a similar name|William Salmon (disambiguation)}} |
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⚫ | '''Bill Sammon''' is a former managing editor and vice president for [[Fox News]], as well as an author and newspaper columnist. He had previously worked as [[White House correspondent]] for ''[[The Washington Times]]'' and the ''[[Washington Examiner]]'' before joining Fox News in August 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/fnc/changes_to_fncs_dc_bureau_90879.asp |title=Changes To FNC's DC Bureau |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201194344/http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/fnc/changes_to_fncs_dc_bureau_90879.asp |archive-date=December 1, 2008 |website=[[TV Newser]] |date=August 5, 2008}}</ref> |
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==Personal life== |
==Personal life== |
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A graduate of [[Saint Ignatius High School, Cleveland, Ohio|Saint Ignatius High School]], in [[Cleveland, Ohio]], and [[Miami University]] in [[Oxford, Ohio]], Sammon lives in [[Maryland]] with his wife, Becky, and their five children.<ref>[http://www.ashbrook.org/events/lecture/2005/sammon.html Bill Sammon biodata]</ref> |
A graduate of [[Saint Ignatius High School, Cleveland, Ohio|Saint Ignatius High School]], in [[Cleveland, Ohio]], and [[Miami University]] in [[Oxford, Ohio]], Sammon lives in [[Maryland]] with his wife, Becky, and their five children.<ref>[http://www.ashbrook.org/events/lecture/2005/sammon.html Bill Sammon biodata]</ref> He is 6 feet 7 inches tall and was reportedly nicknamed "Big Stretch" or "Superstretch" by President [[George W. Bush]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Sammon |first=Bill |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-UmEawa2dOwC |title=Strategery: How George W. Bush is Defeating Terrorists, Outwitting Democrats, and Confounding the Mainstream Media |year=2006 |publisher=[[Regnery Publishing]] |location=Washington, D.C.|page=3 |isbn=978-1-596-98036-5}}</ref> |
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==Career== |
==Career== |
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⚫ | Sammon authored four [[The New York Times Best Seller list|''New York Times'' bestsellers]]: ''At Any Cost: How Al Gore Tried to Steal the Election''; ''Fighting Back: The War on Terrorism From Inside the White House''; ''Misunderestimated: The President Battles Terrorism, Media Bias and the Bush Haters''; and ''Strategery: How George W. Bush Is Defeating Terrorists, Outwitting Democrats, and Confounding the Mainstream Media''. These books have been largely derided as overtly favorable to President George W. Bush and [[Presidency of George W. Bush|his administration]]. ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'' critic [[James Wolcott]] listed ''Strategery'' among other related books on Bush written by "faithful holdouts in Bush's pep squad [who] are happy to have endowed him with superpowers" as "hagiography mash notes whose toothy gleam of triumphalism was almost blinding".<ref>{{cite web |first=James |last=Wolcott |author-link=James Wolcott |date=January 14, 2008 |url=http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/02/wolcott200802 |title=How Bush Stacks Up |work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]}}</ref> Reporter [[David Weigel]] sarcastically referred to these books as "scathing critiques of presidential power".<ref name=Weigel>{{cite web | first = David | last = Weigel | author-link = David Weigel | date = 2007-09-14 | url = http://reason.com/blog/2007/09/14/scoundrels-to-your-refuges | title = Scoundrels, to Your Refuges! | work = [[Reason Magazine|Reason]]}}</ref> ''[[The American Prospect]]'' wrote that Sammon "wrote an astonishing four books on the topic of Bush's super-awesomeness".<ref>{{cite web | last = Waldman | first = Paul | date = 2009-03-03 | url = http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=believe_it_or_not_hes_walking_on_air | title = Believe It or Not, He's Walking on Air | work = [[The American Prospect]]}}</ref> |
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He is the author of four [[The New York Times Best Seller list| |
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⚫ | ''New York Times'' bestsellers]]: ''At Any Cost: How Al Gore Tried to Steal the Election''; ''Fighting Back: The War on Terrorism From Inside the White House''; ''Misunderestimated: The President Battles Terrorism, Media Bias and the Bush Haters''; and ''Strategery: How George W. Bush Is Defeating Terrorists, Outwitting Democrats, and Confounding the Mainstream Media''. These books have been largely derided as |
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He is a frequent guest on |
He is a frequent guest on Fox News programs like ''[[Special Report (TV program)|Special Report with Brit Hume]],'' ''[[Fox News Sunday]],'' and ''[[Hannity & Colmes]].'' On September 13, 2007, Sammon appeared on ''Special Report'' and argued that [[Theodore Olson]] should be confirmed as [[United States Attorney General|Attorney General]]. |
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On February 27, 2009, Sammon was promoted to vice president of Fox News and Washington managing editor. |
On February 27, 2009, Sammon was promoted to vice president of Fox News and Washington managing editor. |
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In January 2021, Sammon announced he was retiring at the end of the month, with his position to be assumed by editorial staff members. On the night of the [[2020 United States presidential election]], Sammon had supervised the network's Decision Desk HQ, which had controversially declared [[Arizona]] for then-Democratic presidential candidate [[Joe Biden]]. Sammon's departure, along with that of [[Chris Stirewalt]], was seen as retaliatory in light of President [[Donald Trump]]'s criticism of the network and subsequent decline in viewership.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ellis |first=Sarah |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/fox-news-stirewalt-sammon-murdoch-arizona/2021/01/19/a54e9f72-5a8f-11eb-a976-bad6431e03e2_story.html |title=Top Fox News managers depart amid Murdoch's concerns over controversial Arizona election night projection |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=January 19, 2021 |access-date=September 21, 2022}}</ref> It was subsequently reported that Murdoch suggested that it was "maybe best to let Bill go right away" as a "big message with Trump people".<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Barr |first1=Jeremy |last2=Ellison |first2=Sarah |last3=Weiner |first3=Rachel |date=2023-02-27 |title=Murdoch admits some Fox hosts 'were endorsing' election falsehoods |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2023/02/27/rupert-murdoch-testimony-fox-dominion/ |access-date=2023-02-28}}</ref> |
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===Fox News memos=== |
===Fox News memos=== |
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Media watchdog group [[Media Matters for America]] published memos allegedly written by Sammon while he was Washington managing editor at |
Media watchdog group [[Media Matters for America]] published memos allegedly written by Sammon while he was Washington managing editor at Fox News where he reminded recipients not to refer to the [[public option]] proposal in the [[Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act]] by name, but instead use terms like "government-run health insurance" or to use various qualifiers.<ref>{{cite web |last=Dimiero |first=Ben |date=2010-12-09 |url=http://mediamatters.org/blog/201012090003 |title=LEAKED EMAIL: Fox boss caught slanting news reporting |website=[[Media Matters for America]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101210204822/https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/201012090003 |archive-date=2010-12-10 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The publication of the memos received attention from media observers.<ref>{{cite news |last=Petri |first=Alexandra |author-link=Alexandra Petri |date=2010-12-09 |url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/compost/2010/12/cant_say_public_option_on_fox.html |title=Can't say 'public option' on Fox News? Try these instead! |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Kurtz |first=Howard |author-link=Howard Kurtz |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/12/09/how-fox-news-spun-the-health-care-debate.html |title=How Fox News Spun the Health-Care Debate |website=[[The Daily Beast]] |date=December 9, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Chait |first=Jonathan |url=https://newrepublic.com/blog/jonathan-chait/79766/shocker-fox-news-not-fair-and-balanced |title=Shocker: Fox News Not Fair And Balanced |magazine=[[The New Republic]] |date=December 9, 2010}}</ref> |
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Another leaked memo showed Sammon |
Another leaked memo showed Sammon had given orders for Fox News to characterize then-[[United States Senate|Senator]] [[Barack Obama]] as a [[Socialism|socialist]]. Sammon said Obama's remarks were "tantamount to socialism", on-air and in a FoxNews.com column, while sending around a memo noting Obama's "references to socialism, [[American liberalism|liberalism]], [[Marxism]] and Marxists" in his 1995 memoir ''[[Dreams From My Father]]''.<ref name=Salonism>{{cite web |last=Pareene |first=Alex |date=March 29, 2011 |url=http://www.salon.com/news/fox_news/index.htmlstory=/politics/war_room/2011/03/29/bill_sammon_socialism |title=Fox exec: That whole "Obama is a socialist" thing was a wacky joke |website=[[Salon.com]]}}</ref> Some questions that were asked by Fox journalists were allegedly scripted by Sammon.<ref>{{cite web |last=Willis |first=Oliver |url=http://mediamatters.org/blog/201102030006 |title=FOXLEAKS: Fox Caught Scripting Socialism Attack |website=[[Media Matters for America]] |date=February 3, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110206232552/http://mediamatters.org/blog/201102030006 |archive-date=February 6, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Sammon later explained the incident as a product of his "rather mischievous speculation about whether Barack Obama really advocated socialism, a premise that privately I found rather far-fetched".<ref name=Salonism/> |
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In 2009, |
In 2009, during the [[2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference|Copenhagen Summit]], Sammon instructed Fox News reporters to "refrain from asserting that the planet has warmed (or cooled) in any given period without IMMEDIATELY pointing out that such theories are based upon data that critics have called into question."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Social Media: Critical Perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility in Media and Communication Industries|last=Sandoval|first=Marisol|publisher=[[Routledge]]|location=New York City|year=2014|isbn=978-0415722568}}</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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*[http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/personalities/bill-sammon/bio/#s=r-z Biography] at ''[[Fox News]]'' |
*[http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/personalities/bill-sammon/bio/#s=r-z Biography] at ''[[Fox News]]'' |
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*{{C-SPAN| |
*{{C-SPAN|58293}} |
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*{{Charlie Rose view|623}} |
*{{Charlie Rose view|623}} |
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*{{IMDb name|1732189}} |
*{{IMDb name|1732189}} |
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*{{Worldcat id|lccn-n2001-29245}} |
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*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060323170253/http://www.radioblogger.com/archives/february06.html Audio interview with Bill Sammon], radioblogger.com |
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060323170253/http://www.radioblogger.com/archives/february06.html Audio interview with Bill Sammon], radioblogger.com |
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*[https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5920188/the_press_vs_al_gore Critical review of Sammon's reporting], Rolling Stone magazine |
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060316113905/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5920188/the_press_vs_al_gore/ Critical review of Sammon's reporting], Rolling Stone magazine |
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{{Fox News Personalities}} |
{{Fox News Personalities}} |
Latest revision as of 15:02, 28 April 2023
Bill Sammon is a former managing editor and vice president for Fox News, as well as an author and newspaper columnist. He had previously worked as White House correspondent for The Washington Times and the Washington Examiner before joining Fox News in August 2008.[1]
Personal life
A graduate of Saint Ignatius High School, in Cleveland, Ohio, and Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, Sammon lives in Maryland with his wife, Becky, and their five children.[2] He is 6 feet 7 inches tall and was reportedly nicknamed "Big Stretch" or "Superstretch" by President George W. Bush.[3]
Career
Sammon authored four New York Times bestsellers: At Any Cost: How Al Gore Tried to Steal the Election; Fighting Back: The War on Terrorism From Inside the White House; Misunderestimated: The President Battles Terrorism, Media Bias and the Bush Haters; and Strategery: How George W. Bush Is Defeating Terrorists, Outwitting Democrats, and Confounding the Mainstream Media. These books have been largely derided as overtly favorable to President George W. Bush and his administration. Vanity Fair critic James Wolcott listed Strategery among other related books on Bush written by "faithful holdouts in Bush's pep squad [who] are happy to have endowed him with superpowers" as "hagiography mash notes whose toothy gleam of triumphalism was almost blinding".[4] Reporter David Weigel sarcastically referred to these books as "scathing critiques of presidential power".[5] The American Prospect wrote that Sammon "wrote an astonishing four books on the topic of Bush's super-awesomeness".[6]
He is a frequent guest on Fox News programs like Special Report with Brit Hume, Fox News Sunday, and Hannity & Colmes. On September 13, 2007, Sammon appeared on Special Report and argued that Theodore Olson should be confirmed as Attorney General.
On February 27, 2009, Sammon was promoted to vice president of Fox News and Washington managing editor.
In January 2021, Sammon announced he was retiring at the end of the month, with his position to be assumed by editorial staff members. On the night of the 2020 United States presidential election, Sammon had supervised the network's Decision Desk HQ, which had controversially declared Arizona for then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. Sammon's departure, along with that of Chris Stirewalt, was seen as retaliatory in light of President Donald Trump's criticism of the network and subsequent decline in viewership.[7] It was subsequently reported that Murdoch suggested that it was "maybe best to let Bill go right away" as a "big message with Trump people".[8]
Controversy
Fox News memos
Media watchdog group Media Matters for America published memos allegedly written by Sammon while he was Washington managing editor at Fox News where he reminded recipients not to refer to the public option proposal in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act by name, but instead use terms like "government-run health insurance" or to use various qualifiers.[9] The publication of the memos received attention from media observers.[10][11][12]
Another leaked memo showed Sammon had given orders for Fox News to characterize then-Senator Barack Obama as a socialist. Sammon said Obama's remarks were "tantamount to socialism", on-air and in a FoxNews.com column, while sending around a memo noting Obama's "references to socialism, liberalism, Marxism and Marxists" in his 1995 memoir Dreams From My Father.[13] Some questions that were asked by Fox journalists were allegedly scripted by Sammon.[14] Sammon later explained the incident as a product of his "rather mischievous speculation about whether Barack Obama really advocated socialism, a premise that privately I found rather far-fetched".[13]
In 2009, during the Copenhagen Summit, Sammon instructed Fox News reporters to "refrain from asserting that the planet has warmed (or cooled) in any given period without IMMEDIATELY pointing out that such theories are based upon data that critics have called into question."[15]
References
- ^ "Changes To FNC's DC Bureau". TV Newser. August 5, 2008. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008.
- ^ Bill Sammon biodata
- ^ Sammon, Bill (2006). Strategery: How George W. Bush is Defeating Terrorists, Outwitting Democrats, and Confounding the Mainstream Media. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-596-98036-5.
- ^ Wolcott, James (January 14, 2008). "How Bush Stacks Up". Vanity Fair.
- ^ Weigel, David (September 14, 2007). "Scoundrels, to Your Refuges!". Reason.
- ^ Waldman, Paul (March 3, 2009). "Believe It or Not, He's Walking on Air". The American Prospect.
- ^ Ellis, Sarah (January 19, 2021). "Top Fox News managers depart amid Murdoch's concerns over controversial Arizona election night projection". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
- ^ Barr, Jeremy; Ellison, Sarah; Weiner, Rachel (February 27, 2023). "Murdoch admits some Fox hosts 'were endorsing' election falsehoods". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
- ^ Dimiero, Ben (December 9, 2010). "LEAKED EMAIL: Fox boss caught slanting news reporting". Media Matters for America. Archived from the original on December 10, 2010.
- ^ Petri, Alexandra (December 9, 2010). "Can't say 'public option' on Fox News? Try these instead!". The Washington Post.
- ^ Kurtz, Howard (December 9, 2010). "How Fox News Spun the Health-Care Debate". The Daily Beast.
- ^ Chait, Jonathan (December 9, 2010). "Shocker: Fox News Not Fair And Balanced". The New Republic.
- ^ a b Pareene, Alex (March 29, 2011). "Fox exec: That whole "Obama is a socialist" thing was a wacky joke". Salon.com.
- ^ Willis, Oliver (February 3, 2011). "FOXLEAKS: Fox Caught Scripting Socialism Attack". Media Matters for America. Archived from the original on February 6, 2011.
- ^ Sandoval, Marisol (2014). Social Media: Critical Perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility in Media and Communication Industries. New York City: Routledge. ISBN 978-0415722568.
External links
- Biography at Fox News
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Bill Sammon on Charlie Rose
- Bill Sammon at IMDb
- Audio interview with Bill Sammon, radioblogger.com
- Critical review of Sammon's reporting, Rolling Stone magazine