Following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, media mogul Rupert Murdoch expressed his thoughts on the need for stricter gun control. You might not have known that if you were tuned into Fox News though.
“Terrible news today,” Murdoch tweeted on Friday. “When will politicians find courage to ban automatic weapons? As in Oz after similar tragedy.” Following President Barack Obama’s remarks at the Sunday night prayer service in Newtown, Murdoch said, “Nice words from POTUS on shooting tragedy, but how about some bold leadership action?”
Quite a few of his newspapers even followed the same thought as their owner as the New York Post had the following on its front page Monday morning: “ENOUGH!” The front page of The Sun said, “END THE LUNACY.”
On Monday, it was reported by New York magazine’s Gabriel Sherman that top executives at Fox News barred employees from talking about gun control. Sherman said that the head of weekend coverage, David Clark, and the vice president for news, Michael Clemente, handed down the ruling. A source told Sherman, “We were expressly forbidden from discussing gun control.”
Fox News is not exactly a welcoming network for those in favor of stricter gun laws. It has been reported that network chief Roger Ailes and host Sean Hannity have permits in New York to carry concealed weapons.
Brit Hume, from Fox News, has demanded a correction to Sherman’s report but Sherman is standing by it. The Hollywood Reporter said on Monday that an email from Clark to employees was taken ‘out of context’ about the whole thing.
Hume tweeted the following, “The Hollywood Reporter story covers a lot more than Fox News Sunday, & demolishes yr original story. Time for a correction.” Sherman wrote that he stands by his report “100-percent.”
“Gabe, your story was implausible on its face & contradicted by numerous examples,” Hume responded. “I’m sorry for your sake you stand by it.”