A top editor at the Washington Examiner reportedly instructed staff to avoid putting Fox News in a negative light in stories, CNN reports. A former breaking news editor who was fired from the newspaper in February said Editor-in-Chief Hugo Gurdon directly gave him the order in January. “We could not write negative stories about Fox News because it jeopardized people getting on TV,” Jon Nicosia said. Another unnamed source said Gurdon directed a staff member to “not to cover Fox negatively.”
The newspaper reportedly had published stories critical of Fox News before the new year, but none have appeared in 2020. Instead, positive stories about Fox News—like a piece on their ratings—have appeared on the site. An article about President Trump criticizing the network was reportedly the “rare exception.” One article about former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly’s remarks about alleged sexual harassment at the network was deleted from the website entirely.
According to Nicosia, Gurdon told him to remove the story shortly after it was put up on the website. He also claimed the top editor ordered him to write an email to Fox News' public relations team assuring them that they wouldn't cover certain stories about the network. A Fox News spokesperson said they did not reach out to the Examiner about the Megyn Kelly story. Neither Gurdon nor the Examiner responded to CNN for comment.
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