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Fox News: ‘We Will Unequivocally Defend’ Rosen Against ‘Chilling’ DOJ Investigation (TVNewser)
Fox News executive VP of news Michael Clemente released the following statement on Monday to TVNewser with regard to James Rosen being targeted by the Department of Justice: “We are outraged to learn [Monday] that James Rosen was named a criminal co-conspirator for simply doing his job as a reporter. In fact, it is downright chilling. We will unequivocally defend his right to operate as a member of what up until now has always been a free press.” FishbowlNY According to court documents, the DOJ used Rosen’s Justice Department security badge to watch when he came and went from the State Department, acquired a search warrant for his personal emails, and monitored his phone calls with a government advisor suspected of leaking intelligence. The New Yorker / News Desk Rosen was not charged with any crime, but it is unprecedented for the government, in an official court document, to accuse a reporter of breaking the law for conducting the routine business of reporting on government secrets. TVNewser The AP made waves last week after it was revealed that the DOJ targeted the personal and professional phone lines of hundreds of journalists in an apparent attempt to determine who leaked information. Slate They’re going after him not as a witness to a crime — nor as a pressure tactic to get him to give up his source (in this case, the source has already been caught) — but rather, in the words of a Justice Department affidavit, as “an aider, an abettor, and/or a co-conspirator.” In short, as someone who might be indicted under the Espionage Act. This has never happened in this country. (Even in the Pentagon Papers case, several newspapers were served injunctions not to publish stories, but no reporter or editor was ever investigated, much less tried, as a co-conspirator.) If the prosecutors go through with their threat, the entire enterprise of national security journalism — which inherently involves uncovering secrets, to some degree — will be in jeopardy. Politico / Politico 44 White House press secretary Jay Carney wouldn’t comment Monday on the ongoing national security leaks case involving Rosen, after a weekend news report detailing the Justice Department’s surveillance of him. “I can’t comment on an ongoing criminal investigation, nor should I,” Carney said in response to one of several questions on the case, offering a similar answer each time. Read more

The Department of Justice is making journalists feel like Rockwell — somebody’s definitely watching them. We already know that the DOJ secretly seized phone records from Associated Press reporters and editors. Now The Washington Post reports that in 2009, the feds also spied on James Rosen — Fox News’ chief Washington correspondent.

According to court documents, the DOJ used Rosen’s Justice Department security badge to watch when he came and went from the State Department, acquired a search warrant for his personal emails, and monitored Rosen’s phone calls with a government advisor suspected of leaking intelligence.

After reviewing the information, the DOJ said that Rosen had broken the law “at the very least, either as an aider, abettor and/or co-conspirator.” But all Rosen did was what reporters do: Report.

Fortunately the First Amendment makes prosecuting Rosen impossible, but the fact that he was even accused of doing something wrong shows that the government is willing to strong-arm journalists and use scare tactics to keep them away. We’re fans of President Obama, but this is outrageous. Somebody’s watching alright, and it’s him giving the orders to do so.

News Corporation just reported its third quarter earnings, and once again, things are looking good for the media behemoth. Well, at least parts of it. For News Corp.’s fiscal third quarter revenue jumped 14 percent to $2.85 billion, but it would have been higher if not for a $45 million loss posted by the company’s publishing brands.

In the end, News Corp. said that about 55 percent of its revenue growth is from entities such as Fox News, 20th Century Fox and FX.

That will make things all the more interesting when the big split happens. The division is expected to take place at the end of June, with 21st Century Fox controlling the movie studio and TV properties and News Corp. controlling The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post and more.

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Discovery Reports Higher First-Quarter Earnings (B&C)
Discovery Communications reported higher first-quarter earnings as international growth offset a decline in digital distribution revenue. First-quarter net income rose 4 percent to $231 million, or 63 cents a share, from $221 million, or 57 cents a share. The Wrap / The Box Discovery also said it expects Oprah Winfrey’s OWN to meet its previously stated goal of breaking even in cash flow in the second half of this year, Discovery president and CEO David Zaslav said. OWN viewership was up 3 percent in its key women 25-54 demographic in the first quarter, even though the first quarter of 2012 included OWN’s highest-rated broadcast, Winfrey’s interview with Whitney Houston’s daughter. THR The latest figure was impacted by a range of factors in addition to what the company called “the strong underlying operating performance in the current year’s quarter.” Among the items affecting the latest profit were a $92 million gain from the consolidation of results for Discovery Japan and $46 million of improved equity earnings, but also higher equity-based compensation expenses and a $59 million loss from “hedging activities primarily associated with the acquisition of the SBS Nordic operations.” Read more

As you’ve most likely heard by now, CNN, The Associated Press and Fox News decided to run with a report that a suspect was in custody regarding the Boston Marathon bombing, even though there was no proof.

The complete abandonment of facts and subsequent bear hugging of rumors forced the FBI to issue a statement. The short version: Shut up nothing has happened. Idiots.

The longer version:

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Judge Carlos Samour Jr. will defer his ruling on if Fox News reporter Jana Winter will have to testify in court about her sources. As we noted yesterday, Winter had broke a story about a notebook the Aurora, Colorado killer James Homes had sent to a psychiatrist.

Holmes’ defense team was trying to get Winter to testify and thus reveal her sources for the book, and the judge was expected to make a decision on that matter tomorrow. Instead, Fox News reports that Samour Jr. deferred, saying that he won’t decide on the issue until he has ruled if the notebook will be permitted as evidence.

Winter, to her credit, was determined to accept a jail sentence over divulging her sources. And because the notebook isn’t currently evidence, there’s a chance it could never be. This is clearly a small victory. Let’s keep our fingers crossed Winter never sees the stand.

Jana Winter, a Fox News reporter, is staying silent. And for that, she could face up to six months in jail. After the Aurora, Colorado shooting, Winter broke a story that the murderer —  James Holmes — had sent a notebook to a Univesity of Colorado psychiatrist “full of details about how he was going to kill people.”

As Fox News reports, because Winter isn’t revealing her sources for the notebook, she is facing time behind bars. Holmes’ defense attorneys were unsuccessful in their attempts to get Colorado law enforcement agents to admit that they were Winter’s source, so now they’re going after Winter.

On April 10, Judge Carlos Samour Jr. will issue a decision about Winter testifying in court. Although Colorado’s “shield law” protects journalists from being incarerated for refusing to divulge sources, it does allow judges to force a reporter’s hand if prior attempts to unveil the source’s identity have failed.

Winter’s lawyer said that she will not divulge the source’s identity if put on the stand.

Fox News employees have been served notice: Stay away from GLAAD events. According to Media Matters, Kimberly Guilfoyle and Jamie Colby — two Fox News hosts — went to GLAAD’s latest media award ceremony. The duo’s attendance did not sit well with GLAAD.

The organization’s vice president of communications, Rich Ferraro, issued the following statement:

If Kimberly and Jamie expect to attend future GLAAD events, they will first need to sit down with us to discuss Fox News’ embarrassing, biased and misinformed coverage of LGBT issues. The invitation is open. Fox News’s track record on LGBT issues is abysmal, and it makes no sense to me why any LGBT people or allies would want to be a part of that.

Damn.

Only question we have: If this talk does happen, can we be there too?

By now you know that Rupert Murdoch took to Twitter to plead for stricter gun control laws in the wake of the Newtown tragedy. The head of News Corp. asked in a tweet, “when will politicians find courage to ban automatic weapons?” Then Murdoch followed that up by saying that President Obama’s speech to the Newtown residents was “nice,” but asked for “bold leadership action.”

It was all sort of surprising coming from Murdoch. It almost — almost! — made us applaud him. But according to insiders, while Murdoch was saying the right thing, the execs at Fox News were telling staffers to keep their mouths shut. New York quotes several sources that claim David Clark, executive producer for Fox News, was telling staffers not to address gun control policies on air. “This network is not going there,” Clark allegedly told one producer. Another source inside Fox News added, “We were expressly forbidden from discussing gun control.”

As New York’s Gabriel Sherman notes, the two very different messages exposes a rift between Murdoch and Roger Ailes, head of Fox News:

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This is how low the bar is for Fox News: It gets praised when it acts like a normal news outlet. David Carr of The New York Times says that Fox News did a great thing after the presidential election, by simply reporting the facts:

On Tuesday night, the people in charge of Fox News were confronted with a stark choice after it became clear that Mr. Romney had fallen short: was Fox, first and foremost, a place for advocacy or a place for news? In this moment, at least, Fox chose news.

Congratulations Fox News! A media outlet reporting something that happened in life is an amazing feat. Carr goes on to say that when Karl Rove’s brain went haywire (although one could argue that this is his natural state) and he called Ohio’s results into question, Fox’s execs would not be deterred:

The best journalistic instincts of Fox’s news people kicked in and the hard reality of Mr. Obama’s triumph was allowed to land as it occurred. In doing so, the network avoided marginalizing itself and ended, at least for a night, its war on the president.

Yes, Fox News reported the news. It was truly an epic moment in media history. Raise your glass to the people at the network, because it might be awhile before you can do it again.