SEP 16 - 30, 2004

VOL. 2 ISSUE 18

SEPTEMBER 29, 2004 – It's truly hard to imagine.

We've warned again and again that, above all else, the Kerry campaign had to guard against FOX News getting its hands on the debates.  We told you the Bush team would work any angle possible to get FOX involved, and that if the Kerry campaign allowed this, we've warned for months now, they would lose the election.  All seemed safe, as the moderators and hosts for the agreed to debates did not include FOX in any way, and it seemed unthinkable the Kerry campaign would allow FOX into the mix.

But now we learn, as reported by CNN, FOX News will be entirely in control of the camera coverage for the entire media during the most important of the debates, the very first one scheduled for Thursday night.

If the Kerry camp allows this, they will likely lose the election.

The images broadcast during a debate are arguably more important than what is said.  And by being by chosen to man the pool camera for the first debate, FOX News will have entire control over what America sees and how they see it.

And, as if there were any question, FOX News is making clear they will take every opportunity to catch Kerry sweating or with a weird face when he isn't talking or anything unflattering anytime - even against the negotiated rules agreed to by the candidates.

As CNN reports:  "Because of journalistic standards, we're not going to follow outside restrictions," said Paul Schur, a spokesman for Fox News, which is manning the pool camera for the first debate Thursday in Miami, Florida."

If FOX mans the cameras, as is planned, whenever Kerry is making a good point, they will cut away to a distracting shot so the point gets lost, and if Bush is sounding bad, they will cut to an unflattering shot of John or something to distract in the audience.  And then they will give Bush nice, tight, undistracted focus when they want to make him seem strong.

Hear this now:  contact anyone and everyone you can and make it clear that is this is not thwarted in the next day, if FOX News, a known, undeniable member of the Bush campaign, is allowed to control the pool camera - the camera the rest of the media will have to feed from - Kerry will lose the election.  It is the equivalent of letting Karl Rove or Dick Cheney control the camera coverage for the debate.

We do not know yet how this was arranged - it is possible the Kerry campaign is not aware of this yet - but it must be changed.

The likely game plan seems to be that they will have the heat up in the debate hall as well - they are pushing the "Kerry is a sweater" line in the right-wing media, and negotiated so Kerry couldn't have the air conditioning kept to a certain level.  So likely they will have it hot and keep cutting to Kerry wiping sweat, on top of cutting away when he is making a point.  AND, it is very likely they will have something prearranged with Bush to cut to him doing something "cool," like his wink during the Gore debates last election, which has been preplanned at a given point in the debate.

This is the entire election on the line, and there are less than 40 hours to get it corrected.  If FOX News runs the cameras during the first debate, the election will likely be over - Bush will be re-elected.

It is hard to believe America has come to this.  It is bad enough we have - for the first time in our existence - unbridled propaganda stations pushing one party disguised as news.  It was absurd enough that this station was allowed to host not one but three of the Democrats' primary debates.  But it is truly unthinkable that unbridled pro-Bush propagandists will be controlling the visual coverage for the entire media in the most important debate of the entire election.

This doesn't seem to be Kerry's fault - he negotiated so that there would be no camera hanky panky, so that the camera was only to focus on the candidate who was talking.  And in doing so he seems to have smartly headed off the FOX News plan.

But now FOX is saying they won't play by the rules and somehow they got put in charge.  It is time for the Kerry camp to show they know what is important and can deal with it by stopping this disaster before it happens.

UPDATE: A Kerry campaign source says they were unaware of the situation, says they will look into taking action...  to be continued...