Big Media Lobby for Immigration Bill
Big media corporations are lobbying for passage of the Gang of Eight’s 844-page immigration bill, S. 744. Critics call it amnesty.
In addition to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation (the parent of Fox News), the companies include:
- Walt Disney Co. (owns ABC News)
- Hearst Corp. (owns 15 daily newspapers, including the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle, Albany Times Union and San Antonio Express-News. Also, Hearst Television Inc., which comprises 29 television and two radio stations)
- Time Warner Inc. (owns Time magazine and CNN)
- Viacom Inc. (owns Comedy Central and MTV)
- Time Warner Cable Inc. (one of the largest providers of video, high-speed data and voice services in the United States)
- Thomson Reuters (owns Reuters, the world’s largest international news agency)
The heads of these corporations are members of the Partnership for a New American Economy, and are counting on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to push the bill through the Senate in June. It has already passed the Senate Judiciary Committee...
Rupert Murdoch, chairman, CEO & Founder of News Corporation, is one of the co-chairs of the Partnership for a New American Economy, which is working with two other groups, Republicans for Immigration Reform and Barack Obama’s Organizing for Action (OFA). The latter is the Obama campaign apparatus that was turned into a tax-exempt, non-profit organization and claims to be a “social welfare” organization within the meaning of section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code...
With most of the major media lined up in favor of the bill, opponents of the legislation are counting on a fair hearing from Fox News.
But ABC News notes that Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch, Australian born and a naturalized U.S. citizen, “has become an outspoken advocate for immigration reform and mass legalization of the country’s undocumented immigrants…
Despite Murdoch’s role in promoting the bill, six Fox News contributors signed the letter opposing it. They are:
- Monica Crowley, Ph.D., Nationally Syndicated Radio Host
- Erick Erickson, Editor of RedState
- Laura Ingraham, Nationally Syndicated Radio Host
- Michelle Malkin, author of Invasion, and syndicated columnist
- Sandy Rios, Vice-President Family PAC Federal and Morning Host for AFR Talk
- Former Rep. Allen West
...The National Citizenship and Immigration Services Council, a union of more than 12,000 immigration agents, says it “was not consulted in the crafting of the Gang of Eight’s legislation. Instead, the legislation was written with special interests—producing a bill that makes the current system worse, not better. S. 744 will damage public safety and national security and should be opposed by lawmakers.”...
Chris Crane, President of the National Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Council, says, “The legislation before us may have many satisfactory components for powerful lobbying groups and other special interests, but on the subjects of public safety, border security, and interior enforcement, this legislation fails. It is a dramatic step in the wrong direction.”
Demonstrating that Fox News continues to cover both sides, at least for a while, Crane has appeared on the Lou Dobbs show on the Fox Business Network. What’s more, FoxNews.com ran a story highlighting criticism of Obama from Senator Jeff Sessions and Rep. Bob Goodlatte for meeting with illegal aliens but refusing a meeting with representatives from the National ICE Council.
CAIRCO Notes
See blog post Rich corporate media shills for Rubio amnesty.