Veteran reporter Sam Donaldson drew upon his 42-years at ABC News to explain why Fox News has changed the dynamics of American discourse between the Watergate hearings and those of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Donaldson was interviewed on Saturday by CNN's Jim Acosta.
"The divide that prompted thousands to storm the Capitol is still on display more than a year later as Fox News refused to air the first night of the Jan. 6th committee hearing," Acosta said. "I know you know this, but Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity — whose own texts with the Trump white house were revealed by the committee — they called these hearings propaganda and a Democratic fund-raiser."
"You were there through Watergate, it has got to be shocking to you when much of the nation was glued to the news media's coverage that White House of the scandal. Could you imagine a major network back then behaving like Fox at Watergate, shutting it out not showing it to the American people?" Acosta asked.
"No," Donaldson replied. "No."
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"In Watergate, everyone wanted to know what happened. Republicans, who supported Nixon, wanted to know. They wanted to see the evidence," he said.
Donaldson explained the change.
"Let me tell you about Rupert Murdoch...I think you know it. He's after the cash, the money. I'm for the capitalist system, except for the injuries it can sometimes do to people. But, he uses Fox and he uses The Wall Street Journal and all these publications to make money," he explained.
"Now, remember when Fox had a big problem on election night?... it called Arizona for Biden before any other news organization. And what Fox discovered was its viewers were antagonized. Angry. "How dare you do that to our man, Donald J. Trump? Surely he won Arizona.'"
"He didn't."
That's when "Fox lost viewers. It learned its lesson. If it wants to make money, it has to have Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson," he explained.
Watch the segment below or at this link.
Sam Donaldsonwww.youtube.com
