The Obama administration attempted to exclude Fox News from a round-robin interview with executive pay czar Ken Feinberg.
Posted by The Michael Berry Show, Checked
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- 5 support1 context
- Said
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The Michael Berry ShowSep 23, 2026
Multiple sources, including FactCheck.org and Snopes, confirm that in October 2009 the Obama administration (via Treasury and the White House) tried to make Ken Feinberg available to every pool member except Fox News; the attempt failed when the networks refused to proceed without Fox.
What was said
… House pool, the five network rotation that has, for decades, shared the cost and duties of daily coverage of the presidency, and to which Fox News has belonged since 1997, and made available for round robin interviews the executive pay czar, Ken Feinberg. But the administration specified that all members of the pool were welcome except Fox News. The Washington bureau chiefs of the five TV news networks consulted that none of them would interview Feinberg unless Fox was included, and the administration relented, making Feinberg available to all five pool members and Bloomberg TV. …
The Michael Berry Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. FactCheck.org reports that in October 2009 the Obama administration and Fox News disputed whether Treasury intentionally tried to exclude Fox from on-camera interviews with pay czar Kenneth Feinberg, and that White House spokesman Josh Earnest acknowledged a history of freezing out Fox.[1]
Supports. Snopes reports that a New York Times account said Obama's Treasury Department attempted to exclude Fox News from a roundtable interview with Feinberg, and that other networks protested the exclusion.[2]
Supports. Judicial Watch's FOIA-obtained emails include an October 22, 2009 message from the White House's Dag Vega saying 'we'd prefer if you skip Fox please,' which NPR and The Daily Beast report as evidence of the attempted exclusion.[3][4]
Supports. Fox News reported that the Treasury tried to make Feinberg available to every pool member except Fox, and that the administration relented after the Washington bureau chiefs refused to proceed without Fox.[5]
Context. Treasury officials characterized the episode as a miscommunication ('much ado about absolutely nothing'), and a Deseret report says the White House claimed Fox had not requested an interview; these denials dispute intent but not the attempt itself.[1][4][6]
Sources
6 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 1 tier 2, 2 not rated, 1 rated low
- 1Obama, Fox News and the Free Press - FactCheck.orgfactcheck.org · fact-checker · cited for: supports, context
- 2Did Obama ban Fox News from White House briefings? Claim distorts the factssnopes.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 3New Emails Shed Light On 2009 Fox News, White House Spat - NPRnpr.org · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 4White House Targeted Fox Newsthedailybeast.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 5Administration Loses Bid to Exclude Fox News From Pay ...foxnews.com · rated low for factual reporting by Iffy.news · cited for: supports
- 6White House relents in TV tiff over letting Fox interview 'czar'deseret.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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