Shortly after CNN’s Ed Henry announced that he was leaving the network and jumping to Fox News, along came the left-wing  media watchdog Media Matters to criticize Henry for being a right-wing partisan.

The National Journal reports, though, that the attack on Henry is less than solid:

But the group’s rushed denunciation of Henry is a little silly considering the group’s only other articles about Henry this year credit the then-CNN correspondent for debunking Republican Darell Issa’s “false claim” that the stimulus “didn’t create any jobs” and criticizing President Obama’s critics for spreading a “myth” about the president’s India trip costing $200 million. So what’s the best dirt Media Matters could dig up on Henry?

Henry was one of the attendees at a much-criticized beach party held by the White House for members of the press. He defended himself against criticisms of a conflict of interest, saying his critics didn’t have a sense of humor.

Now, it’s fair to criticize a member of the press for being overly-cozy with the administration for attending vice president Biden’s beach party. But, if Biden is a Democrat, wouldn’t that suggest an undue bias with the left? Never mind because there’s more:

In 2005, Henry described a Democratic proposal for withdrawal from Iraq as what “some have referred to” as “the cut-and-run provision,” a phrase that echoed a Republican talking point about the conflict.

Yawn. Reporting on others’ use of a particular phrase is not the equivalent of an endorsement.

But Henry’s real bias shows up, according to Media Matters, because he supported the hiring of conservative blogger Erick Erickson by CNN , and backed up Fox’s bid to take the vacated Helen Thomas seat in the White Hose briefing room; a bid Fox lost to AP though they did move to the front row as part of the reshuffling.

If anything Henry has played it straight down the middle, which made him a perfect fit at CNN, and there is no reason to believe that he won’t be “fair and balanced” as he starts his new job at Fox.

But it was just the mere thought that Henry was joining a network that Media Matters has declared war on to set them into attack mode whether or not it was justified.

Even the liberal media isn’t buying this story.

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About the author

Don Irvine
Don Irvine is Chairman of Accuracy in Media. He is active on Facebook and Twitter. You can follow him @donirvine to read his latest thoughts.

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1 Comment for Ed Henry’s Move to Fox Raises Media Matters’ Ire

Jim

I LIKE FOX NEWS, BUT I’M DONE WITH ORIEL LY ,HE HAS TURNED INTO AN OBAMA CHEERLEADER I’M PISSED AT FOX FOR DUMPING THEIR BEST HOST GLENN BECK AS FAS AS I’M CONCERNED HE HAD THE MOST INFORMATIVE 1 HOUR SHOW ON TV TODAY IN AMERICA, HE TOLD IT LIKE IT IS AND EXPOSED THE COMMUNIST AND MARXISTS IN OUR GOVT TODAY THAT ARE RUNNING AND RUINING OUR COUNTRY FROM OBAMA TO ALL THE COMMUNIST DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS IN OUR SENATE AND CONGRESS , PLUS HE EXPOSED ALL OF OBAMA COMMUNIST FRIENDS AND APPOINTMENTS FROM CZARS TO CABINET MEMBERS HE WAS A TRUE GOVT WATCH DOG, NO POLITICAL AGENDA FOR EITHER PARTY JUST HONEST SOLID INFORMATION, AN ALL TRUE AMERICANS WHO WANT TO BE INFORMED WILL JOIN HIM ON HIS NEW GB TV OR MISS OUT IN WHO AND WHAT IS DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY TODAY