A month after Fox News fired its biggest star, Bill O’Reilly, following pressure from advertisers and advocacy groups surrounding allegations of sexual harassment, another of the network's top personalities, Sean Hannity, is facing a new advertising boycott.
And he is not backing down -- although Fox News is publicly distancing itself from the conspiratorial rant that has put him in the crosshairs of a campaign to oust him from the network. “Not giving up at all,” @seanhannity tweeted this morning, adding: “I’m working harder than ever to get the truth the family wants and deserves. Stay tuned.”
The family Hannity referred to presumably is Seth Rich’s, a former Democratic National Committee staffer who was murdered in 2016. Rich has become the subject of a right-wing conspiracy theory being promoted by Hannity and others, even though Rich’s family has been pleading to tamp it down.
advertisement
advertisement
On Tuesday, Fox News retracted a version of the story published on its Web site, stating: "On May 16, a story was posted on the Fox News website on the investigation into the 2016 murder of DNC staffer Seth Rich. The article was not initially subjected to the high degree of editorial scrutiny we require for all our reporting. Upon appropriate review, the article was found not to meet those standards and has since been removed.”
As tepid as the retraction might seem, it comes amid a massive restructuring of Fox News in the wake of the ousting of its founder, the late Roger Ailes, O’Reilly and other senior managers from its glory days of right-wing TV news sensationalism.
The retraction has not deterred Hannity from continuing to promote and allude to new big scoops looming about Rich's murder. Or from tweeting about his tenacity to his base of followers, although Rich's family continues to plead with him to stop.
The family publicly thanked Fox News for its retraction.
Meanwhile, Media Matters has seized on the moment to shed new light and pressure on brands that sponsor and advertise on Fox News’ “The Sean Hannity Show.”
“Just retracting the one online story hardly undoes the damage Fox News -- and specifically Sean Hannity -- has done by pushing baseless conspiracy theories about Rich's death,” Media Matters wrote in a newsletter published Tuesday, continuing: “For the past week, Hannity and his colleagues have repeatedly pushed the evidence-free conspiracy theory that former Democratic staffer Seth Rich was murdered for providing WikiLeaks with emails from the Democratic National Committee.”
It also published the following list of advertisers sponsoring his show on Fox News, which include many big blue-chip brands:Alfa Romeo
Allstate
Angie’s List
AstraZeneca
Bayer
Blink Health
Boehringer Ingelheim
Booking.com
Capital One
Casper
Consumer Cellular
DirecTV
ExxonMobil
Harvest Right
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical
Hulu
Hyundai
Jenny Craig
John Deere
Liberty Mutual
LoanDepot
Mercedes-Benz
Mitsubishi
Nutrisystem
Optum
PC Matic
ProFlowers
Publishers Clearing House
Sandals
Shari’s Berries
Terminix
UNTUCKit
Vanda Pharmaceuticals
AC Pro
Allergan
American Petroleum Institute
Amerifit
Armor All
AT&T
Athene
Atkins
Audi
Australian Dream
Avis
BASF
Bass Pro Shops
Bath Fitter
Bausch + Lomb
Beaches Resorts
Blue-Emu
Bounty
CA Technologies
Cars.com
Cascade
Centrum
CenturyLink
Chamonix
Charles Tyrwhitt
Charmin
Chattem
Cialis
ClearChoice
Comedy Central
Crowne Plaza
Donald J. Trump for President
DR Power Equipment
Dr. Scholl’s
Duracell
Ebates
eHarmony
Eli Lilly and Company
Expedia
Fabletics
Ferndale Healthcare
Fixodent
Fleet Labs
Freshpet
Geico
Gilead Sciences
GlaxoSmithKline
GoDaddy
GoodRx
Grasshopper
HomeAdvisor
HomeLight
HomeToGo.com
IBM
Indeed
Intel
Infiniti
Jaguar
Jardiance
JoC. A. Bank Clothiers
JustFab
Kerasal
Kia
Kingdom
La Quinta
Leesa Sleep
LendingTree
Lexus
magicJack
Marie Callender's
Mattress Firm
Men’s Wearhouse
Microsoft
Miracle-Ear
My Pillow
Navy Federal Credit Union
Nissan
Novartis
NRA Foundation
Orkin
Oscar Mayer
OurTime
Panera Bread
Peloton
Pfizer
Phazyme Gas and Acid
Preen
Principal
Quincy Bioscience
Quten IP Holdings, LLC
Raid
Reddi Wip
Reelz
Ring.com
RockAuto
Safelite
Sea-Bond
ServPro
Scotts
Sirius XM
Sleep Number
SoClean
Soothe XP
Stanley Steemer
Stein Mart
Subaru
SuperBeets
Super Beta Prostate
Swiffer
Takeda Pharmaceuticals
TD Ameritrade
Tempur-Pedic
Touchnote
TruStage
United Milage Plus Explorer Card
USAA
Varidesk
Venus
Viking River Cruises
Visiting Angels
Vistaprint
Vonage
Wagner OEX
Wax-Rx
WeatherTech
Zenni Optical
ZeroWater
"This advertiser list covers the period between May 1 and May 23. This list will be updated regularly," Media Matters said.
Is inclusion of the advertiser list appropriate for a reputable trade publication lie Media Post?
I'm thankful for the list, Joe. Advertisers have to figure out that where their ads show up matters. YouTube has been feeling the heat because advertisers' spots are showing up on inappropriate sites, and mostly those advertisers don't know they're doing it. They're afraid for their reputations.
These Hannity sponsors are plunking down money on that guy and his ridiculous anti-American comment and viewpoints. You can look at those lists and say, OK, brands I use are advertising there. They endorse vicious lies." After that, it's up to you and the advertisers. You get what you pay for.
It has been public info.
I think Henry is one of the many pimps for Hannity and the alt right that try to spread the falsehoods like Pizzagate and then demonize those that expose the BS. That is the game plan Ailes wrote. Put it out there and if enough of us repeat it it will seem real to the low information demos.I find it distasteful that Henry would promote fake news on this reputable business publication...and think we would not notice.
@Henry Blaufox, why do you think it might be inappropriate? We are an ad trade publication. The story is about an advocacy group targeting that list of advertisers. Do you think it would have been more appropriate if we just linked to it? In any case, we believe it was relevant and material information to publish based on the context of the story.
The important thing is that the boycotts are working. More here...
http://pjlehrer.blogspot.com/2017/02/all-boycotts-and-bumps-are-not-created.html
Thanks for the added perspective.