Thaindian News

By Meena Kar
July 26, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Howard Dean has lashed out at Fox News saying that their handling of the Shirley Sherrod controversy was absolutely racist. He added that the controversial video clip has been edited to make it sound more racial. The former Democratic National Party chairman said that the network failed to determine whether the video clip was legitimate and unedited. He said that the clip was intentionally modified as if Shirley Sherrod was bragging about discriminating against a white farmer.

A spokesperson for Fox News refuted the claims by Howard Dean and said that the network did not air the clip until Shirley Sherrod had been asked to step down by the USDA. However, the comments from Bill O’Reilly made it evident what the stance of the network was. Bill O’Reilly commented on the clip and said that they were ’simply unacceptable’ and that Shirley Sherrod must resign. In another interview Shirley Sherrod said that she was asked to resign by her administration officials because they were afraid of Fox News’ Glenn Beck taking up the topic and blowing it out of proportion. Howard Dean has also added that it was not Fox News that cost Shirley Sherrod her job but it was the controversy creating Glenn Beck who actually forced the member to resign. He has also said that the network continues to cater to its theme of racial discrimination by blowing such comments out of proportion and it disrupts the unity of the country.

The Fox News Senior Vice President, Michael Clemente, was quick to respond to the harsh comments by the former presidential candidate. He said that over the past week, people such as the failed presidential candidate like Howard Dean blame Fox News for anything reflexively.