Fox gets accused of racism for reporting President's milestone celebration as "Hip Hop BBQ"...Stories about President Obama's 50th birthday party at the White House on Thursday were the above-the-title headlines on Drudge Report all day on Friday. One of the links was to Obama Foodorama's report about the bash, which was loaded with Hollywood A-listers and sports legends. Fox News' citing the party as a "Hip Hop BBQ" was also on Drudge, and it was causing accusations of racism by mid-afternoon. “Obama’s Hip-Hop BBQ Didn’t Create Jobs,” read the headline on The Fox Nation, an offshoot of the main Fox site. The story was accompanied by the photo compilation, above, of the President and party guests basketball player Charles Barkley, comedian Chris Rock and the rap mogul Jay-Z.
Not pictured with the story were any high-profile attendees of other racial backgrounds, such as Academy Award-winning actor Tom Hanks, or Mayor Rahm Emanuel of Chicago.
"The article, published Friday morning, generated more than 2,000 comments and substantial objections from people who found it to be inaccurate at best and racist at worst," noted New York Times, adding "Media Matters for America, a progressive group that campaigns against Fox, asserted that the article was part of a pattern of “race-baiting headlines and content” on the Web site."
No reporter or editor’s name was attached to the “hip-hop BBQ” article. Through a spokeswoman, Bill Shine, the executive vice president for programming at Fox News, declined to say whether the article adhered to the site’s standards.
The “didn’t create jobs” comment in the Fox headline most likely was a reference to the White House press secretary Jay Carney’s statement earlier this week that “the White House doesn’t create jobs.” Mr. Carney said the White House declined to comment on the Fox article.
Other news outlets also carried the story of President Obama's birthday party with compilation photos of the President and his African American celeb guests, such as Politico, which featured a triple photo of the President, Jay-Z and Rock, but the headlines and text could not be deemed racist. Politico's was "Inside Obama's 50th-Birthday Party," and the story was a recap of party details.
Above, a Drudge screen grab with the President's party headlines above the title (click for large, readable view).*Fox Nation photo
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