A man rammed his truck into the studios of Dallas Fox affiliate KDFW earlier this morning, just two days after Meet the Press host Chuck Todd published an article calling on his media colleagues to “start fighting back” against Fox News.
A man crashed a truck into the side of our building this morning. He jumped out and started ranting. He’s in custody now but the bomb squad is on its way. He left behind a suspicious bag. Most have been evacuated & a few are working to keep the news on air from a secure location. pic.twitter.com/X3UpLbYk85
— FOX 4 NEWS (@FOX4) September 5, 2018
#BREAKING: Pickup truck repeatedly rams Fox 4 studios in downtown Dallas; Texas Sky Ranger over the scene https://t.co/KXtiRhM1VY pic.twitter.com/hQ0pIObV3l
— NBC DFW (@NBCDFW) September 5, 2018
Police say pickup intentionally crashed into @FOX4 studio in Dallas https://t.co/UGFpED0GOB
— Dallas Morning News (@dallasnews) September 5, 2018
KDFW reports on the incident targeting their offices:
A man was arrested Wednesday morning after crashing a truck into the side of the FOX4 building in downtown Dallas.
The man, after repeatedly crashing his vehicle into a side of the building with floor to ceiling windows, got out of his vehicle and began ranting.
FOX4 photojournalists were able to film him placing numerous boxes next to a sidedoor filled with stacks of paper. The papers were also strewn across the sidewalk and street adjacent to the building.
The man ranted about “high treason” and also mentioned a sheriff’s department.
This was the man who smashed his truck into our station this morning..throwing papers around while yelling "high treason". @FOX4 pic.twitter.com/k7PsosDQIk
— Brandon Todd (@BrandonToddFOX4) September 5, 2018
The Dallas police bomb squad was dispatched to investigate a bag the man had left at the scene.
KDFW reports that all personnel were inside the building at the time, and no one from the station was injured.
This car ramming attack comes just after NBC host Chuck Todd published an article on Monday at The Atlantic calling for others to “start fighting back” against Fox News.
According to Todd, Fox News is the face of a 50-year vilification campaign targeting corporate media.
Of course, his corporate media colleagues all dutifully jumped on the anti-Fox News bandwagon in support of Todd’s call.
—@ChuckTodd is right. Let's recognize this anti-media campaign for what it is – and respond accordingly. The days of "don't engage" are over. https://t.co/b91yuRl8ha
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) September 4, 2018
Brilliant essay by @chucktodd on the current war on the press beginning with Roger Ailes entry into politics in 1968. https://t.co/sLTKhfNeFi
— Lawrence O'Donnell (@Lawrence) September 4, 2018
In The Atlantic, @chucktodd says journalists have failed to fight back against the “campaign to destroy the legitimacy of the American news media,” once led by Ailes and now carried on by conservative media figures: https://t.co/uK6GA3B9G6 pic.twitter.com/Q013DPLWC2
— Michael Calderone (@mlcalderone) September 4, 2018
This is brilliantly stated by @chucktodd. "Fox intended to build its brand the same way Ailes had built the brands of political candidates: by making the public hate the other choice more." https://t.co/gGPs0RDWxx
— Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) September 4, 2018
It's time for the press to start fighting back, argues @ChuckTodd
A nearly 50-year campaign of vilification, inspired by Fox News's Roger Ailes, has left many Americans distrustful of media outlets. Now, journalists need to speak up for their work.https://t.co/Wt48d5mZnX— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) September 4, 2018
Now that someone may have responded to their collective call to “start fighting back” against Fox News, it remains to be seen if the establishment corporate media will tone down their open incitement targeting Fox News and supporters of President Trump.
Let me make clear that at this time there’s no evidence that the attacker was responding to Chuck Todd’s “fight back” call, but as we saw following the Parkland high school mass shooting, the NRA was immediately tarred and blamed by the likes of Chuck Todd and others in the corporate media establishment despite no evidence they or their policies were remotely connected to the Parkland incident.
But the corporate news media establishment has unmistakably made clear that these are the new rules.
With so much ongoing discussion by these same media figures about widespread public hatred of the corporate news media, it is truly remarkable that they have so quickly adopted the very hateful rhetoric they claim to condemn. Whether this incident is connected or not, it should be a wake-up call to tone things down. But given the rampant double standards, that doesn’t seem likely.
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