TV chiefs criticised over Obama 'baby mama' slam
6/13/2008 - 8:45:48 AMAmerica’s Fox News Channel has stirred up more controversy with the Democrats after referring to Michelle Obama as “Obama’s baby mama” in a graphic.
The incident is the latest in a trio of references to Barack Obama’s Democratic presidential campaign that have given fuel to critics of the network.
The graphic, “Outraged liberals: Stop picking on Obama’s baby mama” was flashed during an interview with conservative columnist Michelle Malkin about whether Mr Obama’s wife had been the target of unfair criticism.
“Baby mama” originated as urban black slang for a woman who has a baby with a man who is not her husband or her boyfriend.
In the past two weeks, Fox anchor ED Hill has apologised for referring to an affectionate on-stage fist bump shared by the couple as a “terrorist fist jab” and Fox contributor Liz Trotta said she was sorry for joking about an Obama assassination.
The incidents are further indications of how closely the endless cable campaign chatter is being watched this year.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign was angered by what it described as the pro-Obama tilt of some MSNBC commentators. Amid protests, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews said he was wrong this winter to say Mrs Clinton was a candidate because “her husband messed around”. And MSNBC reporter David Shuster was suspended for two weeks for saying Mrs Clinton’s campaign had “pimped out” daughter Chelsea by having her make political phone calls.
“Obama’s baby mama” was never said on the air. Ms Malkin said during her interview that she had seen no gratuitous or cheap shots taken against Mrs Obama by Republican or conservative critics, and the graphic was flashed on the screen.
Joan Walsh, a columnist from Salon.com, criticised the graphic as a slur.
“Do you try to explain that ’baby mama’ is slang for the unmarried mother of a man’s child, and not his wife, or even a girlfriend?” she wrote.
“Are they racist, or just clueless? Isn’t there racism even in their cluelessness, if somebody didn’t know what ’baby mama’ means, but used it anyway? Even at Fox, won’t somebody have to apologise?”
“Baby Mama” was also the title of a recent movie about a woman who hired a surrogate to bear a child. It starred Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, both of whom are white.
Bill Shine, senior vice president of programming at Fox, said in a statement that a producer “exercised poor judgment” during the segment. The producer was not sacked and no other disciplinary action was announced.
Ms Hill’s “terrorist fist jab” comment came in a tease to a segment on the candidates’ body language, and it was not repeated during the subsequent interview. She told Fox it was taken from something she had read online.
Ms Hill apologised on-air four days after she said it. She said some people “thought I had personally characterised it inappropriately. I regret that. It was not my intention and I certainly did not mean to associate the word ’terrorist’ in any way with Senator Obama and his wife.”
Fox subsequently cancelled Ms Hill’s weekday afternoon programme as part of a larger reorganisation. She remains on staff.
Ms Trotta’s assassination joke came May 25 as she commented about how some considered it distasteful for Mrs Clinton to refer to Robert Kennedy’s assassination when explaining why she was staying in the presidential race.
“Now we have what some are reading as a suggestion that somebody knock off Osama,” she said, quickly correcting herself. “Obama. Well, both if we could.”
Mr Obama’s name has often been confused with terrorist leader Osama bin Laden’s, by people ranging from former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney to CNN’s Alina Cho. And MSNBC once flashed a picture of bin Laden as Chris Matthews talked about Mr Obama.
Ms Trotta apologised on-air the next day, and has not appeared on Fox since.