Fox’s Parent Company Not The Only News Outlet Funding Gov Races

CBS, GE, Walk Disney, News Corporation.
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News Corp’s $1 million donation to the Republican Governors Association was one of the largest single donations to any American political party this campaign season.

The company, headed by chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch, owns the Fox News Channel, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, the Fox Business Network and more than two dozen local television stations.

In a statement, News Corp. said it “believes in the power of free markets, and the RGA’s pro-business agenda supports our priorities at this most critical time for our economy.”

But it’s not the only news company that has delved into financing campaigns.

Here’s a look at some other news organizations with some skin in the game this November:

  • NBC parent General Electric has given $245,000 to the Democratic governors and $205,000 to the Republican governors since last year, according to the Washington Post.
  • ABC owner Disney donated $20,000 to committees associated with Republicans and $11,000 to Democratic committees, according to the newspaper.
  • CBS came in with the lowest tally, at $13,000 to Democratic PACs and just $1,000 to Republican ones, reported the Post.
  • CNN parent company Time Warner gave $35,000 to the Democratic governors group, while Time Warner Cable, a separate business, gave $25,000 to Republican governors, according to NPR.

News Corp.’s donation, first reported by Jonathan Salant of Bloomberg News, set off anger from the Democratic side of the aisle.

Nathan Daschle, the head of the Democratic Governors Association, requested in a letter to Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes that the network add a formal disclaimer to its coverage whenever a program covers governors or gubernatorial races until Election Day.

Eric Burns, the former chief media critic for Fox News, said he didn’t think the donation would make the difference because he couldn’t see how it could be more right-wing oriented, he told NPR.

The News Corp. political action committee had been pretty even-handed before the $1 million donation. Democrats had received 54 percent of its donations, while Republicans pulled in 46 percent, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

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