Daily Caller blogger Mickey Kaus quit after four years with the site, accusing the conservative site of unpublishing his article “attacking” Fox News, Kaus told Politico.
“I wrote a piece attacking Fox for not being the opposition on immigration and amnesty — for filling up the airwaves with reports on ISIS and terrorism, and not fulfilling their responsibility of being the opposition on amnesty and immigration,” Kaus told Politico.
A link to his article, “Fox makes it easy for amnesty,” now goes to an error page.
“A cached version of Kaus’ column is still accessible, and it’s quite a lengthy examination of how Fox has largely overlooked the immigration debate, calling out Megyn Kelly in particular,” Mediaite reported.
The article “skewered” Fox, “saying that Fox has been spending too much time on ‘semi-hysterical’ coverage of ISIS, and not enough time rallying opposition to President Obama’s proposed immigration overhaul,” CNN reported.
The article was unpublished shortly after publication, Kaus said, adding that Tucker Carlson, Daily Caller’s founder, said “we can’t trash Fox on the site” because “I work there.” Carlson is a contributor to and host for Fox News.
There were two articles in 2013 that prompted a discussion with an editor, Kaus further told CNN. Kaus said he was told criticizing Fox was a “sensitive subject” back in 2013 after he wrote negatively of the network at the time. “The pieces were not taken down or changed,” Kaus is quoted as saying.
Kaus explained to Politico he decided to quit because he couldn’t work for the Daily Caller given its ban on criticizing Fox News.
Kaus’ quitting was covered by both CNN’s Reliable Sources and Fox News’ Media Buzz, Mediaite reported. On Media Buzz, host Howard Kurtz briefly touched on the incident, reporting that Carlson confirmed the rule against criticizing Fox News. “Carlson told me he gives his writers vast editorial freedom but makes an exception for Fox because you don’t go after your employer,” Kurtz said, commenting that the policy “helps undercut his site’s independence.”
Kaus appeared on CNN’s Reliable Sources repeating his story to host Brian Stelter.
Carlson confirmed Kaus’s leaving the site.
iMediaEthics has written to Carlson for comment. We’ve tweeted Kaus asking for further comment.