Fox
became the first broadcast network to turn down a request by President
Barack Obama for time, opting to show its drama "Lie to Me" on
Wednesday instead of the president's prime-time news conference.Fox
will direct viewers interested in the news conference to Fox News
Channel and the Fox Business Network, which will both carry it. ABC,
CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC and CNBC are all carrying the 8 p.m. EDT event, on
Obama's 100th day in office.This will be Obama's third prime-time news conference as president,
a schedule that has caused some private grumbling among network
executives. Carrying a news conference costs the four broadcast
networks an estimated $10 million-plus in lost advertising revenue.Yet with an economy in distress, two wars and now a swine flu
outbreak, the pressure on networks to agree to Obama's request as a
public service is enormous.Executives at Fox, owned by News Corp., would not comment on the
decision Monday. It's not without precedent for the network; Fox didn't
carry a prime-time speech by President George W. Bush in November 2001
despite a request from the White House."I can't imagine it was politically motivated," said Shelly Palmer,
industry analyst and host of "MediaBytes," a daily show about
technology and the media. "I'm assuming it was financially motivated."The news conference comes at the start of a ratings "sweeps" months,
where viewership is watched closely to set local advertising rates. Not
only will Fox keep its advertising for the hour, it will offer the only
broadcast entertainment program, potentially giving a boost to the new
series "Lie to Me," about a crime-fighting expert who can spot liars.
"American Idol" follows "Lie to Me" on the schedule.The Fox broadcast network was the most likely to have made this
decision. Unlike ABC, CBS and NBC, Fox does not have its own news
division to analyze the event. Even though the broadcast network is in
more homes, cable's Fox News Channel traditionally gets more viewers
for its coverage of these events than the Fox network. CONTINUE READING...