Allowing Fox News to move up to the first row in the White House briefing room was a "travesty of a decision," according to Ed Chen, the former White House Correspondents Association president who left that post just a few months ago.
Chen, who served as WHCA president for the 2009-2010 term ending in June, made the comments in reaction to Media Matters' call on Monday for a reversal in the decision in light of News Corp.'s $1 million donation to the Republican Governor's Association.
A former Bloomberg White House reporter now with the National Resources Defense Council, Chen said giving Fox the coveted former seat of Helen Thomas brought too much conflict to the seat.
"The vacancy was created because of an ideological conflict," he said, referring to Thomas' anti-Israel comments that led to her resignation. "To fill the vacancy with another cloud of ideological conflict was most unfortunate and inappropriate."
WHCA board members announced Aug. 1 that Fox News would move up to the front row after Thomas' departure.
In revealing the change, the WHCA noted only that a consensus was reached among the board members, without detailing specifics or noting which board members favored or opposed the move initially.
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