• Fox is not interested in showing the Democratic convention.
In 2004, Fox "used the convention as a scenic backdrop," said Tom Shales of TVWeek. "Couldn't bear to show most of the event" wrote Eric Boehlert in Salon. Fox allowed significantly less airtime to speakers than did other cable outlets, cutting off Al Gore after just 45 seconds. Fox gave 20 percent more airtime to Republicans.

Instead of scheduling special convention coverage, which every other network felt was merited, the entire "murderer's row" of Fox talk shows aired with their standard talking heads in their standard primetime hours. One modification: O'Reilly was perched over the convention hall, broadcasting his show from Fox's luxury box, furnished to them care of the Democratic Party. In the commentary that replaced coverage, we were told that the entire convention was "about hate." Added O'Reilly, "This happened in Nazi Germany," referring to the "power" of Michael Moore, seated next to Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter. Lies were even made to question the patriotism of convention-goers.

• Americans are not interested in watching the Democratic convention on Fox.
More people watched the 2004 Democratic National Convention on CNN than on Fox. Far more on ABC, CBS, NBC and most of all PBS. Even The Daily Show was a more trusted source of convention coverage than Fox. And this year, more people are watching the debates on CNN than on Fox, too.

Indeed, 20 percent more Americans generally watch CNN than Fox -- specifically, 11 million more watched CNN than Fox in Q3 2007, according to Nielsen Media Research. This metric is called cumulative ratings, which, in basic terms, simply counts and adds up viewers. In "AQH" ratings calculations, which attempt to estimate average numbers of viewers per commercial break, Fox receives a higher quotient because a smaller core audience stays glued to Fox for longer periods of time, winning the averaged calculations with more viewing time rather than more viewers. Fox calls these core viewers "Fox Fans," who, with their common interests and longer doses of Fox, more resemble long-form talk radio audiences than cable news audiences. More about the voting habits of these "Fox Fans" later.

• So why does Fox bother?
One might wonder, why would Fox show up to a convention but not show it? Why would they go to all the effort knowing their fans won't watch? Why would they even associate themselves with something they consider a hate-fest with Nazi overtones? The answer appears to be, to create the impression of legitimacy -- the veneer of fairness and balance. Don't like Fox's hagiography to the Republican Party at their convention? Hey, you can't complain: they were at the "Democrat Party" event, too.

The real question is, why would the "Democrat Party" take all this abuse from Fox but then reward it in return? Why would they endorse Fox as a legitimate news outlet by providing it with the same premiere accommodations given to major networks? Why not treat Fox as any other opinion media operation -- welcome to come, welcome to broadcast, just not welcome to the deluxe package?

Maybe if Fox were forced out of the luxury box and onto the floor, they'd actually feel compelled to cover the thing.

• Luxury box or no, Fox viewers won't vote for Democrats.
Before the Democrats' decision not to let Fox literally control the terms of the debate by hosting a Democratic forum, Fox and its defenders argued that if the Democrats didn't play nice with Fox, they might not get the votes of Fox viewers. But the Democrats did play nice in 2004, and they didn't get Fox viewers' votes. In fact, Fox viewers voted for Bush over Kerry by an absurd margin of 88 to 7 -- even pro-war white evangelical gun owners are more likely to vote for a Democrat than Fox viewers are.

• Democrats should show strength, not weakness.
After the Democrats cancelled the Fox debate, Fox and its defenders tested a narrative that Democrats were afraid of Fox. But Democrats are not afraid of Fox. What would make Democrats look afraid of Fox would be to reward Fox for its bad behavior, playing the battered, submissive victim in an abusive relationship. Hey, Fox is still invited to come and insult Democrats at the party's convention, just as they would under any other circumstance. But Democrats have no good reason to participate in Fox's illusion of fairness and balance, providing them with the same accommodations as valid news outlets and aiding in the deception that Fox is a legitimate journalistic operation.

So here's the petition, it's very simple:

To the organizers of the 2008 Democratic National Convention:

While Fox is invited to come to the Democratic National Convention, Fox is not a guest of honor. Please do not reward Fox's disrespect for the members of the Democratic Party and their convention. Do not give a luxury box to Fox.

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