Pfeiffer repeats WH concern with Fox News

Leadership of the White House's communication shop may have changed, but its new chief made clear on Monday he shares his predecessor's concerns about Fox News.

The network is "not a traditional news organization," director Dan Pfeiffer stressed, adding he agreed with former Director Anita Dunn's take on the network. 

"They have a point of view; that point of view pervades the entire network," he told The New York Times in a sit-down interview.

"We don't feel the obligation to treat them like we would treat a CNN, or an ABC, or an NBC, or a traditional news organization, but there are times when we believe it makes sense to communicate with them," he added, noting the White House's decision to dispatch counter-terrorism chief John Brennan to Fox News Sunday after the Flight 253 attack was one example of that exception.

The White House and Fox News have long traded barbs over the network's approach to news. The Obama administration has derided its coverage as unabashedly partisan, while Fox pundits have lambasted the White House for trying to stamp out dissent.

That fight grew most intense last October when Dunn, then the White House's communications director, charged the network was actually a "wing of the Republican Party."

Dunn eventually left her post in November -- a departure she planned long before the Fox spat -- but her most vocal critics still cheered her exit.

Still, Pfeiffer on Monday said Dunn's approach remains in place, noting the White House would "interact with [the network] when it makes sense." But the communications director also signaled the administration's approach to Fox was part of a larger strategy to "engage the discussion" between reporters, lawmakers and voters.

"We will correct the record, whether it's an analyst on Fox, whether its a member of Congress, whether its a reporter or expert...," Pfeiffer said.

[Update, 6:27 p.m.] A Fox News spokesperson took issue with Pfeiffer's remarks on Monday.

"Obviously new to his position, Dan seems to be intent upon repeating the mistakes of his predecessor. .. and we all remember how well that turned out,” the spokesperson told The Hill.

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