The New York Times reported Sunday that Fox Business Network was the only major media outlet still slated to participate in a Saudi business conference later this month.
“By week’s end, The New York Times and every other major Western news media organization, except Fox Business Network, had canceled its participation,” the Times reported.
Newsmax contacted Fox spokeswoman Irena Briganti for comment. Another Fox Business Network spokesperson emailed Newsmax Sunday night stating the situation is under review, but had no further comment.
Major press outlets, expressing outrage over the apparent slaying of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, have abruptly signaled they will not participate in Saudi’s Vision 2030 conference, an event intended to showcase the oil kingdom’s plan to revolutionize its economy.
Khashoggi, a Saudi national and U.S. resident, entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on Oct. 2 and never returned.
Turkish authorities claim they have video and audio recordings indicating Khashoggi was first interrogated in the consulate, then tortured and murdered. The Washington Post reported evidence has been shared with U.S. authorities.
The alleged hit squad was sent from Saudi Arabia and organized the killing. A bone saw was used to dismember Khashoggi’s body and it was placed in handheld cases and transported back to Saudi Arabia.
Khashoggi had been a press critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The 32-year-old strongman of the kingdom has engaged in a series of controversial acts.
Just weeks after hosting a similar conference in Riyadh in 2017, he turned the host hotel, the Ritz-Carlton, into a prison, arresting dozens of the kingdom’s most important business leaders and other officials.
News of Khashoggi’s apparent slaying has shaken Washington’s confidence in Saudi Arabia, a long-time ally of the U.S.
President Donald Trump has stated that he would be “very upset and angry” if the Saudi government murdered Khashoggi and promised "severe punishment" if that was the case.
Except for Fox Business, the financial channel owned by the corporate parent of Fox News Channel, all other major media have announced their pullout from the event, including CNN, CNBC, Financial Times, Bloomberg News, The New York Times, The Economist, and the Los Angeles Times.
CNBC anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin tweeted last week he was “terribly distressed” by the Saudi crime against Khashoggi and canceled plans to moderate several sessions of the conference.
The shocking and grisly details of the Khashoggi killing have drawn a bipartisan coalition seeking to penalize Saudi Arabia for its violation of international law.
Last week Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., said he will propose a law to ban all military aid to Saudi Arabia as a result of the murder.