Saturday, August 11, 2007

FOX "News" Unmasked


While reading "The Huffington Post" this morning, I happened to glance at the title bar across the top of the window, and here's what it said: "Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post."

It occurred to me that FOX "News" should be required to change their mottos ("We Report, You Decide" and "Fair and Balanced) to something like that. "FOX News and Opinion Channel" as a new name for the network would actually accomplish the same thing.

It is astonishing to me that Conservatives will get all up in arms when FOX "News" (no I will not dispose of the quote marks) is blasted for it's heavy conservative slant. They get very defensive, and then sling mud at the other news outlets. Um, hello, if you're getting that defensive--about a cable channel--clearly there's something to it. You have some sort of vested interest there.

When painted into a corner over FOX "News"'s blatant bias, Conservative fans will often switch to an argument that says, "well, Liberals have CNN, MSNBC, NBC, CBS, ABC, The New York Times. . .yada, yada, yada." This is said as though it was well established fact, and that these news organizations are as blatantly and obviously slanted left as FOX "News" is to the right. I for one am not sure that case has yet been made.

But let's say it was. Let's say that Keith Olbermann wasn't alone in the Liberal/Progressive wilderness, and that these news outlets were peppered with left-wing loony moonbats. Fine. Label all of them "News and Opinion." In fact, at least on the cable news outlets, that's what they are anyway. Make them behave like newspapers do, have an opinion section (editorial section) clearly separated from the news.

Only on FOX "News," that means you have to can the editorializing on your alleged "hard news" programs. Do it straight, Shepard (oh, sorry, bad choice of words) and Brit! FOX "News" is run through with a hard-right slant in virtually every program, from their obvious opinion shows, to their "straight news" shows, even into their "newsbreaks." For chrissakes, they even have a Daily Show/Weekend Update knock-off "comedy" program, The ½-Hour Newshour, dedicated explicitly to conservative "humor."
Either sort it out or change your name. End of rant (for now).

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