Fox News: Too Fair, Too Balanced

ChronWatch ^ | 1/24/05 | Cinnamon Stillwell

[SeenTheLight]

Fox News Network has become a favorite target of leftists these days, who, in all their impotent rage, like to ascribe various sinister motives to what they see as a staunchly conservative news channel. An entire documentary, Outfoxed, has been devoted to the idea that Fox News is part of a right-wing cabal to control the country. The left is particularly fond of mocking Fox

[SeenTheLight]

This may piss off the Fox faithful, but here goes!

[SeenTheLight]

ping

[goldstategop]

FOX NEWS is far from perfect. But it least it tries to present both points of view. In contrast, all that the legacy media offers is wall to wall liberal propaganda.

[Keith in Iowa]

>>>This may piss off the Fox faithful, but here goes!

I've been a Fox Faithful, but this is pretty much on the mark. FoxNews weekends are becoming too tabloid.

[Caipirabob]

Two things: 1) The market is wide open for a news perspective that promotes Patriotism and conservatism (read American point of view) 2) The two sides perspective is useful and informative once you get past the "puking stage" for the liberal side of it.

[onyx]

Fox actually does a good job.
By presenting the left's warped point of view,
some otherwise uninformed viewers have come to
our side.

[rwfromkansas]

Several strikes for this article:

1) focuses on the commentators. It is not the duty of a news organization to have its opinions balanced. Plus, Fox just offers both sides when it comes to commentary. Yep, lots of liberals. So?
2) Nonsense on illegal immigration not worth commenting.
3) Fox News is fair and balanced in its news coverage. I disagree it just looks like every other network in terms of how stories are presented.

Now, the piece does make some good points about presenting different angles on stories than everybody else (the war on terror, for example).

But, Fox is certainly not too fair and balanced in its news coverage (not that that is even possible). It is a perfect medium between taking the left and the right's side.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

Fox News is a gateway news source. People who choose to be cleansed of brainwashing can only take so much truth at one time. They need to see debate between both sides. It's not the same as someone you can strap down and force-feed information.

So long as its ratings keep rising, that's what America needs. The first two years I was on this forum, I was incredibly frustrated by gateway news, particularly pro-establishment gateway news. In the end, I realized that we were light-years ahead in being informed. The good news is that the majority of voters are beginning to catch up with us. In a few years' time, those of us who don't specialize in one category won't be anything special. That's kind of bittersweet in a way. We're the "Renaissance Men of politics" right now-- that includes the female FReepers as well.

FReegards....

[rwfromkansas]

Oops....I missed this one.

Strike 4 against the article:

4) "Unless it wants to follow suit, Fox News will wise up and stop worrying about being "fair and balanced.'"

Disturbing comment. It shows this woman really wants a conservatively biased network, not a fair and balanced network.

Fox is fair and balanced. If you want bias, you should not be looking for a news network, as journalism is not supposed to be biased either way.

[SeenTheLight]

...this woman really wants a conservatively biased network

And the problem with this is? We already have liberally biased networks, so why not the opposite?

[MEG33]

I am a regular watcher and agree with much of what is written..Fox is just better to watch than the others and Brit Hume is superior to any other. There is the mute button when the looney left goes nuts on a show.

[MEG33]

They want a large audience..I don't need a purely conservative network..I enjoy a give and take at times..I just wish they would get on the heavy weights like Hanson more.
Fox has Greta because of ratings..

[Getsmart64]

FWIW...was watching a special about Prez Bush hosted by Brit Hume on Fox. I didn't know that it was Carl Cameron who broke the Bush drunken driving arrest right before the 2000 election.

[Paul C. Jesup]

Of course, when you’re dealing with a crowd that considers the New York Times to be conservative, your frame of reference is going to be just a tad bit skewed.

ROTFL!!!!

[SpyGuy]

This is the propaganda "game" that the Left plays oh-so well: they paint anyone who does not follow their agenda lock-step as a right-wing conservative. (And their agenda is to the left of Karl Marx, so I guess Vladimir Lenin would be denigrated as a "conservative" by the Left's current standards.)

All exaggerations aside, George W. Bush is a perfect example. By any rational analysis (which apparently, many Republicans are not capable of), President Bush is a liberal. Sure he is a pious man and he's moderately committed to the War in Iraq, but that alone does not make him a conservative. The reality is that President Bush is no more conservative than, say, Franklin D. Roosevelt. In fact, fifty years ago, President Bush would likely have been a somewhat "liberal" member of the Democrat Party! But today, the Left portrays President Bush as the most ultra-right-wing extremist conservative ever to walk the face of the earth. I'd be laughing if it all wasn't so sad.

(Before all the pro-Bush/pro-GOP flames start, don't get me wrong: I'm not suggesting that we should have elected that treasonous bastard, John F. Kerry. I did vote for President Bush. But I would have preferred to have voted for a true conservative, rather than a "lite liberal.")

But to get back to the point about Fox News, have any of you listened to their syndicated radio news reports? I was excited when I heard that KNEW in the Bay Area (the new radio home of Michael Savage) was switching away from CNN to Fox for their half-hour news breaks. I thought I'd finally get some fair news, compared to ABC's crap on KSFO (the other "conservative" radio station) and KNEW's previous CNN propaganda. Wrong! Fox's radio news is practically indistinguishable from any of the other network "spews" with plenty of Liberal spin and slant. In fact, some female Fox new reader had the gall to announce Bin Laden's last Al jazeera broadcast as, and I quote, "the latest video postcard from everyone's favorite terrorist, Osama Bin!" as if he was some kind of Hollywood hip-hop rap star. I almost puked in my truck I was so disgusted.

[MEG33]

Fox and Fox cable are different..

[durasell]

How are they different? I don't have cable

[CyberAnt]

Sadly, I agree. If I could control the output - I would put more of the conservative msg out there. To know the truth and have to sit there and listen to the sniveling liars besmirch good people - it's hit the remote time for me.

On Inauguration day, here was Ceci Connelly ragging on Bush right and left - I finally got fed up with it and turned over to C-SPAN - at least the swearing in and the parade was good. Oh yes, I sent FOX an email and told them how upset I was about them using Ceci - I mean - just one day - did we have to listen to the whining.

[SpyGuy]

Fox and Fox cable are different..

I was referring to Fox New's radio news broadcasts, not Fox Network TV. Fox News uses the same tag line of being "Fair and Balanced," so they must be some division of FNC.

[CyberAnt]

That's about where I am too - I hit the mute button when I just can't stand another spinner from Bob Beckel.

And .. weekends are awful - the morning finance shows on Sat are usually good - with a good mixture of views .. but after that its usually just liberal to the max.