Pro-Bush supporters sign a U.S. flag to give to troops stationed in Iraq during a Pro-Bush rally, Saturday, Aug. 27, 2005, in Crawford, Texas. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Pro-Bush supporters picket in downtown Crawford, Texas, Saturday, Aug. 27, 2005. Thousand of pro-Bush supporters are expected in Crawford to counter the supporters of Cindy Sheehan. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Coverage on Fox of today's events has been no different than would have been spun by Dan Rather or Peter Jennings (RIP). It seems that now that Fox has reached the top, it has become complacent in the MSM hierarchy, and is jettisoning the strategy that got it there. A review of the tapes will show the following:
- Fox's reporting insinuated unreliable estimates of support for the troops. "Estimates ranged from 200 to 2,000." The implication is that pro-troops organizers either cannot count or are inflating their numbers, resulting in widely varying estimates.(Note: Even NPR stated that "thousands" gathered!)
- The report indicated that pro-troops forces were there to take advantage of the media coverage around Cindy.
- The two sides were described as "pro-War" or "pro-Bush" and "anti-War." Are supporters of the troops "pro-War" (the implication is imperialists) or "pro-finishing the mission" (committed to nurturing fledgling democracies in Afghanistan and Iraq)? The real debate is between "Peace through Appeasement" vs. "Peace through Strength".
- Fox's reporting insinuated that there was a relationship between the "counter-protesters" and death-threats against Cindy Sheehan. So now we are grouped with the Eric Rudolphs and Timothy McVeighs of the world.
- There was no mention of the number of "Gold-Star" families at the support the troops rallies. The only mention of "Gold Star" was in association with Ms. Sheehan.
Now this is important! We as Conservatives have come to depend on FoxNews as a source to provide balanced reporting. This is simply no longer the case! We need to stop indiscriminately watching Fox, and recommending Fox, and we need to let Fox's sponsors know that they are losing their audience. The same unbalanced market conditions that enabled the rise of FoxNews are resurfacing!
Recent polling numbers show that the facts of the war are not getting out to the mainstream audience. One hypothesis is that FoxNews' shift is a factor in the negative polling numbers.
There is a void of balanced reporting, and this unfulfilled need will create a very profitable business opportunity for the media organization that sees the opportunity to fill it! We need to help accelerate this process!