So, what have a got against Fox “News?” Nothing, other than the network’s demeaning of the word, ”news.” The Columbia Journalism Review  featured a lengthy Fox “News” analysis this month, written by former Los Angeles Times reporter Terry McDermott.

“No reasonable person would sincerely deny that Fox has a distinct bias favoring Republicans, and conservative Republicans especially,” he wrote.

That is not a revelation. The difference between CNN and Fox is reflected in each of the network’s commitment to straight coverage of the news. I leave MSNBC out of the mix because it makes no pretense of being a news network. It is basically talk radio with pictures. Most of MSNBC’s news coverage is provided by its parent organization, NBC. Fox, however, claims to present “fair and balanced” news, although most of its programming is devoted to far-right commentators.

In the CJR article, McDermott points out that my former employer, CNN, has a staff of 4000,  including a stable of pundits from all sides of the political spectrum. But at least the commentators are an adjunct to newscasts that dominate CNN’s twenty-four cyle. The Larry King program is the only regularly scheduled non-news show on the network.

Fox “News” has fewer than 2000 employees. Hence, when news breaks, you can bet that Fox won’t be there. Terry McDermott, who had the courage and stomach to watch the Fox for an extended period of time. He describes it as “almost purely a talk network.” Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck are the network stars, and the most influential in terms of spreading outrageous misinformation.

Beck, in particular, is a menace because so many viewers see him as some sort of political guru. He is nuts, folks. Even his Fox co-workers are disturbed by Beck’s batty behavior and race-baiting statements—this tidbit according to Washington Post media columnist, Howard Kurtz. I can’t vouch for Kurtz’s claim. He said nobody at Fox was willing to go on record with complaints about Beck. 

Regardless, Fox is all about making money and Glenn Beck will continue exploiting the ignorance his sizeable audience as long as he makes a profit for Rupert Murdock—a man who is also devoid of a conscience. How long Glenn lasts is anybody’s guess. The good news is a boycott by responsible companies that don’t want to be identified with card-carrying lunatics. Two hundred sponsors have already notified the network not to air their commercials in his show, which is slowly being reduced to a series of info-mercials.

Anyway, I will repeat what I’ve said all along. Fox is entitled to the same freedoms of speech and press as all of us. I only wish the network would drop the word “news.”  It’s good to get that off my chest before taking off for a long weekend in Atlanta.

My memoir, Odyssey of a Derelict Gunslinger is available at amazon.com and independent bookstores. It offers much more than $19.99 worth of laughs. It is an account of my illustrious (I choose the adjectives) career.