During a public affairs forum last night, Rupert Murdoch denied that Fox “News”—one of the sparkling jewels of his media empire—was a Republican propaganda outlet. He also feigned ignorance about the network’s role as a cheerleader for the Tea Party Movement. He failed to address the issue of whether astonauts really landed on the moon, or whether rain is wet. 

Speaking at a forum for the Kalb Report television series, Murdock’s comments suggested that he avoids watching Fox “News.” Smart guy. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/06/murdoch-msnbc-cnn-house-d_n_527849.html. To deflect criticism of his baby, Murdoch accused the CNN, MSNBC and the New York Times of bias in favor of Democrats.

I concede that he was two/thirds correct—the exception being CNN. A major ratings problem with my former employer is a lack of bias. During my decade at CNN, it was called the “Clinton News Network.”  I know from personal experience that the label is a myth. In fact, I almost resigned in a confrontation with a CNN vice president when he tried to spike one of my stories because it undercut Whitewater allegations against Clintons. The executive told me in no uncertain terms that wanted to bring down the President and his Arkansas cronies.    

Pill-popping Rush Limbaugh is the guy who attached the Clinton label to CNN, proving that no matter how untrue, if something is said loud enough and long enough, people will begin to believe it. Fox’s moronic talk show hosts and the network’s stable of wing-nut pundits have expanded on the loudmouth theory to the extent that emotionally-manipulated Tea Partiers are taking to the streets in mass displays of ignorance. It reminds me of my days of covering street demonstrations by young people incited by loud voices of the radical left at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Except for the Vietnam war, many were clueless about other political issues that prompted protests. But, damn, they were having fun—sort of like health care demonstrators, who dress in costumes and make fools of themselves.  

Fox “News” has cashed in on the opposite of fun. The network exploits the fear and anger of people influenced by all the propaganda about socialism, Marxism and other crap expoused by Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and to a lesser extent, Bill O’Reilly. By denying Fox’s GOP agenda, Murdoch is being  duplicitous. Scratch that. He is lying, the same as many of the people who work for him. 

In my opinion, CNN should battle Fox head-on—not in terms of bias and/or partisanship, but on the basis of truth. The idea of a prime time fact-checking program on CNN has been suggested by many people. It would make a great battlefield to name names and kick ass.

My friend and former colleague, Brooks Jackson, was once CNN’s fact-checker. During election campaigns, he anchored segments that analyzed political commercials. His reports were aired in newscasts and on politcal shows. As an ex-Wall Street Journal reporter and campaign finance expert, Brooks had the background to effectively investigate false claims. Although we worked together for several years, I have no idea of his political preferences. However, he had the personality of a Republican. 

Anyway, Brooks now heads factcheck.org. It is supported by the non-partisan Annenberg Foundation. When I receive viral e-mails propagating outrageous right-wing yarns, I immediately go to Brooks’ website. Nine times out of ten, he has already countered the misstatements and rumors with actual facts. But his site is pretty tame.

Since Rupert Murdoch and his Fox “News” executives have no qualms about criticizing CNN, my old network needs the cojones to fight back. It would be more informative and entertaining than Larry King.

Come to think of it, so are infomercials for bathroom fixtures.

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.