A recent telephone survey involving 1,18o respondents ranked Fox “News” as the best television news network, eight percentage points ahead of CNN.
http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/whats-the-best-tv-news-network_b85551
I find the results of the poll discouraging, not because of loyalty to my former employer, but rather because it reveals that a larger percentage of television viewers are more stupid than I imagined. Fox “News” is what it is—the Republican Propaganda Network. It is not a news network.
Granted, Rupert Murdoch’s cable toy tries to foist itself off as a “fair and balanced” network, but “fair and balanced” is a joke and news is incidental to the marketing of right-wing lunatics, promotion of the Tea Party and the distortion of issues deemed to be the work of progressives.
Fox “News” is the child of a culture that is guilty of creating the biggest scandal in the history of British journalism. Indeed, lies and distortions are part of the network’s genetic makeup. To that end, it has provided a forum for Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Sarah Palin, Ann Coulter and a cast of characters that reads like a who’s who in the lock-down ward of a mental hospital.
Glenn Beck, the self-professed rodeo clown who makes Rush Limbaugh seem sane, has taken his massive ego to new ventures—namely his own start-up cable network. Beck’s departure was, no doubt, hastened by the large number of sponsors he chased away from Fox. It will be interesting to see which advertisers will support the deranged ex-disc jockey in a new venue. Maybe he will get a helping hand from the Koch brothers—benefactors of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and drooling oil billionaires of the far, far right.
The absence of Beck does not greatly diminish Fox’s epidemic of egomania. In fact, Harvard trained asshole Bill O’Reilly has stepped in to fill the void by declaring that he has more power than anybody other than the President.
Hopefully, O’Reilly was making a joke and forgot the punchline. Otherwise, he is crazier than Glenn Beck, an achievement that would have pyschiatrists offering to pay him huge sums to spend a few hours on their couches.
If I seem overly critical of Fox “News,” I’m not. In fact, I can’t conceive of being to0 critical of the network that has done so much to undermine democracy in this country and create a breed of politicians, who are committed to defeating President Obama by leading the country into another recession, or worse.
Most disturbing is the network’s reliance on lies and misinformation to exploit the fears, ignorance and laziness of its viewers. When people touch the remote to turn to Fox, their brains obviously shrink.
What other explanation is there for poll results declaring Fox the best “news” network. A sizeable segment of our society has become too lazy to read newspapers, magazines and indulge in the arduous task of thinking for themselves.
As someone who spent thirty years as an equal opportunity muckraker bashing Republicans, Democrats and all colors and creeds, I am saddened by the state of American journalism at all levels—network and local television news in particular.
I cringe now while watching the newscasts on Baton Rouge’s WBRZ, once among the top local news operations in the country and a station where I added to my collection of Peabody awards and other prestigious national journalism prizes prior to departing for CNN. Twice in recent weeks, the six o’clock news was interrupted by “breaking news” banners reporting stories that aired moments before on a competing station that also falls far short of journalistic competence.
An even worse sin by the station I use to take pride in was a tease promoting an exclusive interview with the suspended star quaterback of the LSU Tigers, a kid facing felony battery charges stemming from a bar brawl. The interview amount to no more than ten words. The football player said he hoped to be cleared of the charges and return to the team. A real exclusive!
Sure, I’m an old codger complaining that it ain’t like it used to be. But what it is today ain’t how it ought to be. Nor do I expect journalism to get any better in the future. Jeopardy whiz Ken Jennings recently released a book, Maphead, that offers a startling statistic about the nation’s 18 to 24 age group. Thirty-three percent failed to find Louisiana on a map, 48 percent could not locate Mississippi and 63 percent had no idea where Iraq is located.
Mr. Murdoch, you’ve got a lot of Fox “News” viewers headed your way.
My memoir, Odyssey of a Derelict Gunslinger: A Saga of Exposing TV Preachers, Corrupt Politicians, Right-Wing Lunatics…and Me is available at amazon.com, soft-cover or Kindle and at independent bookstores like the Cottonwood in Baton Rouge. It offers $19.99 worth of laughs and much more. The book is an account of my illustrious (I choose the adjectives) investigative reporting career. jblisscamp@aol.com.
I agree with your views concerning Fox news. Fox is anything but fair ans balanced. I watched Fox for a period in my life until I come to realize they boldly distort the truth. It certainly is a refelction of society in America. WHAT? WHAT, in the world does Fox share in common with the working class in America, nothing. I believe that politics in America has moved from an intellectual process to a spectator sport. Our county is in deep trouble.