Daily Agitator
We on the Left and yes I consider myself “on the Left” have been bitching about the doings at FOX News…that it in essence is a outlet for the GOP to get the day’s talking points out to the public….while FOX has said that it is a news outlet and that it is “fair and balanced” reporting……well that has come to a halt and I would like to see how the talking heads on FOX report this…if at all….
From the WaPo……(I know the WaPo is one of those “lame stream media” outlets)
Murdoch’s News Corp. has made a $1 million donation to the Republican Governors Association, triggering swift criticism from Democrats that a contribution of that magnitude casts a shadow on his media properties, particularly Fox News.
Asked whether such donations raise questions about other networks’ coverage, Daschle said: “The Fox contribution is in a completely different league. Other media firms’ donations are generally small and about equal to the many committees that receive money.” His group spent Tuesday trying to drum up interest in the issue, unsuccessfully pitching a dozen Fox producers and hosts to get Daschle booked on the channel.
And the group rushed out a fundraising letter assailing what it called Murdoch’s effort to help “put wild-eyed Tea Party candidates in charge of our states and Congressional redistricting” and asking potential donors to “make News Corp. regret this decision.”
Before I get the inevitable bashing for talking badly about FOX and I will get a couple of shots…..I will say that other corporations that own media outlets make contributions also….however most of them have NOT given a million to one specific outlet and they donations are spread between the two major parties….not one or the other exclusively….but FOX has and that, IMO, makes the “fair and balanced” reporting just a slogan with NO foot in the truth…..and what of the possible candidates that are on the payroll of FOX, Palin, Huckabee, Newt?
So the question is….if FOX has decided to be the propaganda arm of the GOP, can they still be considered a “news” organization?
A good post. It’s also a very good question…
I think the answer is probably “yes they can”. The reason I say that is that all media organisations have a right to choose their “stance” on all sorts of subjects including politics and it is in large part that stance which will determine the viewer/readership/listener base they acquire (and hopefully manage to keep). If they have no “stance” then they will likely be seen (probably quite rightly) as bland, middle of the road – and boring…. which incidentally is also why I don’t ever expect to get very far with what I do – I may be passionate about a few things, but I find it quite hard to “pick a controversial line and stick with it” in spite of a mountain of incontavertible evidence telling me I’m wrong. I also have this damned annoying tendency to see and often understand the other guy’s point to view – even when I don’t agree with it!
Whether “fair and balanced reporting” is just a slogan or not, is a different question entirely – of course it’s no more than a slogan in most instances. You must have bias if you are to have a political stance, so how could your reporting be anything but partisan?
Look! If you are a… say… left-wing newspaper editor, the only interest you, or more importantly, your readers could have in what Palin, or Newt, or someone of that ilk says about almost anything is how “unfair, lying, illogical, stupid, insensitive, etc., etc.,” it is towards the left wing – why else would you even want to mention someone like that?
So, “News” media? Yes – just! Fair and balanced? You have GOT to be kidding me?
Look at MSNBC they have “lefties” like Ed Shulz, Maddow, Olbermann and others….so yes they do present a certain point of view….but each one of those shows also has regular Repub strategists and conservatives that tackle whatever the issue is….so far FOX has only “righties with shows and righties as commenters and righties as contributors….seldom see a Dem on their shows unless it is in support of their stories…..and some of their news is manufactured kinda like the Sherrod story and the birther crap and so on….so I say not real news and definitely NOT fair and balanced…..
Well, yes – since I’ve never seen MSNBC (to my knowledge) I’ll take your word for it. But that was my point a while back – during election run up, they should ALL behave like that – BY LAW!
But the rest of the time, if, for instance, FOX was just MSNBC with a paint job, how many would watch it? There’s really only room for one big one in each camp or of each type.
The other point is you can only provide that balance by having different reporters with differing views and I would imagine that, since the are professionals, they follow up their own leads and research their own material so that they remain largely independent.
I hope you’re not suggesting that Gingrich, Palin and the rest are professional reporters, let alone journalists! If you are, we’re gonna fall out! 😆
Anyway, the only important thing that Murdoch has done for the media industry is to bring some nice tits to page 3 of the Sun newspaper in the UK 😈
NO I am not…but they6 are paid commentators….which most people will view as journalists…..he has done something similar to FOX News….he finds the ditzy blond with pretty good looks and a nice butt to national news…the problem is CNN has done the same and others are starting to follow…not a good sign….
I suppose the truth is that most guys at least don’t actually give a damn about the news – they just like to have an excuse to ogle a nice pair of ta-tas or dream of going to bed with a woman with a butt like that (instead of the 54″ hips they somehow ended up married to).
Well I will say the MSNBC has an inordinate amount of red heads and I like that! But you are right….the average person worries about his family…it is the over 50 crowd that is a bit stable that peers into the conspiracies on certain outlets….
Yes they can because there is no law that says “News” can’t be slanted and believe me when I tell you that in these days when Corporate America virtually/literally owns Media and pays their dues through millions in advertising, the “Outlets” who depend on that revenue are probably going to toe the line their “Owners” draw out in the sand for them. “Money” makes the “News” in America these days …. not “Events that happen.”
News is now entertainment not information…..why else would I hear about this celeb or that as breaking news…..this is why us bloggers hold a special place, at least to me…..
If news has become entertainment then we have to make sure the entertainment contains information — we have to find a way to make information both informative and entertaining because we know that human nature will push the market toward entertainment by its very nature. Humans crave entertainment so we have to make the news both informative and entertaining at the same time. — There should be experts for this and there should be departments within news organizations to see that this gets done.
Good idea…but to me there is reality and then there is entertainment……only one of them can solve problems…..
Americans are addicted to pleasure, comfort zones, things that make them laugh, things they can put into their bellies, a warm place to defectate, a roof over their heads, money in their pockets — They are not interested in serious stuff — If they were interested in serious stuff and in their own welfare there would be no such thing as a Right Wing political apparatus. — Americans will take entertainment over news any time of the day!
I sadly agree with you……and that is why we are so screwed as far as the democracy goes……instead of getting “i Voted” sticker after you vote….you should get a sample size “sex lube” as you enter the polling booth…..
a flavored one, right? Make mine strawberry, please! 🙂
LOL….I like Blackberry