Man, I hate these discussions.
First off, the worst part about Fox is neither that they have an agenda nor that they are biased, it's the inflammatory remarks made on a regular basis by their pundits. When they talk about lynchings, when they make generalizations about black people being lazy, when they speak using rhetoric that incites viewers, when they speak in a bullying manner, when they berate their interviewees and try to play that type of destructive behavior off as heroic, and on and on. It's not just biased, it's showing a complete lack of standards. It's saying we're going to get angry and worked up on the air, we're going to act overly agressive and bully anyone who doesn't agree with us, we're going to make hateful comments, AND we're going to play it off as being a good thing, but wait, we're also going to call it news. It's ridiculous and it's the lowest form of trash there is. As far as being hateful and inflammatory, Fox has no equal.
As far as to what degree other news stations have an agenda is debatable, but I will admit every station has a bias. That's nothing new, there's an inherent bias in everyone. The difference is to what degree are you going to give into that bias and try to be objective. To just say, "well everyone has a bias, so screw objectivity altogether and just give into that bias," is irresponsible to the nth degree. Saying that MSNBC or CNN are biased is not a defense, it's a detraction. In no way does it exonerate what Fox does. Secondly, it's irresponsible to just cry bias because Obama isn't being bashed the same way Bush was. Sooner or later conservatives are going to have to face the fact that regardless of how much they liked Bush, a strong majority of the country was displeased with the way his presidency turned out. They're also going to have to face the fact that he did a lot of questionable things and that history probably won't be too kind to him. The fact that Obama isn't drawing as much criticism as Bush isn't a reflection on any news station, but rather a reflection on Bush.
Lastly, there's the question of what Fox does as far as fact-checking and being objective in their reporting, which again they are second to none as far as twisting facts. Let's face it though, the amount of actual news reporting done on Fox is pretty close to zilch. They should call it what it is, which is an editorial channel, not a news channel. You want to cry about CNN being favorable to Obama, fine, but at least they offer actual news coverage that has a hint of objectivity. Fox, as far as I can tell, is simply one editorial rant after another. That's fine if you're going to call it an editorial, but passing it off as news is probably the most irresponsible thing Fox does.
Log in to comment