Slant Right
As Fox News continues to reap profits from selling crazy to its audience, its competitors follow along for the ride.
That Fox News – and I use the term News loosely and only to distinguish and separate the division from Fox Network, you know the people who brought you The Simpsons and Family Guy – should be accused of not being a news organization by the White House, is hardly, no pun intended, newsworthy. To those of us who have had the "privilege" of tuning in from time to time – just for entertainment value mind you – that fact was already self evident.
That it took the Obama Administration so long to realize that this 24 /7 tabloid operation would never relent in its constant badgering of it and therefore finally found it necessary to deploy that age old football axiom of letting a good offense be its best defense was the real news story. Claims by Fox of Nixonian tactics are juvenile and irrelevant. Every president since Teddy Roosevelt has used the bully pulpit to his advantage, including the last one, who never passed up an opportunity to dismiss and lock out any journalists he felt were leaning too hard on him or just plain calling him out. All Obama did was state the obvious to a nation, most of which probably replied something like “Duh” when it heard the news. For the record Obama did not deny them access to the White House Press Room or revoke their credentials. What he did, if you’ll pardon the crude analogy, was call a spade a spade.
And so the injured party, just to prove the point, has spent the better part of this week pounding the Administration harder than ever. In a Newsweek op-ed piece called “The O’Garbage Factor: Fox News isn’t just bad. It’s un-American,” Jacob Weisberg ripped the network for its tactics, writing:
“Any news organization that took its responsibilities seriously would take pains to cover presidential criticism fairly. It would regard doing so as itself a test of integrity. At Fox, by contrast, complaints of unfairness prompt only hoots of derision and demands for ‘evidence’ that, when presented, is brushed off and ignored.”
As of this morning, foxnews.com had as its number one story: “Will Gov’t-Run Health Care Become a Case of …FATAL ATTRACTION?” Underneath the headline is the Fox Forum, which reads: “YOU can still stop Obamacare.” Find me another network that has a ridiculous forum like that and actually has the audacity to refer to itself as a news organization. Even the one lone bright spot regarding the Obama Administration’s attempt to “exclude” Fox from interviewing its Pay Czar Kenneth Feinberg being rightly thwarted by the Washington bureau chiefs deteriorated into the usual “it’s all about us” article. Not one question about Feinberg’s role or what he intends to do in the position is anywhere to be found. If you were looking for any information about that, you had to turn to other “news” sources. For instance, did you know that Feinberg is looking to “trim” AIG bonuses as well as other executives pay? Not if you were looking at Fox News, you wouldn’t. I googled Feinberg’s name and without exception every newsworthy item about him came from anywhere but Fox. At Fox News the story, as always, is about how fair and balanced they are, and how the big, bad president is out to get them. Even six year olds behave with more maturity.
Whether it’s the banal stupidity of a Steve Doocy or Gretchen Carlson masquerading as news anchors, or the lame attempt by Chris Wallace to somehow resemble his father or even a moderator, or Bill O’Reilly spinning on his “No Spin” zone, or Glenn Beck selling crazy to the bunch of space cadets he calls his audience, Fox’s “news” division has become the laughing stock of an industry that, sadly, has grown fat, dumb and lazy in its quest for the almighty ratings point. For as reprehensible as Fox News has become with regard to journalistic integrity, the rot it has spawned throughout cable news in general is far more deleterious. Weisberg elaborates:
“That Rupert Murdoch may tilt the news rightward more for commercial than ideological reasons is beside the point. What matters is the way that Fox's model has invaded the bloodstream of the American media. By showing that ideologically distorted news can drive ratings, Roger Ailes has provoked his rivals at CNN and MSNBC to develop a variety of populist and ideological takes on the news. In this way, Fox hasn't just corrupted its own coverage. Its example has made all of cable news unpleasant and unreliable.”
In other words, it isn’t enough that Fox is killing its own viewers through its irresponsibility; its second-hand smoke, as it were, is poisoning its competitors’ audience, as well. An industry that once heralded the virtues of CBS’s Walter Cronkite, now kowtows to the likes of CNN’s John King. Probative reporting and investigative journalism have taken a back seat to the drive-by segment in which any guest is allowed to say whatever they want without fear of challenge. Truth is not the ultimate goal; ratings are. The more outlandish and provocative the guests are, the more viewers tune in.
And that is the good news. The bad news is that each of the twenty-four hour cable news channels have ostensibly filled their prime-time evening slots not with news people, but basically with ideologues. A look at the current lineup will tell you all you need to know about the state of affairs.
CNN: The Most Trusted Name in News
4:00 to 7:00 The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer
7:00 to 8:00 Lou Dobbs
8:00 to 9:00 Campbell Brown
9:00 to 10:00 Larry King Live
MSNBC: The Place for Politics
5:00 to 6:00 Hardball with Chris Matthews
6:00 to 7:00 The Ed Show with Ed Schultz
7:00 to 8:00 Hardball with Chris Matthews
8:00 to 9:00 Countdown with Keith Olbermann
9:00 to 10:00 The Rachel Maddow Show
Fox News: Fair and Balanced
5:00 to 6:00 Glenn Beck
6:00 to 7:00 Special Report with Bret Baier
7:00 to 8:00 Fox Report with Shepard Smith
8:00 to 9:00 The O’Reilly Factor
9:00 to 10:00 Hannity
Now to be truly fair and balanced - another pun? - Wolf Blitzer, Campbell Brown and Larry King are not ideologues, and probably don’t deserve the lion’s share of the blame going around here, but many of the segments on their shows do have an element that is shared by their competitors in that guests can often get volatile during interviews. As such their programs, however CNN would like to portray them as news, are more like soft-core porn to use yet another crude analogy. They get you all worked up and then leave you hanging. And while none can claim the mantle of irreverence that the Fox lineup has richly incurred, all have at one time or another unfortunately sunk to their levels to drive ratings. That I share many of the viewpoints of Olbermann and Maddow is beside the point. The integrity of the media as a whole is threatened when such a mockery is dressed up as journalism. Somewhere, Edward R. Murrow is throwing up in his grave.
This atrocity has been a long time in coming. Its genesis may have started when Fox News was launched back in 1996, but the greater issue may be moot. Not only is the proverbial genie out of the bottle, the bottle has been tossed overboard at sea and the genie is pulling for the shore. Even if it were possible to kick Fox off the air, and believe me there is scarcely a day that goes by when that thought doesn’t delight me to no end, it is doubtful that CNN and MSNBC would alter their programming. Keith Olbermann would continue to espouse Democratic opinions, Lou Dobbs would continue doing his best Glenn Beck impersonation, and Wolf Blitzer would continue saying, “We’ll have to leave it there” just as the topic started getting serious.
Oh death where is thy sting? While an industry implodes under the weight of its own incompetence, aided and abetted by the toxicity of Rupert Murdoch’s hellish monster, the remaining worthy bearers of journalistic integrity continue to dwindle to a precious few. The News Hour with Jim Lehrer is now and has been for some time the bastion of relevant and diverse political opinion unfettered by corporate greed or political agendas. Conservative and liberal ideas are treated with equal aplomb. It is refreshing to hear passionate viewpoints that do not deteriorate into divisive commentary. You will not see the likes of a Sean Hannity or Ed Schultz anywhere near its confines, nor is it likely that you will witness fake news being propagated as factual, and that is the best news of all.
I could say more about this, and will as time permits, but unfortunately my ride is here and I’m afraid I will have to leave it there. For now this closing line will have to suffice. Goodnight and good luck. Mostly good luck.
As Fox News continues to reap profits from selling crazy to its audience, its competitors follow along for the ride.
That Fox News – and I use the term News loosely and only to distinguish and separate the division from Fox Network, you know the people who brought you The Simpsons and Family Guy – should be accused of not being a news organization by the White House, is hardly, no pun intended, newsworthy. To those of us who have had the "privilege" of tuning in from time to time – just for entertainment value mind you – that fact was already self evident.
That it took the Obama Administration so long to realize that this 24 /7 tabloid operation would never relent in its constant badgering of it and therefore finally found it necessary to deploy that age old football axiom of letting a good offense be its best defense was the real news story. Claims by Fox of Nixonian tactics are juvenile and irrelevant. Every president since Teddy Roosevelt has used the bully pulpit to his advantage, including the last one, who never passed up an opportunity to dismiss and lock out any journalists he felt were leaning too hard on him or just plain calling him out. All Obama did was state the obvious to a nation, most of which probably replied something like “Duh” when it heard the news. For the record Obama did not deny them access to the White House Press Room or revoke their credentials. What he did, if you’ll pardon the crude analogy, was call a spade a spade.
And so the injured party, just to prove the point, has spent the better part of this week pounding the Administration harder than ever. In a Newsweek op-ed piece called “The O’Garbage Factor: Fox News isn’t just bad. It’s un-American,” Jacob Weisberg ripped the network for its tactics, writing:
“Any news organization that took its responsibilities seriously would take pains to cover presidential criticism fairly. It would regard doing so as itself a test of integrity. At Fox, by contrast, complaints of unfairness prompt only hoots of derision and demands for ‘evidence’ that, when presented, is brushed off and ignored.”
As of this morning, foxnews.com had as its number one story: “Will Gov’t-Run Health Care Become a Case of …FATAL ATTRACTION?” Underneath the headline is the Fox Forum, which reads: “YOU can still stop Obamacare.” Find me another network that has a ridiculous forum like that and actually has the audacity to refer to itself as a news organization. Even the one lone bright spot regarding the Obama Administration’s attempt to “exclude” Fox from interviewing its Pay Czar Kenneth Feinberg being rightly thwarted by the Washington bureau chiefs deteriorated into the usual “it’s all about us” article. Not one question about Feinberg’s role or what he intends to do in the position is anywhere to be found. If you were looking for any information about that, you had to turn to other “news” sources. For instance, did you know that Feinberg is looking to “trim” AIG bonuses as well as other executives pay? Not if you were looking at Fox News, you wouldn’t. I googled Feinberg’s name and without exception every newsworthy item about him came from anywhere but Fox. At Fox News the story, as always, is about how fair and balanced they are, and how the big, bad president is out to get them. Even six year olds behave with more maturity.
Whether it’s the banal stupidity of a Steve Doocy or Gretchen Carlson masquerading as news anchors, or the lame attempt by Chris Wallace to somehow resemble his father or even a moderator, or Bill O’Reilly spinning on his “No Spin” zone, or Glenn Beck selling crazy to the bunch of space cadets he calls his audience, Fox’s “news” division has become the laughing stock of an industry that, sadly, has grown fat, dumb and lazy in its quest for the almighty ratings point. For as reprehensible as Fox News has become with regard to journalistic integrity, the rot it has spawned throughout cable news in general is far more deleterious. Weisberg elaborates:
“That Rupert Murdoch may tilt the news rightward more for commercial than ideological reasons is beside the point. What matters is the way that Fox's model has invaded the bloodstream of the American media. By showing that ideologically distorted news can drive ratings, Roger Ailes has provoked his rivals at CNN and MSNBC to develop a variety of populist and ideological takes on the news. In this way, Fox hasn't just corrupted its own coverage. Its example has made all of cable news unpleasant and unreliable.”
In other words, it isn’t enough that Fox is killing its own viewers through its irresponsibility; its second-hand smoke, as it were, is poisoning its competitors’ audience, as well. An industry that once heralded the virtues of CBS’s Walter Cronkite, now kowtows to the likes of CNN’s John King. Probative reporting and investigative journalism have taken a back seat to the drive-by segment in which any guest is allowed to say whatever they want without fear of challenge. Truth is not the ultimate goal; ratings are. The more outlandish and provocative the guests are, the more viewers tune in.
And that is the good news. The bad news is that each of the twenty-four hour cable news channels have ostensibly filled their prime-time evening slots not with news people, but basically with ideologues. A look at the current lineup will tell you all you need to know about the state of affairs.
CNN: The Most Trusted Name in News
4:00 to 7:00 The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer
7:00 to 8:00 Lou Dobbs
8:00 to 9:00 Campbell Brown
9:00 to 10:00 Larry King Live
MSNBC: The Place for Politics
5:00 to 6:00 Hardball with Chris Matthews
6:00 to 7:00 The Ed Show with Ed Schultz
7:00 to 8:00 Hardball with Chris Matthews
8:00 to 9:00 Countdown with Keith Olbermann
9:00 to 10:00 The Rachel Maddow Show
Fox News: Fair and Balanced
5:00 to 6:00 Glenn Beck
6:00 to 7:00 Special Report with Bret Baier
7:00 to 8:00 Fox Report with Shepard Smith
8:00 to 9:00 The O’Reilly Factor
9:00 to 10:00 Hannity
Now to be truly fair and balanced - another pun? - Wolf Blitzer, Campbell Brown and Larry King are not ideologues, and probably don’t deserve the lion’s share of the blame going around here, but many of the segments on their shows do have an element that is shared by their competitors in that guests can often get volatile during interviews. As such their programs, however CNN would like to portray them as news, are more like soft-core porn to use yet another crude analogy. They get you all worked up and then leave you hanging. And while none can claim the mantle of irreverence that the Fox lineup has richly incurred, all have at one time or another unfortunately sunk to their levels to drive ratings. That I share many of the viewpoints of Olbermann and Maddow is beside the point. The integrity of the media as a whole is threatened when such a mockery is dressed up as journalism. Somewhere, Edward R. Murrow is throwing up in his grave.
This atrocity has been a long time in coming. Its genesis may have started when Fox News was launched back in 1996, but the greater issue may be moot. Not only is the proverbial genie out of the bottle, the bottle has been tossed overboard at sea and the genie is pulling for the shore. Even if it were possible to kick Fox off the air, and believe me there is scarcely a day that goes by when that thought doesn’t delight me to no end, it is doubtful that CNN and MSNBC would alter their programming. Keith Olbermann would continue to espouse Democratic opinions, Lou Dobbs would continue doing his best Glenn Beck impersonation, and Wolf Blitzer would continue saying, “We’ll have to leave it there” just as the topic started getting serious.
Oh death where is thy sting? While an industry implodes under the weight of its own incompetence, aided and abetted by the toxicity of Rupert Murdoch’s hellish monster, the remaining worthy bearers of journalistic integrity continue to dwindle to a precious few. The News Hour with Jim Lehrer is now and has been for some time the bastion of relevant and diverse political opinion unfettered by corporate greed or political agendas. Conservative and liberal ideas are treated with equal aplomb. It is refreshing to hear passionate viewpoints that do not deteriorate into divisive commentary. You will not see the likes of a Sean Hannity or Ed Schultz anywhere near its confines, nor is it likely that you will witness fake news being propagated as factual, and that is the best news of all.
I could say more about this, and will as time permits, but unfortunately my ride is here and I’m afraid I will have to leave it there. For now this closing line will have to suffice. Goodnight and good luck. Mostly good luck.
2 comments:
Historians may look back on this time in history and conclude that the news business did not die, it committed suicide, and all in pursuit of more and more profit. I guess Marx was right. Capitalism will sell the rope that hangs itself.
Sorry, correction. It was Lenin who said that.
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