I watch Fox News.
There. I said it. It's off my chest.
Mind you, I don't watch it when there's an actual news story of any real importance; on those occasions I usually turn to CNN, because of course, strictly speaking, Fox doesn't cover news - they deliver republican propaganda under the guise of journalism. But when there's nothing going on of any particular interest, I like to sit there and just marvel at it all. The hypocrisy, the intellectual dishonesty, the glaring conservative bias they get away with calling "fair and balanced" (surely the most nakedly cynical slogan since "Arbeit Macht Frei"). I drink it in.
I assume, perhaps naively, that none of you disagrees with my analysis. Even the republicans among you. If there were a network of the same sort, proclaiming itself a source of "news" and proselytizing for democrats, I would consider it an embarrassment. There are comedy shows, such as Jon Stewart's or "The Colbert Report," that take a plainly liberal stance, and I quite enjoy them, but comedy - good comedy - I enjoy only because it makes me laugh, at the expense of whatever politics (if any). You can pretend to be objective; you can't pretend to be funny. I'm not aware of any funny conservative comedians. I can think of a handful of hopelessly unfunny conservative comedians, but no funny ones.
In fact, I'm having a hard time thinking of any creative works, in any field, of any real merit, by a conservative. Maybe you could count Disneyland as a creative work... Ayn Rand's novels were unendurable, but her screenplay for The Fountainhead was truly excellent. Johnny Ramone should be counted, although he didn't actually write any of their songs (and quite a few of his privately expressed views would turn most republicans' hair white). Skunk Baxter was one hell of a guitarist, no denying that. Ted Nugent was... No; I can't think of anything actually good by him. Who else? A tiny handful of conservative actors, but I'm not sure I'd call acting "creativity" so much as a skill... Sonny Bono?
But Bill O'Reilly. My God. I mean, how does he get away with it? The easily exposed lies he spouts that no one ever questions, the stomach-churning pretense of moral rectitude, the dissimulation, the self-congratulation, the cloying flattery of his audience... I mean, I have no sympathy for child molestation (could there possibly be an easier target?), but how does Bill O'Reilly, a sexual predator, get away with declaring himself the nation's watchdog against it?
When Scott McClellan's book came out vindicating the beliefs they had so long ridiculed, scarcely a single word was uttered about its contents. That Bush had lied us into a war that has killed thousands, and that Karl Rove (a Fox employee, unsurprisingly) had revealed the identity of a covert CIA operative (punishable by death, under a law signed by Ronald Reagan), went with scarcely any mention. Every word to be heard on Fox was about Scott McClellan, and the question of which two things he could possibly be: a madman or a paid liar.
Fox News is toxic. It profits on fueling ideological hostility and disunion, it fosters ignorance and misinformation, it encourages self-satisfaction among the ignorant, it sanctions dishonesty, and provides a forum for bigots, bullies, cowards and frauds.
So why do I watch it? I don't listen to Madonna records. I don't read Harry Potter books. I don't buy LeRoy Neiman paintings. What is it about Fox News that fascinates me?
Maybe it's just because when it falls - when a tape of Bill O'Reilly sexually harassing an employee finally emerges, when someone catches Rupert Murdoch laughing at the brainlessness he relies on for an audience, when Neil Cavuto is photographed shooting heroin, or whatever it will sooner or later be - my glee will be that much greater.
But if anyone among you actually does consider Fox News "fair and balanced," do please say so; I'd be curious to hear your reasoning.
My Trusted MOGs
I watch Fox News.
Is nothing sacred? I am ascared to read on.
Baby, bring that fight. I'm in your corner Z.
Do yourself a favor and check out Terri Gross's interveiw with Scott. It happened within the last week. I have never been a big fan of his, still he provided me with ammunition when I needed it.
Confirmation of 'Talking Points'. Like none of us knew that Rush was on the payroll.
Another avenue you might want to look down is Chomsky, if you haven't already.
He quotes a fella named Walter Lippmann .
Lippmann was a journalist who laid a good deal of ground work for media manipulation and modern public relations.
"Manufacturing Consent" is the cornerstone.
O'Really is a dick and the 'if it bleeds it leads' mentality of Fox (and just about any semi local news affiliate) plays us for fools.
I am so down on just about all major media. Except NPR.
My Trusted MOGs
Wiki actually served up a good quote.
Lippmann called the notion of a public competent to direct public affairs a "false ideal." He compared the political savvy of an average man to a theater-goer walking into a play in the middle of the third act and leaving before the last curtain.
Who knew?
My Trusted MOGs
Here's the thing ( and thanks for the excellent post,Z), there isn't a whole lot of news at Fox..It's almost all opinion. One thing I like about their opinion shows is that they tend to bring on the Most liberal guests. Tenured college profs from the left who can actually say radical things..Of course they get shouted down, but they do get to say radical things. Fox likes it that way, but you'd never see Cornell West on CNN.
When in comes to analysis, punditry has become ridiculous..Folks just say whatever the fuck the want. A world full of content must be created, every earthshaking event must be analyzed for long term effects instantly.
Mr. McClellan just confirmed what we already knew. We get lied to all the time. That dude is a slimy motherfucker. Speaking up now after countless thousands are dead. I bet if his publisher doesn't send his royalty check on time we'll hear about that right away.
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Damn..A paragraph sucked away..Anyway, I think it won't be long before we have the Democratic and Republican News channels. I mean we already do, but they'll just codify it.
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Cody B's Post: The Lost Paragraph
"Bleeding (with the proximity to the US vs. amount of blood ratio in proper order-ie a natural disaster out of the US with 1000 dead easily trumped by 1 dead white wife), analysis, celebrity, or salaciousness always leads on the majors."
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Whoa..how'd you do that Petey? Thanks. Are you magic?
My Trusted MOGs
No magic.
Oops. What I said was, Just triple-click on the cut-off text like you are going to copy and paste it; the full paragraph is there. You just can't see it. As far as I know, the weird font/cut-off type thing happens when you leave a space at the beginning of any line other than the top one. If you preview before you publish, you can catch it before it's too late.
My Trusted MOGs
Not magic, but bloody genius. Thanks.
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You are welcome.
My Trusted MOGs
Zarpex, so well written, so well put. I agree with _everything you said. So you have a guilty pleasure - so what? Enjoy! I think you'll be hard pressed to find anyone here to disagree with you. I was at a dinner party recently, everyone artists at the table, (and by your definition, a very skilled actor ;) - and we were talking about broadcast news in general as it related to this election year "coverage" and the actor went on about how the democratic party was being divided by HIllary and Barack fighting it out for so long, and he really was spouting the lines ... and I said, "hey, that's just Fox News Rhetoric" and as far as he was concerned "them's was fightin' words..." he stuttered and couldn't get barely get a sentence together after that.
He mentioned to me that he was a broadcast news junkie (when he calmed down and I explained my point in saying that) and by the time dessert arrived, he said that he was an MSNBC junkie NOT Fox News. (Still couldn't shake it). Well, even if CNN (as they used to say) can give us the world in 22 minutes, why watch it over and over again... its tantamount to brainwashing in my humble opinion - unless (like yourself) you go up against it with a sharp and open mind... and you're looking for jaw slacked entertainment value - pure howling.
Saw a PBS documentary years ago about the manipulation of the public through the Media, and a great example was Lyndon LaRouche - they wanted to get rid of him, so the owners of the major networks got together at one of the owner's Park Avenue digs in New York, and said, "how can we discredit this guy..." - and after a few scotches, they decided to label him a "political extremist" and the next day - every talking head on every major network opened their story about him with "Political Extremist Lyndon LaRouche...." and when they showed the archive footage - it was scary that it was so coordinated a propaganda effort... and I actually asked people ... "What do you think of Lyndon LaRouche.?" and they couldn't tell me anything about him other than, "oh, he's a political extremist" ... unreal. (and this contained people on all sides of the political spectrum)
The thing that is never discussed, is how the Iraq War is just another way to rob the Treasury of the United States... plain and simple. The trillions spent should be put towards finding alternative energy ... instead it is pissed away, and countless billions can't even be found, let alone accounted for, and all the while the Bushies did it while swiping Uncle Sam's already over-maxed credit card, to which China holds the expiration date, interest rate, and hence even the value of our very dollar. Brutal.
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I've never watched Fox News but I boycott NewsCorp. The Times has been contaminated with the same propagandist poison... Shame really because it used to be a palatable read.
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VAN -> I find you comments as great as the post was...
complete manipulation through media -> I try not to open my mouth too much about the depth of politics described in this room right now for my lack of knowledge and pure ignorance...While I do admit to noticing what is being discussed, but my retardation for putting it in intelligible format keeps me from hanging with you Harvards in here...
As much as I love our soldiers and what they are doing, the reasoning for this war as a coverup for defrauding our treasury strikes a serious chord with my inner conspiracy theorist...I'll stick with John Stewart...
Z-har -> good to hear you spew some roughage about O'Reilly...what a straight duesche...should be dragged behind a pickup truck while the towns-folk throw glass bottles filled with piss and gasoline and shoot at him with high powered pellet guns and chuck road flares at him...duesche...have every finger broken one at a time...have large things inserted into his rectum and blown up...kaned with a bamboo rod, hooked to a car battery by the nipples, and have his wanker eaten off by a bunch of starved rats...
Yeah, anyway. I don't watch FOX news often, but maybe I'll tune in more often...
I got your bloody half tit O'Reilly
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Chris: As you're no doubt aware, the major "news" sources in this country come in two flavors: right-wing, and lunatic fringe right-wing. Through the web, it's possible to get some corrective effect, but you basically have to read a right news and a left news and then average them out for yourself. Most tiresome... And I admire Chomsky, but I seldom find much value in reinforcing points of view I already hold. In the field of linguistics, however, his views have the surprising lucidity and deep profundity of truly first-rate scholarship.
Mon Capitaine: Actually, I've seen Cornell West on CNN quite a few times that I can recall. I don't specifically remember seeing him on Fox, but it's conceivable. The policy I've noticed regarding the inclusion of a dissenting voice at Fox varies according to the number of republican shills appearing with them. If they're outnumbered 3-1 (which is usually the case), the "liberal" will be a nonentity of some sort whom they identify vaguely as a "democratic strategist," and who mysteriously agrees with about 85% of whatever the conservatives say. If they're outnumbered 2-1, it's usually a woman, and one of the two republican shills will also be a - slightly prettier - woman. Again, the supposed liberal voice will be an unrecognizable cipher, identified as a "democratic strategist," and will in this case agree with only about 70% of what the conservatives say. If the ratio is 1-1, which happens rarely, the voice of liberalism will in most cases be represented by a nonentity, but one carefully selected on the basis of stupidity, weirdness, inability to articulate themselves, etc. If that's the case, they'll agree with only a small part (if any) of what the republican shill says. The other possibility is that it'll be Juan Williams, who will agree with 85% of whatever the conservative says. He was never a very articulate voice for the left even back when he was a regular on CNN, but what they're blackmailing him with at Fox, I have no idea. He's basically just paid to say nice things about Bill O'Reilly now. NEVER, under ANY circumstances, is a liberal allowed to speak without a conservative present.
Petey: Two zarpex-Points™. One for being quick to lend a helping hand; the other for showing such tech savvy that you were suspected of dabbling in the black arts.
Van: Fun story about that actor bloke. I rather doubt the motive was really quite so venal, since they're not really pocketing the trillion or so dollars it has cost us to destabilize a region that had previously been quite stable, nullify some of our most fruitful and longest-standing alliances, replace our image as an unbeatable military force with one as a pack of clueless bullies, and kill God knows how many thousands of people for no reason. It's just being flushed down the toilet. I expect the real motives were political advantage, ego, and fantasies of controlling Iraqi oil.
Bart: Yeah; something sadly similar seems to have befallen the UK, too. Not quite to the same extent, but it's getting there. I just hope Rupert Murdoch is still alive when the intelligence pill is invented, so he can get the Mussolini treatment (Mussolini got his start in the media too, by the way).
Ty: You needn't feel the slightest self-consciousness. You're precisely on the money, and you're right that - ironically - a comedy show may actually be the most informative and valuable news source on television today.
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I wasn't implying that FOX actually was fair and balanced..It's infotainment over there. What I am saying is all cable news is all pundits all the time and very little news at this point.
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Great post, Z.
While I believe in "knowing your enemy," I just can't watch Fox Noise (as Keith Olbermann calls it). Many years ago I thought Rush Limbaugh was funny until I realized that he was serious. These people are scary and I just can't take the chance that some of their nonsense will penetrate my defenses.
Of course, viewers of Fox bought the old cliché about the "liberal media" and feel that the bias that Fox shows counterbalances the other networks. And as long as the myth of the liberal media exists, Fox will exist.
I love Keith Olbermann's Countdown. And at least he's honest enough to occasionally bring in Pat Buchanan for a conservative slant on some topics, something you'll never see O'Reilly do.
My Trusted MOGs
Zarpex - true, as usual I exaggerate, however - "they" are the military industrial complex, and although it is not say, the cabinet that pockets the trillions (that would be conspicuous) it is the political cronies, corporations, et al that have pocketed that money. (I'm sure it went _somewhere ;) Agreed that it is about what you mentioned, but mostly the oil supply. We'll see more wars in that direction until we can actually get around to exploring alternative energy. Cheers!