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fight for truth, justice, and the American way (read all 59 entries…)
Everyone knows that Fox News is NOT fair and balanced...

Here is a graphical representation to demonstrate this point… Although from March 19, this graphic shows how they skew the news.

Reference:

It used to be that people wanted unbaised news so that they could then evaluate the situation/events for themselves and form opinions based on facts. Now, sadly, people don’t actually want unbiased news. They want news which reinforces their view of the world or provides an explanation why it is someone else’s fault for their problems. Sadly enough, I don’t see an end to this trend. Fox News fits this niche well.

How else would you explain that one of the papers owned by Rupert Murdoch is under investigation for bribery of politicians and police officials and yet the Murdoch empire still maintains their influence over the media? It seems they feel they can buy their way into influence and out of trouble.

Tonight, PBS’ Frontline will be doing a story on the scandal. Not that this show is the final word on the subject but perhaps more of a primer of the Murdoch empire and their scandals.

It’s possible to view this episode online through http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/murdochs-scandal/. If you want to have a sickening view of how corrupt rich people use their power and money in the media to get their ways, regardless of the laws, then Frontline does a good job. However, as sickening it is to watch the corruption, thank God for newspapers like The Guardian and for lawyers like Mark Lewis.

And not surprisingly, you’ll find limited coverage of the Murdoch scandals on Fox News… In fact, the Frontline story has an amusing clip where a Fox interviewer asks Murdoch about the scandal and Murdoch declines, so the interviewer moves on to a different topic. Such hard hitting reporting!

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Comments:

Harmless Dilettante What I should have said was nothing.

Actually, it seems like no matter what time period you look at there has always been some bias in the media. At least everyone knows that Fox News is a conservative mouth piece.

The Internet and the proliferation of cameras has eroded the influence of big media news. For every Fox, there’s now a Drudge. I find that extremely encouraging.

Getting attention for the stories that are truly important to society as a whole is the real issue. Unfortunately, all of us have different ideas about which those stories are. I always like the ones you pick for your entries here, so at least you’re making a difference to me.

Yes, you're right that

bias can be found in the media and Fox News would not be the only source of biased reporting…

(It’s interesting though that reporting all the facts is sometimes perceived as liberal media, but I digress…)

The part about the abuse of Murdoch and his media empire though is exactly why laws and regulations against one person having so much control over media outlets were created in the first place. Frontline showed how he was able to “influence” lawmakers in allowing his expansion. Perhaps this has to do more with the spinelessness of lawmakers, but it’s no longer just the point that conservative media putting their skew on the news which has happened for ages, but it’s now that one person has so much influence over what is going on… And by influence, this means using his money to bribe police and politicians… (Yes, technically, noone has proven that he was directly involved in the bribes, only that high-ranking people in his company were…)

Harmless Dilettante What I should have said was nothing.

No argument that Murdoch seems to be involved in some really shady behavior, or that the wealthy can and do abuse their power. It’s just that I don’t think the times we live in are any worse than any other time in American history. Hearst’s famous quote, “You provide the pictures, I’ll provide the war,” comes to mind. And some of the outright lies Benjamin Franklin printed were pretty shocking. And I say that as a huge BF fan.

Just because it’s not new, doesn’t mean it’s excusable. Also, in the interests of fairness, I think the left manipulates the media to push their agenda as well. It’s just that their agenda doesn’t seem to include some of the crazy religious zealotry that the Christian Right brings to the party.

Not looking for an argument, just wanted to add my unsolicited two cents.

I really appreciate your perspective...

Much better than the perspective of a guy at work in a recent meeting I was in…

He found out I was liberal at heart, so he wanted to have a “discussion” because he’s a strong conservative… He believes the ONLY thing the Federal government should be doing is be responsible for currency, military, and fair commerce between the States and that everything else should be up to the States. After a while it was rather tedious because part of his rationale why he’s against raising taxes on the rich is that it would hurt HIM. He has 4 houses and he said he wouldn’t be able to afford them anymore if his taxes were raised. I believe the government should help its citizens. If those who are more well off, including myself, have to pitch in a little more to help those less advantaged, I think society will be better off as a whole. Anyway, I don’t want to relive all those discussions, but just suffice to say, those discussions got very tedious.

Harmless Dilettante What I should have said was nothing.

+1

It’s amazing how fast a discussion about politics can turn into ugly hate mongering. What’s even more amazing is how many people, like your oh-so-charming-coworker, relish making it as nasty as possible. I suggest next time you see him you suddenly remember a pressing engagement elsewhere. It sounds like he’s one of those guys that doesn’t actually listen so much as wait for a pause so that he can launch into his soliliquy.

Obviously, you have my sympathy.


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