Issue Date: 10/26/09
Fox hunting: a national pastime
By Dan McCarthy
And thus, we now have "Obama's War."
Perhaps, it would seem to the casual observer, that the White House just has thin skin - or maybe an overly irritable personality complex. Whether the former or the latter, when President Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel, Communications Director Anita Dunn and Senior Advisor David Axelrod come out and, with none of this administration's characteristic vagueness, appeal to the media at large to ostracize, demonize and in all ways declare an information fatwa on Fox News, something much more insidious is certainly aloof.
Under the guise of trumpeting media objectivity (something the two networks in greater favor-CNN and MSNBC-should consider employing from time to time) Dunn, denounced Fox News as nothing more than an editorial agency "masquerading as news."
Au contraire.
Fox does, thankfully, the work no one else will. They ask questions, often getting answers that lack the Obama-love, as you might call it, that other, more liberal, or in the administration's eye, "unbiased," news outlets report.
Regardless of what Fox says, the simple responses are to always accuse them of spreading "misinformation and lies." Preach what you practice, this is not.
As was attempted first with Rush Limbaugh and followed by Glenn Beck, the Left, spearheaded by the White House and trailed by bloggers and "activists," is again trying most ardently to silence one of the few voices of dissent in the media apparatus.
Yet this is one step further. The two radio hosts are strictly commentators: they're essentially a newspaper Op-Ed page, just infused with a microphone. Fox News, on the other hand, has both news programs and dedicated commentary shows as well-the task for the viewer is to distinguish the two, though they are noticeably different. It's just that their journalistic findings don't jive with the image the Obama administration tries to paint for the public.
Now let me make something absolutely clear: I am not a particular fan of Fox News. For a period of two or three months during the spring, they became the right wing mirror image of MSNBC, often delving into "patriotism baiting," with an obscenely injudicious application of star spangled banners and Americana type props. However, just because the mainstream media is so sycophantic doesn't mean someone-in this case Fox News-should balk on filling the role of the watchdog.
Perhaps, it would seem to the casual observer, that the White House just has thin skin - or maybe an overly irritable personality complex. Whether the former or the latter, when President Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel, Communications Director Anita Dunn and Senior Advisor David Axelrod come out and, with none of this administration's characteristic vagueness, appeal to the media at large to ostracize, demonize and in all ways declare an information fatwa on Fox News, something much more insidious is certainly aloof.
Under the guise of trumpeting media objectivity (something the two networks in greater favor-CNN and MSNBC-should consider employing from time to time) Dunn, denounced Fox News as nothing more than an editorial agency "masquerading as news."
Au contraire.
Fox does, thankfully, the work no one else will. They ask questions, often getting answers that lack the Obama-love, as you might call it, that other, more liberal, or in the administration's eye, "unbiased," news outlets report.
Regardless of what Fox says, the simple responses are to always accuse them of spreading "misinformation and lies." Preach what you practice, this is not.
As was attempted first with Rush Limbaugh and followed by Glenn Beck, the Left, spearheaded by the White House and trailed by bloggers and "activists," is again trying most ardently to silence one of the few voices of dissent in the media apparatus.
Yet this is one step further. The two radio hosts are strictly commentators: they're essentially a newspaper Op-Ed page, just infused with a microphone. Fox News, on the other hand, has both news programs and dedicated commentary shows as well-the task for the viewer is to distinguish the two, though they are noticeably different. It's just that their journalistic findings don't jive with the image the Obama administration tries to paint for the public.
Now let me make something absolutely clear: I am not a particular fan of Fox News. For a period of two or three months during the spring, they became the right wing mirror image of MSNBC, often delving into "patriotism baiting," with an obscenely injudicious application of star spangled banners and Americana type props. However, just because the mainstream media is so sycophantic doesn't mean someone-in this case Fox News-should balk on filling the role of the watchdog.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Raymond Farris
posted 10/26/09 @ 6:57 PM PST
I agree with all of this. I'm not exactly the biggest fan of Fox News. It's true sometimes they seem like they are pushing a point of view. But all of the other networks do the smae thing to a greater extent! I guess news is only biased if it a conservative bias. (Continued…)
Bert Hansen
posted 11/04/09 @ 9:24 AM PST
Well I think that Fox made itself a political entity by 1. Actively advertising from their own revenue for anti-government protests after Obama was elected and 2. (Continued…)
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