Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

[Evan Zimmerman <evan.zimmerman AT gmail.com>]

But doesn't "Fair and Balanced" sound rather Orwellian to you, given
the obvious slant? Is it ok to decieve people just because they can?

I'm sure there are arguments waiting in the wings about the liberal
media, and how Fox is simply a counterbalance, but CNN and NBC et al
at least make an effort to be fair. Bias is one thing, active
deception is another imho.



On Thu, 7 Oct 2004 14:34:41 -0400, Tony Spencer <tony AT tonyspencer.com> wrote:
> It cracks me up when all my liberal friends continue to send me evidence
> that Fox News has a conservative slant.  No shit!  Yes I'm aware of the
> taglines (Fair and Balanced) but I watch the network regularly and they make
> no bones about it!  They regularly refer to themselves as conservative.  Its
> not something Fox News is trying to hide.  They saw a niche and have
> cleverly filled it and what a niche it has turned out to be.  The ratings
> are hard to dispute:
> 
> NEW YORK -- For the first time in its history, Fox News Channel beat
> the combined competition in primetime during the third quarter of
> 2004, with major headlines of the summer including the national
> political conventions and a brutal string of hurricanes.
> 
> According to Nielsen Media Research, Fox News averaged 1.8 million
> viewers, while CNN, MSNBC, CNBC and Headline News averaged a combined
> total of 1.7 million. The quarter ended Sunday.
> 
> CNN came in a distant second, averaging 882,000 viewers, while MSNBC
> drew 421,000. Headline News averaged 226,000 in primetime, and CNBC
> attracted a paltry 133,000.
> 
> http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1951&ncid=2019&e=1&u=/variet
> y/20040928/va_tv_ne/fox_news_beats_all_rivals
> 
> 
> 
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: internetworkers-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
> > [mailto:internetworkers-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf
> > Of Michael Czeiszperger
> > Sent: Thursday, October 07, 2004 2:16 PM
> > To: Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/
> > Subject: Re: [internetworkers] Fox News at it yet again
> >
> >
> > On Oct 7, 2004, at 1:42 PM, Tony Spencer wrote:
> >
> > >
> > > When did working for a campaign become grounds for firing?
> > >
> > > Paul Begala currently works for the Kerry campaign AND is
> > employeed by
> > > CNN.
> > > James Carville currently works for the Kerry campaign AND
> > is employeed
> > > by
> > > CNN.
> >
> > That's a great point!   News used to be done by reporters who
> > "reported" on the news, making every attempt to get the facts right,
> > and for whom impartiality was crucial.  Fox News has pioneered the
> > switch from news, which the common wisdom was that people
> > would like it
> > to be factual, as opposed to commentary, which is someone's opinion,
> > and thus doesn't have any factual requirement.  The
> > increasing ratings
> > for Fox News has prompted the other networks to try and follow suit.
> > CNN has been especially hit in the ratings because almost all
> > of their
> > conservative viewers have switched to Fox news,
> >
> > People you sight are clearly labeled commentators who are expected to
> > be biased because they're there as representatives of a point of view.
> >
> > Its great that the conservative movement gets to have it both ways,
> > both by complaining about media bias from news outlets that
> > make every
> > attempt at impartiality, while simultaneous spearheading the
> > switch to
> > an all commentary network which makes no pretense of even basic fact
> > checking.
> >
> > ___________________________________________________________________
> > michael at czeiszperger dot org
> > Chapel Hill, NC
> >
> > ---
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> >
> 
> 
> 
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-- 

Evan

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