Outfoxed

Having watched Robert Greenwald's "Outfoxed" today I can report it is no Fahrenheit 9/11 however it is worth seeing. For those that don't know "Outfoxed" is a harsh attack on the "fair and balanced" label that Fox News attaches to their reporting. I think most of us know that Fox News is anything but fair and balanced and has always towed the political line of Fox's owner - Rupert Murdoch.

While "Outfoxed" surely exposes this purported "news" channel to be all that it is - a 24/7 propaganda outlet for the Republican's, somehow I didn't feel it will have the impact desired. I think it dwells too deeply on some specific shows such as O'Reilly's ridiculously and if not obscenely biased show "The O'Reilly Factor". He's the kind of flag waving mindless patriot that would whip the living daylights out of anyone who dare challenge the government line, so long as it was his kind of government and his kind of patriotism.

Yes such stuff is sickening and elicits a good gut reaction form the viewer, but they do miss a chance to be more rigorous and objective in their analysis of just how biased Fox is. Maybe its so obvious it doesn't deserve such treatment? I think for some reason I was expecting something a bit more "scientific" than Michael Moore's in your face shock revelations of Fahrenheit.

The most convincing parts of "Outfoxed" are its interviews with many ex-Fox people who testify to its impartiality and to being coerced to follow the corporate line, and chastised for not following it. They certainly paint a picture of Fox as being a well oiled propaganda machine with only one objective - deceive the viewer with biased "reporting" without letting them know it. They also point out that such surreptitiously delivered propaganda is all the more effective for it, somewhat like subliminal advertising. Indeed what Fox does reminds me of the quote: "the greatest trick the devil ever played was convincing the world he doesn't exist".

I'm given to wonder, if Fox News is so ridiculously biased does it really matter? Shouldn't the right be allowed to have a channel that reports "their news" and shamelessly attacks everything those meddling liberals say? Well, in the interests of the First amendment - yes - but wait a minute, why should the first amendment apply to a corporation? Doesn't corporate speech have a debt to truthfulness? But wait, the First Amendment also says something about the freedom of the press, so that's how they do it - if you can convince yourself that Fox News is worthy of the label "Press" that is. Fox News, from a news and "fair and balanced reporting" perspective is simply pure Republican entertainment masquerading as news. One usually gets the bad with the good (or mediocre) - like tabloid newspapers that print mostly made up stories, lies and salacisous trash. On the idiot box (TV) Fox News nicely fills that gap.

Ultimately I think "Outfoxed" is really doing us all a favor and stating the obvious and allowing "freedom of the press" to go both ways. Maybe for some it isn't obvious, but it seems likely that those most in need of enlightenment are those must unlikely to receive it. Anyone who does watch it can hardly fail to conclude it is biased - whether they care or not will be up to their political persuasion. One imagines that Bush loving Republican voters wont give two hoots, but perhaps some naive undecideds might see the error of their ways.

So far I've discovered a few stories about "Outfoxed" on Fox's web site. There's Liberals Bashing FOX News... Again that makes the usual right wingnut claim that 80% of all media is biased to the left. There's Brian Wilson's Beltway Beat — Friday, July 16 that can only cite The Washington Post to help its bashing efforts and use its funding by Moveon that well know "ultra-liberal" organization to discredit it. Then there's a Fox 411 who also cites the Washington Post and says "I will let others debate the merits and faults of this film, which looks like it was made for two cents and has a confusing array of talking heads." He then launches into a ridiculous rant about use of "Layla" music and how the drummer is serving time for murder will get royalties every time Outfoxed is sold. Had he bothered to watch the rest of the DVD he would have know that the piece was donated for use in the movie to Greenwald completely royalty free. But its immaterial, has he no better criticism to add?

Fox News has issued information on four of the former Fox employee's who speaking in Outfoxed, basically claiming their status at Fox News was misrepresented and two never even worked for Fox News, just Fox affiliates before Fox News channel was launched. If true it is unfortunate that "Outfox" misrepresented them, however Fox has not yet refuted any of the specific information these people supplied. Indeed they have resorted to some childish name calling and "I dare you" type challenges. In their official statement about "Outfoxed" they say:

"If any news organizations decide to make this an anti-FOX News story, then all of their material becomes fodder immediately for possible out of context and biased documentaries."

I'm guessing that the New York Times already managed to piss them off because they say:

"The New York Times corrupts the journalistic process by taking orders from a George Soros-funded web site – Soros is a left-wing billionaire currency speculator who funds many liberal efforts. This is the real story.

As a final ultimatum they challenge any news organization to publish 100% of their internal memos and in return they will publish all of theirs. Yeah right - look mummy, there's a flying pig in the sky...