Sooner or later someone is going to have to explain to Fox News that it is not the function of news enterprises to openly promote partisan political activities. This is a principle that they failed to observe when they hyped the Tea Party in Washington, DC, a few weeks ago. In the days leading up to the affair, Fox News actually had a their correspondent, Griff Jenkins, riding along with the Tea Party Express Bus and literally cheerleading at every stop along the way. Fox News also demonstrated that they do not understand the business of news when they helped to solicit money for the legal defense fund of Hannah Giles, the pretend hooker in the ACORN entrapment operation.
The most recent example of Fox News discarding professional ethics appeared on the Fox Nation web site this morning:
This featured item links to a web site for “Operation Can You Hear Us Now,” a Tea Party spin off that is organizing rallies against the media. Note that the link does not go to an article about the organization or the events it is planning. It goes directly to the organization’s web site. This departure from ethical behavior is multi-layered.
First of all, a legitimate news operation would not be helping to spike attendance at political rallies. Recently Fox News complained in an advertisement that their competitors missed the story on the 9/12 event in Washington. But what they really meant was that no other news outlet lowered themselves to promotion of it as Fox did. Now they are overtly promoting another right-wing event without actually reporting on it.
Secondly, this free publicity for a partisan protest is directed squarely at the news media (except, of course, for themselves). This means that they are now hyping public rallies against their own competition. Try to imagine how inappropriate it would be for Disney to use ABC News to incite the public to rise up against X-Men or other competing movie fare. That’s what Fox News is doing here, fomenting discord in the media marketplace to benefit their own brand.
I still don’t understand how the rest of the media can sit by idly as Fox trashes their products and even riles up a citizen revolt against them. It would be easy for the other news networks to return fire considering that Fox isn’t even engaged in the practice of reputable journalism. They should mount a campaign to sear into the public mind the facts about Fox: that they are no more news than the National Enquirer; that they repeatedly employ lies and misrepresentations to advance a political agenda; that their on air personnel are not journalists, but advocates; that they exist only as a mouthpiece for right-wing causes and the interests of big business.
If responsible news enterprises don’t begin to stand up for the ethical practice of their profession, then the worst elements of the business will continue to gain momentum and influence. The press will devolve into a factless forum for verbal fisticuffs and rhetorical rants. Even more so than it already has.
The state of affairs regarding the Media in America is starting to become ancient history, and fast. First, facts are the first things that got tossed out with the sorry business models of the tree killers. Secondly, they have no clue that their writers are far left of center; they for the most part go to liberal colleges, and go into journalism to change the world as they see it. What we have ended up with are people so far out of the center of America that we no longer scratch our heads and wonder if they are just goofy. Now we understand that they can’t see the center becaue the center is relative to where they are standing on the left. They try, but they just don’t get it. BUT! The American people get it.
Recently, when attending the DC 9-12 protest in DC we, the American peolpe, got a real first experience taste of how the media lies and has an agenda when the size of the march was posted. The DC Fire department came out on 9-14 and said on their web page that a twitter of 60,000 to 70,000 people in “Lafyatte Park” (later changed to Freedom Park on their web page, and I have to screens saved) was am early morning tweet oif an estimate of the crowd size at them moment that was in the park. People were standing three blocks deep from the park and continuted to arrive until 2:00 P.M. The DC Fire Department denied the numbers used as “Official” by the media but now one media that used the numbers ever let the people know that their numbers were not accurate. I am glad this happened becuae we have known for a very long time that the Media we have today is biased and is liberal, filled with progressives. They are tainted and cannot be trusted. The American people will soon rise up new sources of news that will not be propaganda.
You speak of FOX news – why does their ratings go through the roof when something, like the DC maruch happens? Because networks like MSNBC have entirely blacked it out! The CNN reporter had two shadow policement following him around, though no one was threatening him. As people passed the CNN production trucks they chanted “Communist News Newwork! Communist News Network!” These people did not even know each other.
Wow! If you and others don’t get a clue you can kiss the liberal/progressive press goodby. Look at the positvie, a lot more trees are not going to be tortured with lies and half-truths. They are going to stay in the forest and produce oxegen. Something seeming to be lacking in the newsrooms of most liberal media today.
Hi,
Thanks for the plug for the October 17th march. Hope you and everyone else can come.
JA
Oh, I’ll be there. With my “Fox News Hates America” banner.
What their Goal Maybe Organized Media Which FOX NEWS and NEWS CORPORATION is No Part of, Told them Before ” You Promote These Events Not Covered Real Journalists Covered and The People at Fox News Contributors, Listeners, Followers, Personalities Have to Stop This Nonsense”.
If Rupert Murdoch wants to Lose his FCC License Here in America along with Glenn Beck, Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity then they Need to Grow Up and Act Like Professionals Again Watch If CNN, MSNBC, CBS, NBC, and ABC Become the News They will Covered Maybe the Next Protest should be aimed at FCC Because FOX NEWS is will Off The Air If they continue Promoting Garbage like This.
don’t expect a big turnout with only fox noise broadcasting this nonsense. the plug is about to be pulled on fox..stay tuned.