Documentary airs Fox’s dirty laundry
If critics had their way, Fox News Channel’s “We Report, You Decide” motto would be changed to “We Distort, You Don’t Get to Decide.” The network’s assertion that it’s “Fair and Balanced” drives liberals – and many apolitical journalists – crazy. So even though Fox’s conservative slant is clear as a contact lens to intellectually honest viewers, progressive groups have financed a surprise documentary to expose this open secret.
Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism debuts nationwide July 18 at house parties sponsored by MoveOn.org. The film employs generous helpings of Fox News footage to out the network’s right-wing chuckleheads. Liberals in need of a laugh should check MoveOn.org for free local screenings.
But wait too long and you might miss your chance to catch the film. It was assembled in secret because director Robert Greenwald feared Fox would sue him for lifting so many clips. And even though Greenwald believes Outfoxed follows the “fair use” provisions of U.S. copyright law, Fox does not shy away from litigation.
It’s not really worth wasting footage on pointing out the disparity between Fox’s claims of neutrality and its Grand Old Programming, but I understand why the target proved too tempting. I used to tease one of my younger sisters by denying obvious realities. At noon, I might insist it was dark as we stood under a brilliant summer sun. At other times, I would calmly maintain up was down. When Fox News Channel engages in similarly childish behavior, progressives act like my infuriated sister and keep rising to the bait. You can almost hear old Rupert, an Aussie upstart who now blankets three continents with conservative media, chuckling.
Of course, when it comes to claiming up is down in politics, a different kind of Big Brother comes to mind. So for anyone stupid enough to fall for Fox’s Orwellian slogans, this documentary might provide a public service. The rest of us can watch Outfoxed for comic relief.
Consider, for instance, the fairly unbalanced moment when Fox anchorman Neil Cavuto started an on-air exchange with managing editor Brit Hume with the phrase, “Assuming that the unthinkable happens and that Sen. Kerry becomes president…” Yeah, we need an exposé to point out the bias there. And then there are the staff memos from Fox News bigwig John Moody outlining the day’s slant on the news. On March 16, Moody wrote, “Kerry, starting to feel the heat for his flip-flop voting record, is in West Virginia.” In April, Moody tailored the network’s Iraq coverage with a sickening message that began, “Do not fall into the easy trap of mourning the loss of U.S. lives.” As Congressman Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) says of Fox News in Outfoxed, “This is an adjunct to the Republican Party.”
But as long as we all know that, so what? After all, America has a long tradition of partisan newspapers – one that still thrives in the nation’s progressive weeklies and in right-wing dailies such as the Washington Times and the New York Post (the Murdoch organ that scooped reality by naming Dick Gephardt as John Kerry’s running mate).
The real media threat to our democracy arises from nonpartisan networks that chase profits instead of hard news. If a liberal version of Fox News Channel existed, important questions about the case for war in Iraq would have received a national airing and we might have avoided the current nightmare. Instead, CNN, MSNBC and their ilk simply parroted the administration line. That’s stenography, not reporting. And it’s bound to be a disaster no matter which party controls the White House.