Holy Crap Fox News is Ridiculous

So the other day (last week, actually) I was doing some elliptical at the gym. The only machines available were in the “big plasma TV” corner. Fox news was on. I tried not to watch it, but there it was. Now, I’m no fan of the mainstream media in general, though usually I can chalk their journalistic failures up to maxims like “if it bleeds, it leads” and “don’t scare the demographic.” But Fox? We need new pithy sayings to describe just how thin the veil has become between their protestations of journalistic integrity and the reality clearly visible beneath.

The newscasters talked a bit about the bailout, and the Republicans in the House refusing to vote for it. Now, I’m no fan of the current plan either, but I think most people would agree that phrases like “They held the line,” and “They stood strong” indicate a lapse of objectivity. When discussing Rush Limbaugh’s apparent power with the GOP leadership, as well as Obama’s criticism of Republican leaders who seem to model their rhetoric on Rush’s, the talking heads were saying things like, “doesn’t the President have more important things to do than discuss radio talk show hosts? Isn’t there an economic crisis going on?” and accusing him of wasting the nation’s time.

There was more of this. It made me shake my head in wonder. Okay, maybe there’s never true objectivity or neutrality in journalism, but since Fox keeps claiming (loudly) that it has no agenda and no political leanings, can’t they at least try to look like something other than self-esteem coaches for the conservative base? Sheesh.

I’ve heard Fox compared to CNN or ABC News, as if it’s just across the political spectrum from those networks; but it’s something else, entirely. It’s more like the conservative answer to the Huffington Post. No wonder I surf news online instead of watching TV. The TV news experiences are pretty punishing, and at least most of the news blogs admit their biases up front.