In my previous post, as a preface to my review about Fox News’ special report on food stamps, I wrote about Fox’s own much vaunted reputation for being the only major news outlet that has the integrity to report the news without bias. According to Fox, they are just like a baseball umpire who has no vested interest in the outcome of the game. They’re just calling balls and strikes. After an accurate and evenhanded presentation of the news, the audience is left to decide the implications of Fox’s unbiased reporting.
But don’t just take Fox’s word for it. When Fox polls its own viewers, they agree overwhelmingly with Fox’s self-assessment. Fox also has Rush Limbaugh’s endorsement. And as we all know, or should know, Rush is right 99.6 percent of the time (as documented by an independent auditing agency; that’s why he’s called America’s Truth Detector). No wonder Fox’s audience is larger, by far, than any other cable news network. Ratings don’t lie.
However, I also pointed out that this assessment is, by no means, universal. Fact checking organizations such as PolitiFact have documented numerous instances of false information, all of which just happened to go against Democrats and liberals. And these “honest mistakes” (as Fox always says they are) weren’t just trivial details (as you would expect from any news organization) but things that were pretty damaging to the reputation of those Dems and libs:
These critics also point out that practically every single program on that station is hosted by a hard right conservative whose primary goal seems to be to squeeze as many anti-left attacks as possible into their allotted hour while trying as hard as they can to make Dems and libs look despicably bad.
Fox used to offer a very remarkable defense against these charges. They would point out the one single liberal who “co-hosted” a prime time show with the ultra aggressive Sean Hannity: human punching bag Alan Colmes. They would - get this - say that Bill O’Reilly is a moderate. And, hey, those other shows, which all have conservative hosts? They bring liberals on all the time. This is indisputable proof that the shows are “fair and balanced.”
Check out a previous post on Fox’s “fair and balanced” panels:
But after years of ridicule for making believe that the obvious wasn’t the case, and after dropping token lib Colmes, Fox finally dropped their pretense, too, and admitted that OK, so every single one of their prime time “opinion” shows is hosted by a conservative. But, they say, this just means that Fox is like any newspaper, such as The New York Times, which reports the news and has an editorial page, as well. Their “straight” news reporting shows’ reputation for being without bias speaks for itself.
Well, you know, when you look at it that way, I would have to admit that Fox is absolutely right... that is, if The New York Times had their editorial opinions on the front page and the next couple of dozen pages, then had the news on the last two pages, and if those last two pages were laced with extreme one-sided opinions; then, yes, Fox News would be exactly like The Times.
Of the two non-prime time hours Fox devotes to “straight” news reporting, out of the 24 hour cycle, one is hosted by Bret Baier. Baier is Fox’s shining example of the unbiased and objective news reporter, the envy of journalists across the nation. Bret delivers the news with a very serious, no-nonsense demeanor that reflects the gravitas he possesses. His permanently furrowed brow tells his audience that this reporter is all business, knows what he’s talking about and demands respect. He reports, you decide.
Baier was the host of Fox’s special report on food stamps, which is the subject of this multi-part review. Bret’s objectivity is apparent by the very title of his report:
The Great Food Stamp Binge.
Now, you might think that the title seems to be “deciding” rather than just “reporting.” It seems to be implying that we spend way too much money on food stamps.
I take that back. It doesn't "seem" to imply. It's telling you outright: The government is flushing our tax dollars down the toilet. Which is exactly where all the food from those food stamps winds up.
Well, you have to understand that Bret knows that some things are just so obvious that it would be silly for him to go out of his way and title his report something like: "A Look at the U.S. Food Stamp Program."
And while the food stamp issue is very contentious and varying opinions about it are held among the public, politicians, economists and other experts; as Baier conclusively demonstrates in his report, the facts overwhelmingly support the view held by the most conservative and libertarian pundits and politicians, most of whom regularly show up on Fox News and/or host all of their shows.
OK now, let me be as fair and balanced as I possibly can.
Fox News is the most dishonest and blatantly biased news organization I’ve ever witnessed. Saying Fox News is “fair and balanced” is like saying the Nazi Party was a Jewish anti-defamation league.
Fox News is, of course, the brainchild of media monopolist and multi-billionaire movement conservative Rupert Murdock. In his unending quest to control as much of the media as possible (in order to control the information for and opinions of as many people as possible) the ethically corrupt Murdock hired Roger Ailes to create the Fox News Channel.
What did Murdock see in Roger Ailes? Undoubtedly he saw as dirty and underhanded a political operative as there is in the country; someone with a proven track record of manipulating emotions and opinions in both the media and politics.
The key to success for Fox News is its ability to manufacture outrage by using a combination of tactics that are as old as politics itself. While these tactics have been around for centuries and are used by the left as well, I can’t see how anyone can argue against the proposition that Fox has brought the use of these tactics to a level never before seen in American history. If George Orwell were alive to witness this mastery of group-think and double-speak, he would need to find a safe place for his jaw to drop.
Some of these tactics include:
- Twisting, distorting and emphasizing certain facts in order to create a particular impression while omitting other facts that would present a “fair and balanced” picture.
- Repeating those distorted “facts” endlessly, and, in a way that provokes the most anger and outrage towards certain groups and/or policies.
- Reinforcing that anger and outrage with the use of “buzz words” that recall and trigger those same emotions (socialism, makers and takers, big government, tax and spend, taking away our ‘freedoms,’ death tax, death panels, Muslim terrorists, community organizer.)
Of all the countless misrepresentations of reality Fox has perpetrated, this food stamp “investigation” is easily one of the worst (or best) examples of how far they will go and how low they will stoop to get people to believe something that isn’t true.
Before I get to the “meat” of Fox’s food stamp “baloney,” I will need another post to finish some background information. I want to show how Fox works in concert with right-wing think tanks, radio talkers, bloggers and the rest of the Republiconservalibertarian media to saturate the country with talking points that are designed to manipulate Americans into accepting their false and misleading narratives.
