Media Bias (and war reporting)...Fox News, the BBC, and more!

I have lived in Australia for the last 4 years and am originlly from the UK.
I have seen how the news is reported in both of these countries, and since I have been to Australia, I now have access to Sky News (Both Australian and UK), CNN, BBC World, and Fox.
Basically I am amazed about Fox. In my timezone, one of the shows I get to see is Fox and Friends, and I cannot believe how much propoganda they show on it.
Ususally the reason I started to watch it was to see what info the average U.S. citizen was getting on international issues.
Now I watch it for a laugh and can manage about 15 mins before I get too angry and have to turn over.
Before anyone starts, I am definatly not Anti-American.

One example was the build up to Gulf War 2, and the offencive comments that were made about the French and the Germans, was staggering. Fox had taken the stance it was going patriotic, and it put up several emails. All were slagging off the French, and one in particular said something like "Maybe we should talk to the French in a language that they understand, German"
To me that is not delivering impartial facts, and if the French have an Anti War stance, then that is their choice.
The scary thing is that if Fox is beamed to Australia, then chances are it is beamed to other countries, and to me that would do nothing but enhance Anti-American sentiment in certain countries.
I know Fox does not represent all Americans but I am curious to know what the opinions of Americans out there who do or do not watch Fox News.

 

News should be about reporting of facts and allowing people to form their own opinions. FOX is based too much on opinion. All news channels are guilty of this to some degree but FOX is one of the worst that I have ever scene although I regard all US news channels as poor at best.

 

Fox news is WAK.

I can't watch but a few minutes of the "news" on that network before I get so mad I have to turn it off...

On top of that, it's UGLY. It has a horrible look to it, and so, on top of it's opinionated and askewed version of the news, it's ugly...and those tow facts combined make FOX NEWS my second most hated news network...

My first is CBS...because CBS has a crappy signal...and I hate fuzzy television.

 

Fair and Balanced.

If you look at the other networks (CNN, MSNBC, CBS, NBC, ABC, and the New York Times), they all swing left.

Fox News reports the news as it is without the negative innuendo towards the President that you see on the other networks. They also present all sides of opinion with liberals and conservatives alike on the network (such as liberals from NPR, Alan Colmes, Geraldo, etc). The same cannot be said for the elite media.

Fox News is now the most popular news channel on cable television in the U.S.

 

Fair and Balanced.

 

I love watching FoxNews. I find it, in the words of Bill O'Reilly, pithy. I love watching it because it gives me many stories quickly, that way I can decide which stories to look up online. IMO, CNN is a little too dry, and so is MSNBC, even for a news hound like me.

As for Fox and Friends, I try to avoid it at all costs. It just seems like bubblegum news along the lines of the Today Show, and I don't like it.

The shows I like watching the most are The O'Reilly Factor and Hannity & Colmes. I like how both Democrats and Republicans are given a chance to talk. I also love how the entire network is a part of The No-Spin Zone. If you don't answer the questions posed to you, everyone calls you on it. There are no easy passes for anyone.

Does it lean a little to the right? Sure it does. But compared to the left-leaning ways of CNN and MSNBC, I find it a good balance.

 

Bill O'Reilly's The Factor is my favorite show.

BTW, O'Reilly is an independent folks, in case you didn't know that.

Well said, JFT.

 

Fox News, or as my friends (even the conservative ones) like to call, the FAKE News.

Fox News is notorius for being the most unreliable of the major cable networks, often reporting stories that are mere rumors.

In addition, their conservative talk show hosts are absolutely terrible, if you've ever seen Sean Hannity snowball the liberal with a thousand dirty questions, and then not give him a single minute to really answer any of them, you know how UNfair and UNbalanced they can be.

Has anyone ever seen the Simpsons episode where Krusty runs for Congress? That really sums up how god awful Fox News is.

Now, I'll admit that sometimes CNN can lean left in the way they phrase stories, but they are far and away much more fair and balanced than the FAKE News would ever be. I watch Fox News only long enough for it to enfuriate me with it's UNbalanced and UNfair right-wing sensationalism style of journalism, so I have to watch CNN for a little while to balance it out, and then I settle for MSNBC, cause even though it's the most boring, it is the most fair and balanced of the three.

FOX News is more like a supermarket tabloid than a serious news network. They don't even confirm their sources, at the start they were reporting that Sadham was burning over THIRTY oil fields, when in truth it turned out to be less than ten.

And I garuntee you anyone who claims that FOX News is fair and balanced is someone who worships GWBush and thinks he is the greatest President in the last 20 years, or at least is extremely right of centre on these boards.

 

When you have CNN, which comes as close as it can to actively rooting for U.S. defeat in Iraq, it makes you glad to have Fox. FoxNews emerged as a reaction to the rest of TV news, and therefore has a slightly different feel to it. I'm not a big fan of their overbearing graphics, I find several of their anchors irritating, and I think their sensationalism is even worse than some of the other networks, but I appreciate the fact that they're willing to present the points of view that the rest of the TV news media actively try to suppress.

 

Fox News is definatly my favorite. It's fair and blanced. Good reporting, and often plainly entertaining.

 

When you have CNN, which comes as close as it can to actively rooting for U.S. defeat in Iraq, it makes you glad to have Fox.

Accusing American news stations of bias this extreme is wrong. Every news station is at least a little biased, but I see no evidence to suggest that CNN is rooting for Iraq(quite the contrary) or that FOX news is rooting for the flattening of Baghdad.

While I agree that FOX news is the worst of them, it is not as unfair(or fair) as people make it seem.

 

Accusing American news stations of bias this extreme is wrong.

Not if it's true. There's also some irony here, in that CNN also believes it's wrong to tell the truth.

 

Sadly, Fox News' idea of "fair and balanced" is showing the crackpots from both sides. Take, for example, Hannity and Colmes: each must always be a staunch member of his political party, and argue predictably on each issue. And when their commentators get unpredictable, it's rarely thought-provoking; it's more of the loony extremist variety.

And of course, I still watch it, because it's more entertaining than other news channels.

 

There's also some irony here, in that CNN also believes it's wrong to tell the truth.

See, you just accused a news station of an very extreme bias. CNN does tell the truth, as does FOX news, but they BOTH twist it a little.

 

The ratings clearly show Americans prefer Fox News over CNN and MSNBC by quite a margain.

 

The ratings clearly show Americans prefer Fox News over CNN and MSNBC by quite a margain.

I refer to the second line of my sig, thank you.

 

Fox News also presents itself as having the opinion of wanting the United States to win the war.

They don't present the wartime news in the negative fashion that these other networks do.

20 dead is nothing when it comes to a full-scale invasion that reaches the capital city, yet if you watch CNN, CBS, ABC, MSNBC you'd think we're losing the war under fierce fighting.

Face it: you libs can't stand seeing the news from a different perspective than the traditionally liberal one that's been shoved down our throats for years.

 

Foz news isn't impartial, for the most part it encourages it's anchors to express their opinions.

I prefer my slant to be obvious rather then subtle. If you miss it then you've got bad info.

I always know where the foxnews anchors are coming from and regardless of the anchors opinions they do present two sides to the arguement. However instead of letting the anchor act like an uncaring arbitor they have them participate.

 

FOX news is typical of almost all of Murdoch's Newscorp publications and media. It is popular because it caters for the lowest common denominator amongst the viewing audience. It's biased and is used by Murdoch as a tool to sway the opinion of the masses to causes he supports for one reason or another. Apparently he has told all his media to get behind the war, so you see it in his tabloids, magazines and tv programs.

I hate to say it but most Newscorp media is in the lowbrow category.

 

Aren't fox and skynews owned by the same group?

 

FoxNews is biased, but I don't think it's blatant or harmful.

Shepherd Smith, for instance, calls suicide bombers 'homicide bombers'. So do a couple of others on Fox. You won't see the left embracing that term; I think conservatives are more likely to prefer it. However, that doesn't make it any less innaccurate and it doesn't mean Smith provides biased or irresponsible reporting.

Bill O'Reilly has conservative and liberal views. He's conservative on the war, but he's liberal on the environment. He's liberal socially, but not to the extreme. I dare say he's pragmatic, though the left would call that bias. Basically, he's relatively close to the center of the spectrum. He allegedly respects Ted Kennedy over most politicians, though why the hell he would, I have no idea.
He's not dead-center. But he doesn't follow the party line, because he rejects those labels. He's an independent thinker.

Sean Hannity--likeable guy, but he takes the rhetoric too far. The way he generalizes the term 'liberal', you'd think every Democratic on the face of the earth meets weekly for meetings to discuss ways to screw Americans. Still some good ideas though. Same for Alan Colmes.

FoxNews is fair. I don't see the evidence of irresponsible reporting. PPOR on that. I'd say they're right-of-center on the political spectrum, but at least they entertain a sizeable right-wing cast, which is more than can be said for a couple ... other ... channels.

They report the news with attitude and opinion. They don't try to hide that, they celebrate it. Brit Hume, the main anchor, ends his 1-hour segment with an panel of people with *gasp!* [face_shocked] opinions!

Fox is faster on new stories than CNN ... and their website kicks CNN's butt on getting news up hands down, although I have to hand it to CNN for more content.

 

Suicide bombing is a better description, it describes an act where the person is willing to destroy themselves in the act of bombing the target.

All bombers who kill people are hommocide bombers. They don't all commit suicide in the act though.

 

"Aren't fox and skynews owned by the same group? "

Yes they are, but believe it or not the Australian version does not give opinions, just facts. Then they might debate with a representative from both sides.
Whenever I have watched Fox News I find it incredibaly biased and opinionated. Opinions should be left up to the viewer not the newsreaders, and the newsreader should just deliver the facts. I also find a lot of over sensationalism and scaremongering.
At best I would say that from what I have seen of Fox news it is no better than the Sun (A U.K. Tabloid run by newscorp for those who don't know).

 

There's also some irony here, in that CNN also believes it's wrong to tell the truth.

The ratings clearly show Americans prefer Fox News over CNN and MSNBC by quite a margain.




I don't need to respond, you all know what I'm going to say.

BBC = the best source of Good News.

E_S

 

The only thing I don't like about the Beeb as far as news, is the fact that they seem to have a parania thing going on as far as sports news is concerned. I love English soccer and I can get the results on CNN, Sky, even terrestrial TV in oz, but not BBC world.