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The Fox News Factor: The overwhelming success of the Fox News Channel
http://www.aim.org ^ | By Doug Schmitz

Posted on 01/31/2003 7:40:42 PM PST by webber

The Fox News Factor: The overwhelming success of the Fox News Channel

By Doug Schmitz
January 30, 2003

The overwhelming success of the Fox News Channel has finally snapped the establishment media's Achilles' heel. As the number one-rated cable news network, Fox News has broken Big Media's monopoly over the dissemination of news. By doing so, Fox News threw a monkey wrench into the liberals' political agendas. And that has them worried.

For decades, the establishment media have dominated the airwaves and newsprint. Now, with the advent of the Internet and the emergence of Fox News, they can no longer decide which major stories get covered - and which get ignored.

Many Americans have finally acknowledged "the elephant in the room" whenever they watch CNN or Dan Rather, and have been handed the power to switch. This makes Fox News a breath of fresh air - as well as a threat to an extremely dominating media culture.

As Bernie Goldberg pointed out in his bestseller, "Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News," the way to fix one-sided reporting is not to hire more conservative writers. The only way to remedy the slant is to do the job right the first time by reporting both sides of the news. Fox News' Roger Ailes saw the problem and fixed it. What Fox News did was truly unprecedented. They sought to restore the tenets of fairness and balance; basic rules of journalism that have all but been forgotten.

Although Fox News occupies fewer markets than CNN and MSNBC, they draw a much larger audience. That speaks volumes about the hunger for objective news coverage.

But while the Big Media often place politics over principle, the independent news organizations have suffered attacks by liberals who don't like what Fox News and other independent news organizations, such as the Washington Times, WorldNetDaily.com, Newsmax.com and CNSNews.com, report.

When Democratic scandals do get coverage from independent news sources, the liberals likely perceive them as politically motivated attacks.

By the same token, if the mainstream media had exposed Bill Clinton, it's quite possible that he would have been held accountable for his crimes and respectfully left office, like Richard Nixon.

Despite Mr. Clinton lying under oath to a federal grand jury, suborning witnesses and tampering with evidence, he went through his presidency virtually unscathed. Nixon, however, wasn't so fortunate. When two investigative reporters from the Washington Post exposed him in the Watergate scandal, his political career was over.

So why didn't the press go after Clinton like they went after Nixon? The fact that Clinton was a Democrat probably made all the difference. Hence, the reason Democrats never complain about a liberal media bias: they possibly think they can seek refuge with the establishment media. But when Democrats like Al Gore and Tom Daschle decry the independent media, it's a sure sign Americans are getting a side of the news they haven't heard.

The mainstream press seemingly goes out of their way to appease Democrats. After all, nearly 90 percent of them are registered Democrats, according to a 1996 Freedom Forum survey. So it comes as no surprise that Democrats - who pride themselves on the power of the press - bemoan the independent media.

But whenever the independent media uncover Democratic scandals, it's immediately declared "right-wing." Yet with the mainstream media, the Democratic viewpoint usually goes unchallenged. Now, the mainstream media are trying to copy Fox News' success with little, if any, results. In fact, when Fox News was the first to create the ticker that runs text across the bottom of the screen, the others immediately followed suit.

For example, CNN's attempt at revamping its news programs probably shows its paranoia. And MSNBC, calling itself "America's News Channel," might be exposing its own uncertainties.

After all, if Fox News was the conservative and pro-Republican vehicle that liberals claim, they wouldn't have hired Alan Colmes, Greta Van Susteren, John Gibson or Geraldo Rivera. If the mainstream media ever hope to succeed, they should follow Fox News' lead and report the news the way it was meant to be reported - fair and balanced.

Besides, if changes were already evident, CBS News and the others wouldn't be going down in flames in the ratings war. If the media elite insists on ignoring the warning signs, they will only have themselves to blame.

 


Doug Schmitz, a journalist and media commentator, has written for Accuracy in Media and Ether Zone. He's currently writing a book on media bias. © Copyright 2003 by Doug Schmitz, M.A.
This article can be read @: The Fox News Factor


TOPICS: Announcements; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: mediabias
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1 posted on 01/31/2003 7:40:42 PM PST by webber
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To: webber
GO FOX.....rats eat dirt
2 posted on 01/31/2003 7:52:33 PM PST by spokeshave
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To: webber
GO Fox. Fair and balanced news.
3 posted on 01/31/2003 7:55:23 PM PST by Kev-Head
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To: webber
Fox rules
4 posted on 01/31/2003 7:58:21 PM PST by scottinoc
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To: webber
Democrats will immediately reject and discount this summary because they don't want to hear it. Fine by me. Let them founder on the shoals of their own idiocy.
5 posted on 01/31/2003 7:59:40 PM PST by Judith Anne (This space for office use only.)
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To: scottinoc
My TV stays on FOX,they tell the truth. CNN is liberal Bull $hit
6 posted on 01/31/2003 8:03:00 PM PST by noutopia
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To: webber
Conservatives ought to support Insight Magazine instead of Time, Newsweek and USN&WR too. (The editor of Insight is also a FReeper, Paul Rodriguez)
7 posted on 01/31/2003 8:04:04 PM PST by blam
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To: webber
So why didn't the press go after Clinton like they went after Nixon? The fact that Clinton was a Democrat probably made all the difference.

Major DUH!

Try to imagine, for the sake of argument of course, the firestorm that would have resulted had it been George Bush, Ronald Reagan or Richard Nixon who was receiving oral sex from an intern in the White House.

It would have been "Lights Out" from Day One. Presidency over. The NOW gang would be camped out in Lafayette Park with candles until the sexual predator president resigned his office and boarded Marine One in disgrace.

There is no way in hell that any Republican president would survive a scandal like that. And everybody knows it. But because the sexual predator was a beloved "Democrat", not only did the NOW gang not make a peep about it, but they sung his praises and attacked those who dared to suggest that there was a problem with a president of the United States soliciting and receiving sexual favors from his underlings. An act, by the way, that would get any run-of-the-mill office manager immediately fired from his job.

The Monica Lewinksy affair settled the issue once and for all regarding whether or not there is liberal bias in the media.

8 posted on 01/31/2003 8:05:59 PM PST by SamAdams76 ('Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens')
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To: webber

Insight Magazine

9 posted on 01/31/2003 8:08:59 PM PST by blam
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To: webber
Why is this a surprise to anyone? You cannot compete with someone by doing the same thing they do. You have to find some way to distinguish yourself from the competition. In the case of the news media, they are all identical. Any company that differentiates itself will have a competitive advantage.
10 posted on 01/31/2003 8:09:56 PM PST by gitmo ("The course of this conflict is not known, yet its outcome is certain." GWB)
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To: webber
I never watch cbsnbcabccnn. As I was listening to Hannity on the radio today I was amused at the three hours of plugs he gave his TV show. I asked my wife what FNC was paying for those commercials...LOL
11 posted on 01/31/2003 8:16:08 PM PST by tubebender (.)
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To: webber
Calling all stockholders. Calling all stockholder... The major media are putting liberal elite spin before balanced (read profitable) news reporting.

If the media elite insists on ignoring the warning signs, they will only have themselves to blame.

12 posted on 01/31/2003 8:26:30 PM PST by GOPJ
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To: SamAdams76
There is no way in h*ll that any Republican president would survive a scandal like that. And everybody knows it.

What you say is true. However, you also have to remember who the constituencies of the parties are. The Rats are composed of dozens of small groups who want their piece of the pie. They don't care what the other constituencies want, so long as they get their piece. These are the people that continue to vote Barney Frank into office even after he was caught with an underage male prostitution ring running out of his office. Does anyone really believe he didn't know what was going on? His constituents didn't care, because he brought home the bacon.

Even if the scandals had been covered by the press properly, Clinton would have kept much of his base because the core constituencies of the Rats simply don't have a problem with perjury and extramarital affairs. A clear example is the recent issue with Trent Lott. There were a lot of Pubbies calling for his resignation. Robert Byrd made far more inflammatory comments, and these were reported, but he Rats didn't have a problem with Byrd, because they knew that at the end of the day, he'd bring home the bacon.

Post is too long already, but the simple fact is that a scandal will never hurt a Rat like it hurts a Pubbie, because most Rat voters don't care whether their candidate had an extramarital affair with a subordinate, committed perjury or left a 29 year old girl underwater in a car for nine hours so he could sober up and come up with a story, as long as he brings home the bacon.

13 posted on 01/31/2003 8:40:57 PM PST by Richard Kimball
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To: noutopia
I propose a new FR rule.

In addition to the other picture rule, one can't mention FOX NEWS without an obligatory picture of a FOX INFO BABE so that those who do not get FOX NEWS can call their cable company and complain.

Laurie Dhue (Me)

14 posted on 01/31/2003 9:06:53 PM PST by PokeyJoe (Practically new French Rifles for sale...never fired, only dropped once. 555-1212, ask for Fritz)
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To: webber
"only themselves to blame"

Actually, that is the flaw in their character; they cannot accept responsibility for their own actions.
15 posted on 01/31/2003 10:25:33 PM PST by CyberAnt ( Syracuse where are you?)
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To: PokeyJoe
There's a lot to be said for the news ladies that Fox hires. Their dress, grooming, looks, professional conduct, and intelligence are absolutely first-rate.
I second the new rule, even if it means I have to go to HTML boot camp to learn how to post pics.
16 posted on 01/31/2003 10:38:30 PM PST by Marauder (Yummy.)
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To: webber
Now, with the advent of the Internet and the emergence of Fox News, they can no longer decide which major stories get covered - and which get ignored.

SAVE THE TREES!

Don't buy newspapers.

How many trees are cut down to print the NYT a year?

17 posted on 01/31/2003 10:42:22 PM PST by Rome2000
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To: webber
At least when you watch FOX news you don't feel like you need a shower to get the liberal scum that has accrued after an hour of viewing some of the other shows. Plus the newscasters seem genuine and nice.
18 posted on 01/31/2003 10:42:49 PM PST by Cate
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To: GOPJ
The ratings slide started long ago. Fox news has been the recipient of those fleeing viewers only recently. What scares me is that the major network news has been a profit loser for much longer than Fox has been around. The major network news has succeeded in turning off many conservatives who might have been interested in the news of the day, and profit has never been much of a factor in how they cover the news. I suspect for ABCNBCCBSCNN profit will always take a backseat to the real objective of slanting the news or even complete lies to further the political agenda of the left.

The millionaire/billionaire owners of these huge conglomerates more than make up the lost profits by promoting liberal laws that funnel the money from the family to the government where it is laundered and given back to the liberal rich under the guise of targeted tax cuts for liberal businesses and grants for liberal corporation that foster dependency worldwide.

The end to a long dry spell has come for those who wanted balance on TV news. Our thirst is great...Cheers to Fox News for quenching it.
19 posted on 02/01/2003 7:09:26 AM PST by Once-Ler (I vote Dubya)
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To: Once-Ler
Although Fox News is a breath of fresh air, the real problem remains to be solved: a balanced broadcast news network. After all, the cable news networks have but a small fraction of the viewership of ABC, CBS, and NBC.

20 posted on 02/01/2003 8:20:09 AM PST by OldPossum
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