Saangwies

First of all, here's my opinion:
Fox News is biased towards the right. They most certainly do not have a pro-left bias, and their critique of the right is both rare and weak. Day in and day out they proclaim to be 'fair and balanced', but after watching them daily I have come to the conclusion that they are not. So anything I say in this thread will be based upon the assumption that Fox News is biased.

Now in this thread I want to discuss a few questions about Fox News;
1. What are the goals of Fox News?
2. Who does Fox News really care for? [Where do their interests lie.]
3. Does Fox News have a huge and elaborate long term plan to achieve its goals, or does it work on a more weekly/monthly basis?
4. Do their programs [Hannity & Colmes, The O'Reilly Factor, Fox & Friends] have talking points and detailed systems through which to hold interviews and make statements, or are these done on a more spontaneous basis?
5. Lastly, who are the real geniuses [or crazies, whatever you prefer] behind Fox News?

I hope this will turn into a fine discussion.

Harshaw

Oh, boy! Another "Faux Newz" thread! Woo-hoo!

You've got all the other networks so hopelessly Pro-bama that they're made fun of on SNL, MSNBC melting down, and Ed Rendell repeatedly saying that Fox has been the most balanced, but hey, let's harangue some more about Fox.

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Saangwies

I don't care if all the other networks are Pro-bama, that's not what this thread is about. I don't even watch any other news networks, because Fox News is the most interesting and fun to watch. But regardless of its entertainment value, I still think it's biased. What Ed Rendell thinks doesn't count for . So what if he has an opinion about Fox News, that doesn't mean anything.

Now as to get this thread started a little, here's one of the things I think Fox really cares about; money. They are after all a commercial network, so their goal is to make a profit, and as far as I know they earn their cash from commercials. Commercials are aimed at a certain demographic, and the larger it is the better. Now I ask the question, would Fox News' goal to make a profit ever come in conflict with what is in the best interest of the viewers?

Harshaw

Do you think Fox News is singular in its "goal" to turn a profit, or in that it makes its money by selling commercial time?

DarkWizard12

*sigh* it is very, very, VERY simple why Fox news does what it does. All one has to do is establish 3 things: 1) They want money like every corporation 2) News = money and 3) Their competition, MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, BBC, etc, all sell to only 1 market(liberal-leaning people). Becaus of this, where do you think they could make more money? By selling to an over-used market of liberals? Or by tapping into the untouched-half of America, the conservatives? Its all Business and money.

Saangwies

No, I would say CNN and MSNBC are quite the same in that aspect. But that still doesn't mean it is a good thing, if you were trying to say that.

Also, while CNN and MSNBC might or might not have a bias [I wouldn't know, but according to Fox News, MSNBC is biased], but for Fox I do know it has a bias. If it were truly "fair and balanced" then they would show the good and the bad sides to the Democrats' policies. Instead, when presented with the chance, they focus on the possible bad sides, but hardly talk about the good sides. Whilst with Republicans, they focus a lot on the good sides such as low taxes, but do not pay a lot of attention to their bad sides. [Possibly because Fox believes there are no major bad sides to Republican policies?]

But regardless of that, I wonder, would Fox gain any advantage if the Republicans were to win the 2008 election, and would they be disadvantaged if the Democrats were to win. Perhaps that would help explain why they are biased.

@DarkWizard12
What you say makes perfect sense, but one thing about Fox News is still quite strange. Why is it that they are so persistent in their message of being 'fair and balanced'? I do not see how this is of any economic value to Fox.

Harshaw

Wasn't saying it was good or bad. (It's neither, really.)

Again, I ask -- why single out Fox here? This thread makes no sense if 1) it's about what you say it's about and 2) you exclude the other networks.

It just looks like you're trying to disguise more Fox-bashing as something more high-minded. It doesn't scan.

Saangwies

This is not intended as Fox bashing. Doing so is not really productive and is kind of boring. The only reason I "single out" Fox, is because it's the only network I actually watch. I can't really speak for CNN or MSNBC, since I don't watch those.

The point of this thread is that I want to figure out Fox News. I'm not necessarily saying that what they do is a good or a bad thing, all I'm saying is I find Fox to be an interesting network, and I want to know what they're all about.

Harshaw

I'm not buying it.

And you really shouldn't get all your news from one source.

Sir Loin

First of all, the “Fox News is” has been done to death here at DP. Virtually everything you’ve brought up has been discussed here at DP ad infanitum. Until you have something new or fresh to offer, you can expect a giant meh from all but the “Fox News is” crowd.

Also, you are thus far a one note new poster, so you remain highly suspect until we see you doing some discussion about something…….anything else. This is why your claim to not be bashing Fox News, yet repeating all the same tired bashing we’ve become so familiar with, is being met with completely justifiable disinterest. Though I’m sure some like minded “Fox News is” regulars who enjoy rehashing the same tired talking points endlessly will come along and play with you. That should make for another quite circular discussion indeed!

Frankly anyone who claims they never watch anything else but Fox has already eliminated themselves from an informed and rational discourse on how Fox is different from the others. Like Harshaw I ain’t buying a single syllable of it.

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