Is Fox News evil?
February 6th 2007 06:11
Simple answer: Of course not. You would think it is, though. The level of hatred towards Fox News from liberals in the media and in society is palpable. There have been books (Al Franken's "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them"), shows (Keith Olberman's MSNBC show and Stephen Colbert's Comedy Channel show come to mind), and even a movie (Outfoxed) that specifically target, complain about, and mock Fox News and its on-air personalities. What is it about Fox that drives these folks crazy?
Obviously, one reason for the anger directed towards Fox News is that it has a conservative slant. Fox News saw an underserved niche in the news industry and was smart enough to fill that niche in a way that others hadn't. They weren't afraid to display patriotism and pride in the US. They weren't afraid to speak openly about issues of faith. They didn't talk down to or ignore those of us in the "flyover" states. While conservatives also complain a great deal about what they perceive as liberal bias in the media, those hostile feelings are diffused among the big three network news outlets (ABC, NBC, and CBS), big city newspapers (the NYT, the LA Times, and the Washington Post), the other cable news channels (CNN and MSNBC), and even magazines such as Time and Newsweek. With liberals, however, their hostility is concentrated like a missile on the most obvious and substantive right-leaning media outlet: Fox News.
Another reason for the hostility towards Fox News is out-and-out jealousy. Fox News continues to absolutely dominate the cable news industry in almost every way imaginable. The January Nielsen ratings show Fox News as the sixth highest-rated cable news channel. CNN was ranked 25th and MSNBC was ranked 31st. And while CNN's and MSNBC's total viewership has improved compared to that of Fox News, Fox's total numbers are still higher than the totals of CNN and MSNBC combined. So while CNN and MSNBC can claim some moral victories against their nemesis, they still fall miserably short in their efforts to dominate cable news. Surely this is something of a driving factor in the hostility towards Fox News.
I'm a solid conservative. I watch Fox News, but I also watch MSNBC and CNN. It's just astounding to me, though, how absolutely unhinged some folks become when speaking about Fox News. Still, if some people live to hate you, you must be doing something right. TV News is about getting the eyes and the ears and the attention. And by those measures, Fox News is doing just fine, it seems.
Obviously, one reason for the anger directed towards Fox News is that it has a conservative slant. Fox News saw an underserved niche in the news industry and was smart enough to fill that niche in a way that others hadn't. They weren't afraid to display patriotism and pride in the US. They weren't afraid to speak openly about issues of faith. They didn't talk down to or ignore those of us in the "flyover" states. While conservatives also complain a great deal about what they perceive as liberal bias in the media, those hostile feelings are diffused among the big three network news outlets (ABC, NBC, and CBS), big city newspapers (the NYT, the LA Times, and the Washington Post), the other cable news channels (CNN and MSNBC), and even magazines such as Time and Newsweek. With liberals, however, their hostility is concentrated like a missile on the most obvious and substantive right-leaning media outlet: Fox News.
Another reason for the hostility towards Fox News is out-and-out jealousy. Fox News continues to absolutely dominate the cable news industry in almost every way imaginable. The January Nielsen ratings show Fox News as the sixth highest-rated cable news channel. CNN was ranked 25th and MSNBC was ranked 31st. And while CNN's and MSNBC's total viewership has improved compared to that of Fox News, Fox's total numbers are still higher than the totals of CNN and MSNBC combined. So while CNN and MSNBC can claim some moral victories against their nemesis, they still fall miserably short in their efforts to dominate cable news. Surely this is something of a driving factor in the hostility towards Fox News.
I'm a solid conservative. I watch Fox News, but I also watch MSNBC and CNN. It's just astounding to me, though, how absolutely unhinged some folks become when speaking about Fox News. Still, if some people live to hate you, you must be doing something right. TV News is about getting the eyes and the ears and the attention. And by those measures, Fox News is doing just fine, it seems.
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