# I was naive about Fox News **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 21, 2009, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-naive-about-fox-news/510896 "2009-09-21T01:12:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-naive-about-fox-news/510896/21 "2009-09-21T03:32:32Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > The tea party times are pretty funny when they aren’t sad. The median age of a fox news viewer and talk radio listener is 65-67. So the people getting all this info about the evils of big government collect 25k+ a year in social security and medicare subsidies. They are the biggest welfare queens in the nation and collect single payer health care, then they protest government assistance and a public option. > > Here is another funny one. The tea party activists went to DC on 9/12 to protest government programs got upset because the DC public transit system (which is taxpayer funded) wasn’t advanced enough for them. > > [http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/09/16/tea-party-protesters-protest-dc-metro-service/](http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/09/16/tea-party-protesters-protest-dc-metro-service/) > > It’d be funny if it weren’t sad because of what it says about civics. The biggest welfare queens are in the banking and financial business. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-naive-about-fox-news/510896/22 "2009-09-21T03:52:17Z")
Don’t be silly, those guys don’t get food stamps! ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-naive-about-fox-news/510896/23 "2009-09-21T04:00:49Z")
And they drive Bentleys and high-end Benzes. You are completely offbase. ---
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-naive-about-fox-news/510896/24 "2009-09-21T04:17:55Z")
This would fall into the same category as crews carefully choosing camera angles to try and make a handful of people seems like a large crowd. If you think FOX is the only news source that tries to “enhance” their live shots news coverage, I have a bridge for sale…cheap ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-naive-about-fox-news/510896/25 "2009-09-21T04:32:21Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I thought they had a lean, a tilt, if you will, that made them appeal to certain audiences, and that their lean was self-perpetuating. More good feedback for the lean leads to continuation of the lean. > > And, I believe there’s no such thing as media without a lean. We are all biased, all of us. Yup; but there’s a difference between having a leaning; having an agenda; and between being an outright, completely dishonest propaganda organ. Fox is the latter. They are nothing more than the Pravda of the Republican Party. ---
**Author:** ![guyblond](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@guyblond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guyblond)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-naive-about-fox-news/510896/26 "2009-09-21T05:17:57Z")
I thought it was common knowledge that Fox does this stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-naive-about-fox-news/510896/27 "2009-09-21T05:40:31Z")
The whole thing was organized by Glenn Beck in the first place. All of these teabagger rallies are heavily sponsored and promoted by Fox News and talk radio. They’re all just a bunch of radio/Fox News fan events. I don’t know why Fox even bothered to say that it was a mistake to lead a cheer. That’s what all their hosts do anyway. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-naive-about-fox-news/510896/28 "2009-09-21T06:24:27Z")
FoxNews is and always has been run by Roger Ailes, a lifelong Republican political consultant and adviser. They only people who do not think they are purely a propaganda wing are their viewers. Everyone else, including everyone who works at Fox News, knows what they are. ---
**Author:** ![PrettyVacant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/49beb7/32.png) [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-naive-about-fox-news/510896/29 "2009-09-21T07:47:48Z")
Don’t you have consumer laws that prevent corporations describing a product as one thing when it’s something else? It should be illegal to describe what Fox does as ‘news’. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-naive-about-fox-news/510896/30 "2009-09-21T08:23:51Z")
Don’t you people get tired of this back and forth? I’m too exhausted to shake my fists and shout “corruption!” anymore. God damn people, it’s like your outrage factory never shuts down for weekends or holidays. This is nothing. Even less than the ACORN nothing. Even less than the birth certificate nothing. Calm down and get some perspective here! A news agency tried to make a national story out of something barely worthy of being scribbled on a bathroom stall. It happens. So what? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-naive-about-fox-news/510896/31 "2009-09-21T08:26:08Z")
> [@PrettyVacant](#): > > Don’t you have consumer laws that prevent corporations describing a product as one thing when it’s something else? It should be illegal to describe what Fox does as ‘news’. AFAIK, there is no legal definition of “news”, thus they cannot be held to be committing fraud. ---
**Author:** ![PrettyVacant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/49beb7/32.png) [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-naive-about-fox-news/510896/32 "2009-09-21T08:41:02Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > This is nothing. Even less than the ACORN nothing. Even less than the birth certificate nothing. Calm down and get some perspective here! A news agency tried to make a national story out of something barely worthy of being scribbled on a bathroom stall. It happens. So what? This is the problem. After 8 years of Bush people are bombed out: What would never have been acceptable for some now passes without comment because some just don’t have the will anymore. Beaten down and barely conscious. ---
**Author:** ![Cyberhwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-naive-about-fox-news/510896/33 "2009-09-21T08:45:41Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Not 100% related to the OP, but about Fox news in general. I was flipping through the channels earlier tonight, and on Fox news they were at a rally in California for farmers, and they question of the day was “where is our government to help us?” > > It seems the farmers needed some water, or something, and was pissed the government wasn’t doing anything to help them. The people all rallied in the background had don’t red on me flags and looked to be the same sort of people at the tea party rallies… Hey. You want irony, the people actually AT the DC Tea Party protests were complaining the city didn’t provide them with what they felt was sufficient public transportation service. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-naive-about-fox-news/510896/34 "2009-09-21T09:49:59Z")
So, where was FOX when the President gave his address to congress? Oh that’s right, Dancing with the Stars was MUCH more important than some silly ol’ health care reform. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-naive-about-fox-news/510896/35 "2009-09-21T10:29:06Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Fox News damners, are you surprised? Is this anything new or just par for the course? Par for the course. The regularly manipulate reality, spin it, or just plain make it up. ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-naive-about-fox-news/510896/36 "2009-09-21T13:13:27Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > AFAIK, there is no legal definition of “news”, thus they cannot be held to be committing fraud. There is bound to be a journalist code of ethics, which contains something along the lines of: “Report and interpret honestly, striving for accuracy, fairness and disclosure of all essential facts. Do not suppress relevant available facts, or give distorting emphasis. Do your utmost to give a fair opportunity for reply.” Not sure what the US version is called, but I doubt there is a legal obligation to comply, more an industry obligation. [ref](http://www.alliance.org.au/media_alliance_code_of_ethics/) ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-naive-about-fox-news/510896/37 "2009-09-21T13:32:17Z")
Fox News exists simply for the large segment of the conservative base who want the Republican party to piss down thier back so they can collect the rainwater. They don’t want Truth, they don’t want facts they want to hear how everything they believe is right and everthing anyone else thinks is not only wrong, but evil so that they feel good about what they believe. Fox tells them what they want to believe, they tune out anything that conflicts and in thier reality everything they believe is the One True Way and anything else is an ‘attack’. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-naive-about-fox-news/510896/38 "2009-09-21T13:53:28Z")
I’m shocked that there is anyone only coming to this conclusion now. Back in April, Fox ‘News’ hosted … not covered, \*hosted \*… a Tea Party Jamboree, complete with big name country artists being introduced by Fox anchors. News anchors (if you can charitably refer to Hannity that way) saying, “stay tuned to Fox’s TeaParty, for Toby Keith up next”, while throngs of ignorant yokels in the background demanded their country back. What news organization has ever done that? Did CNN host a “Bush Lied!-apalooza”? Did MSNBC throw a “Impeach W” party at 8, 7 central? Did the New York Times put on a “Get Out of Iraq” jamboree with the Dixie Chicks as headliners? Fox ‘News’ is anything but news. But we already knew that. At least I thought we did. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-naive-about-fox-news/510896/39 "2009-09-21T13:58:07Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > So, it seems I was naive. I thought there were lines that people wouldn’t cross, the line between covering the news and being the news, reporting the news and inventing the news, filming a rally and rallying a rally. > > So, Fox News supporters, fanwank this one. Can you spin it into something less damning? > > Fox News damners, are you surprised? Is this anything new or just par for the course? It’s unclear to me whether you believe that something like this, only Fox News would do, or whether you’re choosing this incident, which happens to be from Fox, to decry the general practice. In the first case, it would be relevant (and NOT a _tu quoque_) to point out similar examples from other organizations. If it’s the second case, then pointing out similar examples would be classic _tu quoque_ fallacy. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-naive-about-fox-news/510896/40 "2009-09-21T14:23:35Z")
It’s something only Fox does. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-naive-about-fox-news/510896.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-naive-about-fox-news/510896.md?page=3)