# Is Fox News really all that bad? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 3, 2012, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625 "2012-10-03T21:14:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/21 "2012-10-04T00:18:06Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Chris Wallace and “revenue neutral,” but yes, that was an actual good question- something that’s increasingly rare in any political interview. Well, I had the channel right. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![davey264](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@davey264](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davey264)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/22 "2012-10-04T00:32:34Z")
Yah its awful, a network news that actually reports all the news… It used to be that both sides of an argument would be reported. Hard to find on NBC. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/23 "2012-10-04T00:37:15Z")
I don’t see how anybody could watch Fox and say it’s not biased. It’s obviously biased, but that wouldn’t be so bad if a) they didn’t claim they were fair and balanced, and b) they didn’t make shit up, or persist in reporting false stuff long after they know it’s false. MSNBC is NOT the same. They may be as biased to the left as Fox is to the right, but they don’t claim to be fair and balanced, and they don’t make shit up. Disclaimer: I only watch the big guns, i.e. Matthews and Maddow on MSNBC, and O’Reilly and Hannity on Fox. I guess it’s possible that Shep Smith may be less biased than Al Sharpton. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/24 "2012-10-04T00:40:08Z")
> [@davey264](#): > > Yah its awful, a network news that actually reports all the news.. The Republican side AND the conservative side! ---
**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:** [October 4, 2012, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/25 "2012-10-04T01:05:43Z")
Fox News is Bullshit Mountain. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/26 "2012-10-04T01:34:41Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > …Accidentally putting a “D” next to the names of disgraced GOP … They have been doing this for years, I lost track of how many times. They do it when someone is indicted, convicted, or even just loses an election. Once is a mistake, twice might be if the bias doesn’t show. But AFAIK they’ve never mistakenly ID’d a Democrat in a favorable light, or a Republican in an unfavorable light. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/27 "2012-10-04T02:02:53Z")
Fox News is a cancer, it weakens the intellect, ignores nuance, unfairly portrays just about everything, and is an affront to critical thinking. It makes political compromise difficult for both sides, and this is a time in our history we sorely need compromise. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/28 "2012-10-04T02:10:40Z")
[Here is a 26 second youtube clip of Fox News during the 2008 election campaign](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTkqosRiyYo) It is of a reporter taking a survey in a Pennsylvania diner. Notice the laughter after he “reports” the results. ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/29 "2012-10-04T02:34:21Z")
I think the worst crime Fox News is responsible for is making the news business less focusing on news and journalism, and more on “business”. The Fox News heads would be just as happy putting out liberal nonsense if they made more money doing that. That, to me, is a worse problem than them being overtly partisan. They’ve led a race to the bottom that leaves all viewers less informed. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/30 "2012-10-04T02:48:39Z")
I watch Fox News all day at work, as my desk is next to the TV. As a conservative, I absolutely hate the channel. It’s not that they lie. I don’t think they do. It’s the news items they decide to cover. For example, Obama really did say he was for wealth redistribution, but that was years ago. They amp up any story that says the economy is bad and they downplay anything that says it’s doing better. Second, when they want to say something biased, but they realize it’d be too obvious, they just get a conservative “expert” like Judge Napolitano to say it for them. The anchor ‘interviews’ them by asking an into question and letting them go on a rant for 3-5 minutes. The only decent, even-handed person on the station is Shepard Smith. He always hammers Republicans as much as Democrats. Earlier today, he wouldn’t let a Romney spokesman stop talking about the 47% comment, no matter how much he wriggled. So biased? Yes. Liars? No. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/31 "2012-10-04T03:13:42Z")
When Fox News started up, I supported the concept. I have no problem with a news network with a point of view, even a conservative one. There are some silly mainstream conventions that I thought could be challenged. Basically I was expecting wall to wall Shep Smith. No, the problem is they get their facts screwed up. And that unsurprisingly their audience does as well. [Cite](http://www.people-press.org/2007/04/15/public-knowledge-of-current-affairs-little-changed-by-news-and-information-revolutions/). [Broader citation](http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_06/the_most_consistently_misinfor030360.php). [Obligatory followup](http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_11/the_most_misinformed_news_cons033634.php). Media Matters for America notes how Fox consistently messes their facts up. MMA also takes a hard line on bigotry and general nuttiness. Modern conservative analogues to that operation make a different argument about the New York Times, et al. They say the latter is _biased_. In other words, they hurt the feelings of those with sensitive dispositions. Very different critique. Recent example: discussion of middle class incomes > **[Fox's Varney Buries Economic Facts To Attack Obama's Record](https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-friends/foxs-varney-buries-economic-facts-attack-obamas-record)** > > Fox Business host Stuart Varney blamed President Obama for the decline in incomes for American families, for the decrease in Americans' net worth, and for the decrease in home values. In fact, each of these trends started before Obama's presidency. A little older: 8.6 \> 8.8. Who knew? [http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011\_12/when\_fox\_news\_tries\_to\_make\_a034063.php](http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_12/when_fox_news_tries_to_make_a034063.php) > **[Today In Dishonest Fox News Charts](https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/today-dishonest-fox-news-charts)** More bizarre charting: [http://mediamatters.org/blog/2010/06/28/updated-worst-chart-ive-seen-all-day/166862](http://mediamatters.org/blog/2010/06/28/updated-worst-chart-ive-seen-all-day/166862) You would think modern conservatives would care about being willfully misled. You would think wrong: they love it because they crave reassurance more than they want to be informed. To that extent voluntarily watching Fox News is a pretty reliable indicator of weak character. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/32 "2012-10-04T03:14:17Z")
Yeah, Shep Smith is the one great thing about Fox. Give that guy _his own_ channel. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/33 "2012-10-04T03:31:15Z")
K, I’m hearing you guys. Thanks for the insights! ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/34 "2012-10-04T03:43:33Z")
I would not be surprised to discover that in cases of bank robberies, fires, or the local weather, Fox News is about as competent as their competition. So it is possible that one could stumble across their shows, from time to time, and not see the bias. However, when anything resembling politics is presented, they are totally corrupt. The frequent “accidental” mislabeling of corrupt Republicans as Democrats strikes me as awfully “convenient.” They deliberately manufactured the story of the “WTC Mosque” in order to whip up furor and fervor among their audience for political gain. Even after President Bush was admitting that Iraq had no involvement with the WTC and Pentagon attacks, Fox was playing nonsense from Cheney along with enough innuendo that a majority of Fox viewers thought that Iraq had contributed to those attacks. Recently, Fox News announced that unemployment was at 14.7% when it was only 7.8% in 2009. Of course, they failed to note that the 2009 figure was not using the same basis. The government publishes two separate unemployment figures each month, one lists the number of people who were unsuccessful in finding permanent employment in the previous month, which they used for the 2009 figure. The other number counts the of people who were unsuccessful finding permanent employment, plus those who have given up finding any work plus those who have accepted part-time employment. The second number was the one used for the 2012 figure. Had Fox used similar numbers, the rates would have been either 7.8% vs 8.1% or 14.2% vs 14.7%, still a negative trend, but not the nearly doubling that Fox claimed. This sort of nonsense goes on persistently. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/35 "2012-10-04T07:00:31Z")
Yeah, the tea party thing is a huge “credit” to Fox News. They almost singlehandedly helped create “the tea party” You have to remember, than when that all started, it was just “Tea Party Protests”, groups of people gathering to complain about taxes. That was it. There was no “Tea Party” in and of itself, no “tea party candidates” or anything like that. Now, of course we understand that the Tea Party is not an actual political party, but it did become a legitimate wing of the Republican party, with its own caucus in the senate and house. This is largely because of the [del]reporting[/del] championing Fox News did. There are literally video clips people have shown where the Fox News reporters actively encouraged cheering at these rallies, and such. It’s despicable. Fox News really did help create the very ultra conservative faction of the republican party that we call the tea party now. I agree that Shepard “WE DO NOT TORTURE” Smith (and to a somewhat lesser extent, Chris “we present the other side” Wallace and sometimes even Brit “mumbles solemnly and hilariousness” Hume) is the bright spot on the channel. Add to all this that it is well documented that the RNC often shares its talking points with the anchors at Fox News, and all the pundits and such just echo the same BS that the republican party wants them to echo. I’ve never heard of anything like that happening at the other networks (mainly because MSNBC is probably even too left wing for the Democrats to want to fully embrace) ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/36 "2012-10-04T07:12:37Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > Fox News perpetuates ignorance. Thats a problem. Merely perpetuating it would be a step in the right direction. What they really do is generate, develop or otherwise spread new and improved ignorance. Higher grade ignorance. \*Weaponized \*ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/37 "2012-10-04T09:50:06Z")
> [@davey264](#): > > Yah its awful, a network news that actually reports all the news.. It used to be that both sides of an argument would be reported. We still get a lot of that in the media, actually, and often to our detriment. Every argument may have two sides, but sometimes one of those sides is complete horseshit. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/38 "2012-10-05T19:41:09Z")
Hey, the unemployment rate dropped! That should be good for the US, no? Not in Foxland (title of the article about the unemployment rate): “Jobless Rate Dips Under 8 Percent… But is the Number Real?” ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/39 "2012-10-05T19:49:58Z")
When I used to watch TV news, 10-15 years ago, I would flip back and forth between Fox News and CNN. I haven’t watched TV news regularly for several years, but I think the current Fox News simply ain’t what it used to be. It seems that 15 years ago, Fox News _was_ actually more fair and balanced. After all, they did have Colmes on with Hannity, and he even got the last word plenty of the time. You had O’Reilly, but he is a blowhard with some center leanings. Looking at FNC today, it feels completely different. I actually feel kind of foolish for defending it for a while after I quit watching, because it’s defninitely not the same channel it used to be. Give ‘Hannity’ or ‘Huckabee’ their own show and claim to be fair and balanced? Nuh uh. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/40 "2012-10-05T19:57:26Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > After all, they did have Colmes on with Hannity Meh. As Senator Franken wrote, “HANNITYandcolmes”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625.md?page=3)