Smithster Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/how-roger-ailes-built-the-fox-news-fear-factory-20110525?page=1 It's a very long article, but if you have an interest in American politics and have a spare half an hour then I strongly recommend you have a read of this. It would appear that the recent revelations about Murdoch's influence over British politicians pale into insignificance when compared to the power of the Fox News propaganda machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Treatment Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Press TV, Sky Channel 515 is always Game for a Larf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUPERTYKE Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 The tv nations are heading towards a dark Orwellian future where they are finely controlled by commercial interests. Sorry but women are mainly to blame with their desperate need to 'appear' to be keeping up with her neighbours - men do this too but with nothing like the same attention to detail. Something like 87% of adverts have women and children as their target audience. Why don't you do something about it? why not tell your kids that they can't have the latest vid game or trainers and to hell with what others think? Why not do without the latest 'WONDER' anti aging cosmetic and be yourself?? By subscribing to these products you are making some big fat ugly people laugh all the way to the bank - while they look upon you as total and utter IDIOTS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey Shaw Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 So um...not actually Orwellian then.... The future could be orwellian, even if not controlled by commercial interests. More relevant, 'George Orwell' was only a pen-name. His real name was Eric Blair: so maybe a link with Tony! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harleyman Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/how-roger-ailes-built-the-fox-news-fear-factory-20110525?page=1 It's a very long article, but if you have an interest in American politics and have a spare half an hour then I strongly recommend you have a read of this. It would appear that the recent revelations about Murdoch's influence over British politicians pale into insignificance when compared to the power of the Fox News propaganda machine. Fox News is strongly Republican and Right wing. MSNBC, a very major news network is strongly Democrat and opiniated towards what could be loosely described in this part of the world as Leftish Any healthy democracy needs to have a media that is free from government interference and free to air it's political opinions and preferences Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smithster Posted August 2, 2011 Author Share Posted August 2, 2011 Fox News is strongly Republican and Right wing. MSNBC, a very major news network is strongly Democrat and opiniated towards what could be loosely described in this part of the world as Leftish Any healthy democracy needs to have a media that is free from government interference and free to air it's political opinions and preferences I agree to some extent, but to my mind it is extremely alarming that Fox News promotes itself as being fair and balanced, when in reality it is anything but. Obviously in an ideal world all news reporting would be completely impartial and free from any kind of political bias, but then, I guess, how would the news channels decide which stories are newsworthy and which ones aren't? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andygardener Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 I agree to some extent, but to my mind it is extremely alarming that Fox News promotes itself as being fair and balanced, when in reality it is anything but. Obviously in an ideal world all news reporting would be completely impartial and free from any kind of political bias, but then, I guess, how would the news channels decide which stories are newsworthy and which ones aren't? What's alarming about that? You'd have to have the intellect of a boiled potato not to realise Fox is mainly pro-Republican propaganda just like you'd not be the brightest bulb in the box if you thought the Gaurdian was not just a little big whiny champagne socialist left wing. Some people want a slant on their news, personally i like the bare facts and I make my own mind up, but given that very few if any news outlets do that (including our own publically funded "unbiased" BBC) clearly i must be in a minority. It's a demand led business, if joe sixpack wants his news with spin then the media will deliver spin, if there was a mass market appeal for a totally impartial spin free news then i'm sure someone would have filled that gap, that none really exists suggests not many people are prepared to pay for uneditorialised factual reporting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smithster Posted August 2, 2011 Author Share Posted August 2, 2011 What's alarming about that? You'd have to have the intellect of a boiled potato not to realise Fox is mainly pro-Republican propaganda just like you'd not be the brightest bulb in the box if you thought the Gaurdian was not just a little big whiny champagne socialist left wing. Some people want a slant on their news, personally i like the bare facts and I make my own mind up, but given that very few if any news outlets do that (including our own publically funded "unbiased" BBC) clearly i must be in a minority. It's a demand led business, if joe sixpack wants his news with spin then the media will deliver spin, if there was a mass market appeal for a totally impartial spin free news then i'm sure someone would have filled that gap, that none really exists suggests not many people are prepared to pay for uneditorialised factual reporting. Well quite. But then, look at their target audience. The problem is that a lot of people do not realise just how much the news they watch / read is presented with a political bias. Just look at the amount of posts on this forum where people are 'outraged' by some anti-immigrant story they read in the Daily Mail, only for it to be exposed as a non-story or a one-off exception to the norm. Somebody I know recounted to me how a local Lib Dem councillor used to come into his shop and buy the Mail on a regular basis. Eventually he commented to her that he was surprised she would read such a right-leaning paper, given her own political loyalties, and her reply was "Is it? I hadn't noticed". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harleyman Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 I agree to some extent, but to my mind it is extremely alarming that Fox News promotes itself as being fair and balanced, when in reality it is anything but.[/b Obviously in an ideal world all news reporting would be completely impartial and free from any kind of political bias, but then, I guess, how would the news channels decide which stories are newsworthy and which ones aren't? I wouldn't worry about claims of being fair and balanced. It's obvious that they're not. No harm in claiming it any more that claiming Daz washes brighter than Persil. There are no TV and radio media news sources that are fair and balanced anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andygardener Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Well quite. But then, look at their target audience. The problem is that a lot of people do not realise just how much the news they watch / read is presented with a political bias. Just look at the amount of posts on this forum where people are 'outraged' by some anti-immigrant story they read in the Daily Mail, only for it to be exposed as a non-story or a one-off exception to the norm. Somebody I know recounted to me how a local Lib Dem councillor used to come into his shop and buy the Mail on a regular basis. Eventually he commented to her that he was surprised she would read such a right-leaning paper, given her own political loyalties, and her reply was "Is it? I hadn't noticed". Surely then the issue is not with the media but there are lots of not very bright people around? Fox/daily mails take on anything vaguely to do with islam has been replicated exactly by the left wing press/tv in the wake of the norwegian massacre to label anyone to the right of fidel castro as basically an appologist for mass murder - and some of their readers have lapped it up. In the world of the internet and the mass availablity of primary sources if you are prepared to so a quick google search there is no excuse for relying on the media for information about any subject which sufficiently interests you to "have an opinion on". Many Guardianistas and Sun readers will continue to be told what they think by their respective papers, because they want to be told what to think, commercially that clearly works (well ok not for the guardian, but they have all the none-job adverts to keep them afloat) and telling people they actually need to think for themselves does not actually seem to be a business model that has been sucessfully used anywhere, so that would suggest a lack of demand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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