Recently, I criticized Lawrence O’Donnell for proudly proclaiming that MSNBC would not invite Trump defenders on the network because they are liars. O’Donnell’s comment brought a rare joining of voices from across the political spectrum denouncing the knowing bias in such statements. Once again, however, President Donald Trump has supplanted the story with his own equally objectionable statement. On Tuesday, he attacked Fox News for interviewing Democrats like Sen. Chris Van Hollen and declared “this will be the beginning of the end for Fox.” If so, it would mean the end of journalism since Fox News was merely offering both sides of these stories in interviewing one of the senators who will be voting in the upcoming trial.
In a series of Twitter posts, President Trump again attacked Wallace, who has been equally tough on both Trump and his critics. This is earned him the ire of Trump on multiple occasions. Trump has previously insisted that Fox should not allow any criticism of him or his Administration to be heard. In his tweets, he stated:
“Really pathetic how @FoxNews is trying to be so politically correct by loading the airwaves with Democrats like Chris Van Hollen, the no name Senator from Maryland. He has been on forever playing up the Impeachment Hoax. Dems wouldn’t even give Fox their low ratings debates…So, what the hell has happened to @FoxNews. Only I know! Chris Wallace and others should be on Fake News CNN or MSDNC. How’s Shep Smith doing? Watch, this will be the beginning of the end for Fox, just like the other two which are dying in the ratings. Social Media is great!”
These continuing attacks on Fox are deeply disturbing since they are calling on the network to be little more than an extension of the White House and Trump campaign. In other words, it would have to stop being a legitimate journalistic organization. That includes the suggested ban on interviewing Democrats, including senators who were key players in these stories. It is an attack on our concept of independent and balanced journalism.
https://twitchy.com/brettt-3136/2020/01/28/drag-queen-story-hour-moves-to-public-schools-to-teach-first-graders-about-gender-fluidity-and-family-structures/
The Democratic Party gets creepier every day.
I like my news fair and balanced. But it would be interesting to have a network that was totally all right wing conservative. Besides that it would give Fox some competition on that side of the political divide.
Trump TV will be on the way in 2021…..because he has more rubes to fleece.
How A Blog Rumor Became A Fox News Story
The Washington Post has this piece today tracing the journey of a Bolton smear campaign as it traveled from an obscure blog to Fox News.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/anatomy-of-a-smear-how-john-bolton-became-a-target-of-the-pro-trump-internet/2020/01/28/b0d162fc-4150-11ea-b5fc-eefa848cde99_story.html
Hmmmm you assume too much but as it happens Fox has had to take over the empty main stream and then seek a new fair and balanced. Quite difficult when dealing with a far left propaganda machine that seeks to destroy our Constitutional Republic in favor, not of a democracy which they aren’t, but a foreign ideology that is antithetical to Our Constitutional Republic. Making that change has proven difficult but not impossible. The main objection is their penchant for repeating the lead in five or six times in a row disguised as part of the article. No sign of journalism training in the lead in and headline writers past.
Trump has shown that he will turn on a dime of anyone at any time. These Trump republicans who think Trump will save the party and get back on their agenda, are fooling themselves. Trump only cares about Trump. He has turned on FOX before, and it’s only a matter of time before he calls his followers disloyal and turncoats. It’s always someones elses fault with Trump, never his own.
This Column Illustrates How Trump Always Comes Through To Undermine Defenses
This president cannot think outside The Culture Wars. And personal grievances come first. Exactly the type of president who would shake-down a foreign leader in pursuit of personal grievances. Everyone knows this, too. For that reason Trump defenders are terrified of Bolton. They know Bolton will confirm what everyone suspects. Consequently Trump’s defense was leveraged on a rushed acquittal.
You’re ignoring a couple of important facts. Every other network spends virtually all of their time attacking Trump. For years, Fox was the only network that leaned slightly to the right. Despite all of the attacks on Fox during the Obama years (including by Obama himself dozens of times), actual data showed their stories were 52% “right leaning” and 48% “left leaning”. That was when all of the other outlets were around 75-25 in favor of democrats.
Now, in the Trump age, the other cable networks and the “Big 3” tv networks are all Trump hate all the time. Some admit they never plan to offer opinions that don’t fit their clear narrative.
About a year ago, Fox began an obvious effort to move further and further in the direction of the other corrupt networks by hiring and featuring more democrats and covering stories more and more with a noticeable leftwing “bent” or perspective.
Just last night I watched Bret Baier push and push and push a republican senator to defend his opinion that no witnesses should be called in the sham impeachment trial. The unmistakable disapproval in his tone of voice was clear.
None on Fox have abruptly moved towards CNN-level Trump hate more than Chris Wallace, who is often times openly hostile to anyone who defends Trump on his show or when he is on other shows. He is Shepard Smith level when it comes to obvious disdain for Trump and doesn’t pretend to try and hide it.
So for years, the right had ONE network – ONE – that didn’t push an obvious leftwing agenda 24/7/365 and now, more and more, they don’t even have that. So the right has no alternative whatsoever. OAN is just too low budget to watch IMO. So more and more I get news from internet sources only.
Trump is speaking for his supporters who are fed up with having no honest media sources left on television in America. Every single one exists not to report news, but to shape it.
Independent, Fox news caters to an audience that’s older and Whiter than America at large. The Murdoch family knows that audience is aging out. Continued focus on that aging audience is not a sustainable longterm business plan.
i bet ten to one you have white skin. i wonder how guys like you sound so gleeful that your own kind is being demographically downsized into a smaller and smaller legacy population related by blood and ancestry to those who founded America.. personally, it won’t probably hurt me much, I am a survivor, but I take no glee in it.
on and then if we call that a “Replacement” to observe the very same trend it’s a conspiracy theory. go figure!
Kurtz, I am White, of course. So what..?? To quote Bob Dylan, “You dont need a weatherman to know which way the wind is blowing”.
I think beside the word “wooden” in the dictionary is a likeness of Bret Baier holding Al Gore over his head.
You’ve not been keeping up on starboard discussion fora. There’s been a consistent complaint therein that Fox and Salem media have accorded about half the air time and half the pixels to NeverTrumpers who have no public constituency. (These shills are already on the patronage of Bezos, Sulzberger, the Council on Foreign Relations, PBS, and NPR). Also, it’s difficult to locate a Democratic politician who isn’t shameless. See the Kavanaugh imbroglio, and find a prominent Democrat who was willing to call a spade a spade in regard to the conduct of Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Tabby, your comment here lacks any focus. It’s basically a What About disguised as an observation of media practices.
Fox is feeling the peer pressure to be “balanced.” It’d like giving the convicted child molester as much time as the victim to spew his lies. Two sides to every story we’re told. Yeah, sure.
Chris Wallace talks weird. Or wierd. Is that a NY accent?
Generally I like Fox news the best. CNN is baaad.
The problem with right wing/left wing is that humans walk on two legs and do not fly.
But! As dogs say:. Four legs good! Two legs baaad! Fox has four or more news commenters.
So Fox is good!
Prof Turley: Fox News was merely offering both sides of these stories….
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We live in a world where many (maybe most?) people believe there never are 2 sides to any story.
Fox has tried to be Fair and Balanced, unlike the other channels. Fox does have a couple of RINO mouthpieces on their to give some balance, however they just show how dishonest they are as interviewers.