Today was an incredibly challenging day, as all the things I need to do my job ended up failing... internet... fax... voicemail... pudding... everything... it was disastrous.
Especially the pudding. I took a tub of my beloved Snack-Pack Chocolate for my traditional afternoon treat only to find that it wasn't sealed properly. So my pudding was all dried out and totally un-pudding-like. I thought about stabbing it with a pencil and licking it like a Tootsie-Pop to get my fix, but I didn't want to get some kind of stale-pudding-related-disease, so I reluctantly threw it out.
Ultimate Snack-Pack FAIL!
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.
There's a lot of FAIL! going around now-a-days.
With every passing day, I detest FOX News more and more. It's not because their "news" is so heavily biased and filled with exaggeration and lies... it seems like all mainstream media "news" today is tainted in one way or another. It's because they consistently and constantly claim to be fair and balanced while they're pushing their obvious political agenda... THAT is was pisses me off. But what's even worse is that their viewers actually believe it.
At least once a week here in redneck rural America I either overhear or am drawn into a conversation because of some outlandish shit that FOX News has unleashed. This past weekend, it was the outrage over possibilities of terrorist funds being used to build the Islamic community center and mosque planned two blocks away from Ground Zero on private property. Maybe it's true. If it is true, I don't like the idea of terrorist money infiltrating American lives any more than anybody at FOX News does... but the heavy bias at FOX leaves a lasting impression that this is typical of Islamic endeavors and all Muslims are secret terrorists, which is total bullshit, of course.
So imagine my non-shock when I watched The Daily Show last night, only to learn that FOX News itself has been funded by THE SAME SOURCE they're so pissed off about with the "not-so-Ground-Zero-mosque"...I'd hold my breath waiting for FOX News to get all "fair and balanced" and explode with outrage that FOX News has terrorist ties, but I don't fancy the idea of suffocating to death.
The Daily Show's inescapable conclusion that FOX News is either EVIL or STUPID seems solid.
I am embracing the very real possibility that they're both.
I don't care if people watch FOX News. If that's where they choose to get their "news" because it best aligns with their needs, more power to them. I just wish more of the people devoted to the station would question what they learn there rather than accept everything as the "fair and balanced" reporting they're being sold. Like ANY news source, nothing should be taken as gospel.
Especially when the people providing the information which shapes your viewpoint are evil and/or stupid.
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Not long ago I cranked out a report that provided the correct sums despite the fact the colums added up to something different (that is, the answer should have been 20, for example, and my report showed it… but if you were to add the column of numbers visually, they came to something decidedly not 20).
Upon looking it over, one of my coworkers mentioned the columns didn’t total the sum. I automatically said, “Like Fox News,” referring to two recent pie charts that added to more than 100% in order, I’m guessing, to make Fox’s point seem stronger. My coworker looked up and said, “I like Fox News.” And then I remembered just how few non-Republicans I worked with. (I decided not to mention Fox mixing video clips to show larger turn-outs for events they were involved with. Or how one of their employees was filmed pumping up the audience of a rally that supported their narrative.)
Though FOX News is definitely more blatant about adding bias (or even outright lies) to the “news” to support their position, I honestly don’t think the practice is unique to them. All major news organizations are in place to make money. When money is ultimately your goal, bias and manipulation is part of the package. The reason FOX is so hellbent on keeping people afraid and angry at any price (including tossing “journalistic integrity” out the window) is because it makes them money.
Ultimately, this is disappointing, but expected. So long as people realize it and don’t take everything as gospel, I think we’d be okay. Unfortunately they don’t, so we aren’t “okay” by a long shot.
I saw that show, and meant to share it – thanks for the reminder!
I hate FOX news.
Hope you get some puddin’ love today. (Did that sound super bad?!)
I made double-sure that today’s pudding treat is fully sealed! 🙂
They really do cram that “fair and balanced” bullshit down the viewer’s throats. I think it’s a form of mass hypnosis. If they repeat it enough, then the viewer might start to believe it. My aunt and my sister-in-law both watch FOX because “it’s the only place that tells the truth when it comes to the news”
Dey been hip-mo-tized!
They, and half the country, unfortunately. 🙁
Evil and stupid. That about sums it up.
I think the days of true hard journalism are behind us. The average American doesn’t want to hear the truth. They want the news to confirm their fears, not dismantle them.
And, sadly, Americans are getting exactly that.
You bleeding liberals wouldn’t know the truth if it sat on your face.
I wouldn’t know, because I am neither liberal nor bleeding, but thanks for that stunning contribution to the conversation!
I *think* I Tweeted that clip yesterday…
And while I agree with the thrust (heh heh) of your post, I feel compelled to point out that a shareholder isn’t technically funding the company. Additionally, companies cannot control who owns their shares. It would be different if he were on their board or something.
I think an argument could even be made that The Daily Show was practicing their own brand of “FOX News” by implying that the relationship means more than it does. And while this *was* the point of the show a few days ago (to highlight the absurdity of weak links), I did not get the feel that it was their intent this time. I’m hesitant to go the next step, but what the heck… Does that make The Daily Show evil for implying shareholder status means funding or stupid for thinking that it does?
(And yes, I do realize that being a large shareholder does entitle one to a larger number of votes on issues, though it is unclear what portion of the shares are voting shares. My understanding is that Rupert Murdoch still retains effective control via his large block of voting shares.)
Wait, did I just defend FOX News? How did that happen? Did they brainwash me? Arrggghhh!!!
Fairly Unbalanced.
Ah, but neither I nor Jon Stewart mentioned anything about there being any control of FOX News by majority stockholders. That WOULD be FOX News-ish, and very tin-foil hat.
This clip was solely about “where the money came from.”
When you buy shares in a company, you’ve funded them. You’ve given them money to do whatever it is they do in exchange for owning a piece of it. Companies only sell shares so that they can get funding they need to operate, otherwise they’d obviously stay a private company. Who wants anybody owning a piece of them if they don’t have to?
So… in my humble opinion, The Daily Show isn’t being evil or stupid for pointing out that FOX News was funded by the very person they claim has links to terrorism and is funding the Islamic center and mosque. That’s just stating a FACT. Rupert Murdoch still having effective control of News Corp. is beside the point, and not the issue at hand.
But still… if you DID want to put on that tin foil hat…
If I were a terrorist, I’d want to destroy my enemy from within. It’s the most effective kind of terrorism there is. Given the damage that FOX News has done to the United States of America with their non-stop efforts to keep people paralyzed with fear and our citizens sharply divided and angry with no quarter for compromise, compassion, or understanding… well, can you think of a better company to put money into if your intent was to destroy the USA? FOX News is the ultimate terrorist weapon! Then you pump money into CNBC to keep the other side sharply divided as well and… viola!… you just sit back and watch your enemy destroy itself!
Holy cow. FOX News was RIGHT, weren’t they? 🙂
I think you’re onto something there!
I still have trouble with shareholder == funding. Unless you’re buying company-issued shares, then the company doesn’t get your money. The best you could say is that by buying shares you are helping to keep the stock price elevated, which possibly helps the company in some unclear ways. Sure, at the core there’s the theory that the primary goal of a publicly traded company is to increase share-holder value, so your helping with that, but you aren’t helping their actual revenue stream.
I’m not sure any of that matters, though.
I get your point. News Corp. can’t control who buys their publicly-traded stock, so maybe implying “direct funding” is not the best approach.
Though I do think it’s unrealistic to think that NONE of the millions of shares Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal owns were company-issued. And the company absolutely increases their value and revenue even if such a massive investment wasn’t company-issued. Either way, the funding available to News Corp. (thus FOX News) increases thanks to Alwaleed Bin Talal (if not entirely directly). And even though the prince does not have a controlling share of News Corporation, as the second-largest shareholder he is going to have some say in the company.
But in all probability, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal’s investment in News Corp. had absolutely nothing to do with FOX or their shenanigans. News Corporation is a terrifyingly-huge company that has investments world-wide, and control of huge amounts of media around the globe. Who wouldn’t want to have a slice of that?
Still… in the end, I think that The Daily Show side-stepped being evil and stupid here. In general terms, I believe what Stewart said in response to what FOX News has been “reporting” is essentially accurate in its depiction of the company.
Unlike “fair and balanced” FOX News, who can’t be counted on for accuracy in ANY depiction. Otherwise, they would have mentioned that Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal FUNDED his friend (and FOX’s role model) George H. Bush’s scholarship at Phillips Academy to the tune of $500,000. Or that he contributed $17 million to victims of the Indian Ocean earthquake. Or any of the other generous donations he gives to charities and funds which help people of all races and religions. Including $20 million to those terrorists at Harvard University. 🙂
The prince is a very, very wealthy man. His money is everywhere both as investments and donations. To single out a single possible connection to an Islamic center and mosque simply because it suits your need to vilify Muslims and keep your viewers angry while completely denying them the bigger picture (which includes an investment in your own company) IS evil and/or stupid. What it isn’t is “fair and balanced.” Whether it can be considered “news” is entirely up for debate. 😀
I agree with all of this.
Does this mean that FOX News is worse than Rush Limbaugh simply by their claim of “fair and balanced”? At least Rush doesn’t hide his bias. Perhaps this wasn’t even in question and the heirarchy was already known and it’s just that FOX is not an individual and therefore doesn’t merit inclusion in your top 100. 🙂
That’s why I get all my news from the internet where everything is absolutely true and accurate.
“Absolutely true and accurate” totally describes my blog, so certainly your logic must be absolutely true and accurate as well! 😀
My husband is a huge fan of Fox News, and he thinks I don’t like it because I watched the documentary Outfoxed. My dislike of that station started long before I ever watched that. I pretty much hate all 24-hour news stations, mostly because of the lack of actual news and too many commentary programs. I really don’t care to watch a program that tells me what some overblown egomaniac thinks of the news. I’d rather that someone just tell me what happened.
I’ll watch the local news, on occasion, but otherwise get all my news from the internet, where I can pick and choose the headlines I read and get it from multiple sources (US and non-US based) to get the complete sources.
And if I had known what a radical conservative my husband was before we got married, things would probably have taken a different path.
The spooky music behind this and the other side (I think perhaps (MSNBC) is that the cloak of plausibility is created by the “premise” of the stories they present.
Most of the hard facts presented by all the news outlets are based on some fact, but what colors the rest is the “premise” and context it is said in. That’s called manipulation, and is the reason I abstain as much as possible.
Then again there’s the internet… and we all know everything there is true! 🙂
The last time I was in Jiffy Lube they had the TV tuned to Fox News. I really wanted to punch myself in the face after sitting through that.
Why not just punch the Jiffy Lube manager in the face and turn the channel? 🙂
I listen to both HLN and FOX on XM every morning in the car after I listen to NPR while getting ready at home; I start with HLN from 730 to 8 and then listen to FOX from 8 til 815 before switching to music for the rest of the drive. I don’t particularly like either one, but someone once told me a military officer is duty bound to keep up with the news.
The problem is that FOX News is not news. It’s propaganda. 🙂
Catching up here… read all of the replies between you and Ren. All points you both made are spot on.
And of course, Jon Stewart nails it again. No wonder why he won an Emmy.