GaryP

Fair and Balanced


Fox News had its own response to the demonstrators. The news ticker rimming Fox's headquarters on Sixth Avenue wasn't carrying war updates as the protest began. Instead, it poked fun at the demonstrators, chiding them.

"War protester auditions here today ... thanks for coming!" read one message. "Who won your right to show up here today?" another questioned. "Protesters or soldiers?"

Said a third: "How do you keep a war protester in suspense? Ignore them."

Still another read: "Attention protesters: the Michael Moore Fan Club meets Thursday at a phone booth at Sixth Avenue and 50th Street" - a reference to the film maker who denounced the war while accepting an Oscar on Sunday night for his documentary "Bowling for Columbine."

http://www.bergenrecord.com/page.php...VFeXk2MzU5NDQy

Ice

Since I'm not in the US, how critical have Fox been of protestors so far (in the lead-up to the war and after)?

elwoodblues

Fox News. Fair. Balanced. Entirely in support of the war.

GaryP

I don't watch Fox all that often. From what I have seen, IMO, they are the least balanced network of all.

However, I think all the major cable and broadcast TV media leave much to be desired when it comes to objectivity and balance.

Although, I was watching some CNN today (I think it was their "world" feed) and they actually interviewed a representative of the Syrian govt. and allowed her to respond to Rumsfeld's allegations. And the interviewer actually came across as repectful and did not make any snide comments.

Grumpy

Maybe this deserves a thread of its own, but...

Exactly how many times have soldiers fought direct threats to basic civil liberties? Or, how many times have constitutional rights come under physical attack?

-The American Revolution, clearly, would be one case of shots fired in the cause of liberty.
-Soldiers of the US Army arguably prevented Southern states from exercising liberties (as they saw them).
-There's no telling how far the Third Reich or Japanese Empire might have expanded without American intervention. But did they really have designs on toppling the US government?
-Likewise, I'm not sure if the Soviet Union ever considered bringing Marxism to America at the point of a gun. That they couldn't simply roll tanks up Pennsylvania Avenue is, of course, thanks to the deterrent power of the US military.

Beyond that, I think the notion that we owe our rights to soldiers is vastly overstated. Why, it's almost as though it's a patriotic slogan rather than a sober assessment of history. Or am I stating the obvious?

*****

All that aside, the FOX ticker (assuming this isn't a parody) is using specious arguments. Protesters aren't disrespecting soldiers; they're disagreeing with the policy that put them in harm's way. And Iraq is hardly a threat to basic rights, like the right to protest. There have been demonstrations & marches on every subject for the past 25 years, totally unhindered by Saddam Hussein's despotic rule on the other side of the planet.

sensate

Mr. Cranky says that Fox has gotten so right wing that it is starting to look like a eugenics infomercial.

Psycho Economist

They are too balanced: They'll put on Bob Dornan AND G. Gordon Liddy.

Grad Student Humanist

The last time it could reasonably be argued that the American armed forces fought to defend the freedoms and liberties of this country was in WWII. That was almost sixty years ago.

The Lone Ranger

You might find Zinn's A People's History of the United States interesting. There have been quite a few instances in this country's history when troops were used to suppress civil liberties.

[Note: I'm not anti-military, by the way, just anti-propaganda and anti-mindless sloganeering.]

Cheers,

Michael

Straight Hate

Grumpy: I believe what you state is painfully obvious, but to no fault of your own - 'the masses' seem so oblivious to this that it may as well be a revelation.

Equally silly is the assertion that if it was for the United States we'd all be speaking German right now. Such a statement fails to recognize the abundance of other forces that help shape and destroy an empire (the Soviet Union being an excellent case in point). It's very distressing to hear so many buy into it.