Or how about the Minuteman Project in Arizona where Americans fed up with the seeming impotence of their government are volunteering to help protect its borders in April? Yet another cutting-edge story Fox News doesn’t seem to be aware of.
And as if we needed any more trash-obsessed “news” coverage in the media, Fox devotes an entire hour each day to the subject. “On the Record” host Greta Van Susteren delivers juicy tidbits from the trials of Michael Jackson, Robert Blake (and formerly Scott Peterson) in all seriousness. Although this stuff apparently has an audience, nothing makes me change the channel faster than the sight of Susan Estrich, Gloria Allred, and a succession of showbiz lawyers and commentators expounding – as if their lives depended on it – on the latest developments in the Kobe Bryant case.
The War on Terror is, unfortunately, another area where Fox News largely presents the same old spin. Faced with the multi-faceted conflict in which we’ve found ourselves embroiled since 9/11, Americans would benefit greatly from terrorism coverage that provided a coherent picture. But Fox for the most part provides the kind of unfocused coverage found elsewhere in the MSM. Fox also repeats many of the mainstream media’s misconceptions of the War on Terror or do little to disprove them, thereby giving fuel to the ravings of the “antiwar” crowd.
The current rehashing of the Middle East “peace process” pantomime is another example of a missed opportunity on the part of Fox News. Anyone with an ounce of sense knows by now that there is no serious peace partner on the Palestinian side of the fence. The Palestinians’ repeatedly stated goal is to wipe out the state of Israel and replace it with an Islamic state. Yet the media pretend otherwise, with Fox News simply promulgating the same charade.
Rather than intone the usual hollow phrase “cycle of violence,” Fox could be standing out from the pack and telling it like it is.
Despite the welcome presence of Ann Coulter, Michele Malkin, and occasionally Rich Lowry, a plethora of conservative intellectuals languish in obscurity while loudmouths like Bill O’Reilly dominate the scene at Fox. O’Reilly seems to pride himself on being a contrarian, but his “independence” rubbed conservative viewers the wrong way when he jumped on the “let’s discredit the Swift Boat Veterans” bandwagon last year. The honeymoon has been over ever since. He also has a propensity for stories about scantily clad teenagers and the latest spring break sorority girl scandal, which are getting a bit tiresome for female viewers. Under the guise of disapproval, viewers are treated to endless footage of the objectionable behavior at issue.
Sean Hannity, while well meaning, spends way too much time trying to induce guilt in amoral liberal guests, and even he has to be “balanced” with his liberal partner, the tepid Alan Colmes.
Such hosts, when they’re not hawking their wares, are blowing it on interviews with easy targets such as Michael Moore. Instead of skewering them with facts, their egos only permit them to puff up their chests in indignation. Meanwhile, brilliant minds such as Thomas Sowell and Victor Davis Hanson are nowhere to be found.
Former Reagan speechwriter Peter Robinson’s “Uncommon Knowledge” is one of the few television shows where viewers can hear such intellectuals engage in stimulating political discussion, and it’s hosted by none other than the notoriously liberal PBS. When PBS is ahead of the political curve, it’s time for Fox News to take note.
While the house of cards known as the mainstream media has come crashing down in recent years, most notably in the fall of Dan Rather and CBS, many Americans still look to the media to help them navigate the world. Increasingly, they’re turning off their televisions and turning on their computers to get that guidance. Rejecting the narrative of the MSM, Americans are cutting through the obfuscation and getting to the truth via the Internet. Websites and blogs are the new founts of knowledge, while television news is becoming increasingly irrelevant.