I spoke at a recent town hall forum. The many issues discussed included the Obama administrations attack on Fox News. Later one of the audience members came up to me and sneered Well even you must admit that Fox News is biased in favor of Republicans.
Separate the opinion guys from the news deliverers. Does Fox focus on stuff that the others -- MSNBC CNN ABC NBC CBS -- do not? Yes. Is that stuff more critical of liberals and less critical of conservatives? Yes.
The best gauge is who watches these stations. Fox News Channel as a percentage of viewers includes more self-described libs and indies than CNN or MSNBC includes self-described conservatives and indies. Pew Research Center recently studied the cable channels viewers politics. CNN? Fifty-one percent liberal 23 percent independent and 18 percent conservative. MSNBC? Forty-five percent liberal 27 percent independent and 18 percent conservative. Dont know about the fair part but Foxs audience was the most balanced with 39 percent conservatives 33 percent liberals and 22 percent independents.
I know from my appearances that the audiences differ -- at least as to the e-mail I receive.
When I appear on Fox as I did to promote my latest book Whats Race Got to Do with It I get mostly approving e-mail. When I get one that disagrees the writer points out -- using facts information or analogies -- what in his or her opinion undermines my position. But when I appear on Wolf Blitzers CNN show -- oh man! Hundreds of hostile e-mails accuse me of everything but the Lincoln assassination. Only rarely such as when someone took exception to the books premise -- that white racism no longer poses a potent or even significant factor in America -- does anyone argue intelligently with facts or information. Its snarl attack name-call.
On a recent appearance on Ed Schultzs MSNBC show I opposed Obamacare -- or tried to given the hosts interruptions. The e-mails I received were unprintable.
The White House loathes Fox News. President Obama pointedly excluded Fox while appearing on ABC NBC CBS and CNN. Obamas communications director on CNN complained about Foxs year-old coverage of Obamas campaign. But a Pew Research Center study found that during the last six weeks of the campaign 61 percent of CNNs stories on John McCain were negative compared with 39 percent on Obama. On MSNBC 73 percent of McCain stories were negative while only 14 percent of stories on Obama were negative. But 40 percent of Fox News stories on Obama and 40 percent of those on McCain aired during the final six weeks of the race were negative. So of the three major cable news networks who can legitimately claim to be more fair and balanced?
But lets assume for the sake of argument Fox News slants toward conservatives. On one side stand conservative talk radio Investors Business Daily and some conservative/libertarian publications writers bloggers and yes Fox News. On the other stand The New York Times the Los Angeles Times The Washington Post the San Francisco Chronicle The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and even the news section of The Wall Street Journal as well as the editorial pages of virtually every big-city newspaper. It includes PBS NPR NBC ABC CBS CNN and MSNBC. In the 1992 presidential election for example almost 90 percent of Washington-based journalists admitted to voting for Bill Clinton for president.
But because Fox News is allegedly biased in favor of conservatives critics whine like children whose lunch money got snatched. Conservatives have been pummeled for decades. Now that Fox News and conservative talk radio give people alternatives critics squeal as if being sodomized.
Is Fox skeptical about the bailout and Cash for Clunkers or more likely to blame government rather than greed for the housing meltdown? Yes. Does Fox appear to focus more on Obamas dithering over his top Afghanistan commanders request for the troops the general thinks necessary to succeed? Yes. The better question is why arent the others doing the same thing? The double standards and pro-liberal negligence are mind-boggling. If media malpractice were a crime many reporters would be on death row.
When the Obama administration claimed 640000 jobs were saved or created with $159 billion of the stimulus many news outlets blithely reported this. Do you know that comes to $250000 per job?!!! And the administration claimed half the jobs were teachers. How many teachers make $250000 per year? Very little skepticism. Why didnt journalists immediately challenge this as a matter of who what where when and why? If George W. Bush had done this (God forbid hed have supported an $800 billion stimulus package) the mainstream media would have -- and should have -- said Why that comes to $250K per job!!!!!
But as to Fox News its BMW -- bitch moan and whine. Oh the humanity!
Larry Elder is a syndicated radio talk show host and best-selling author. His latest book Whats Race Got to Do with It? is available now.
I spoke at a recent town hall forum. The many issues discussed included the Obama administrations attack on Fox News. Later one of the audience members came up to me and sneered Well even you must admit that Fox News is biased in favor of Republicans.
Separate the opinion guys from the news deliverers. Does Fox focus on stuff that the others -- MSNBC CNN ABC NBC CBS -- do not? Yes. Is that stuff more critical of liberals and less critical of conservatives? Yes.
The best gauge is who watches these stations. Fox News Channel as a percentage of viewers includes more self-described libs and indies than CNN or MSNBC includes self-described conservatives and indies. Pew Research Center recently studied the cable channels viewers politics. CNN? Fifty-one percent liberal 23 percent independent and 18 percent conservative. MSNBC? Forty-five percent liberal 27 percent independent and 18 percent conservative. Dont know about the fair part but Foxs audience was the most balanced with 39 percent conservatives 33 percent liberals and 22 percent independents.
I know from my appearances that the audiences differ -- at least as to the e-mail I receive.
When I appear on Fox as I did to promote my latest book Whats Race Got to Do with It I get mostly approving e-mail. When I get one that disagrees the writer points out -- using facts information or analogies -- what in his or her opinion undermines my position. But when I appear on Wolf Blitzers CNN show -- oh man! Hundreds of hostile e-mails accuse me of everything but the Lincoln assassination. Only rarely such as when someone took exception to the books premise -- that white racism no longer poses a potent or even significant factor in America -- does anyone argue intelligently with facts or information. Its snarl attack name-call.
On a recent appearance on Ed Schultzs MSNBC show I opposed Obamacare -- or tried to given the hosts interruptions. The e-mails I received were unprintable.
The White House loathes Fox News. President Obama pointedly excluded Fox while appearing on ABC NBC CBS and CNN. Obamas communications director on CNN complained about Foxs year-old coverage of Obamas campaign. But a Pew Research Center study found that during the last six weeks of the campaign 61 percent of CNNs stories on John McCain were negative compared with 39 percent on Obama. On MSNBC 73 percent of McCain stories were negative while only 14 percent of stories on Obama were negative. But 40 percent of Fox News stories on Obama and 40 percent of those on McCain aired during the final six weeks of the race were negative. So of the three major cable news networks who can legitimately claim to be more fair and balanced?
But lets assume for the sake of argument Fox News slants toward conservatives. On one side stand conservative talk radio Investors Business Daily and some conservative/libertarian publications writers bloggers and yes Fox News. On the other stand The New York Times the Los Angeles Times The Washington Post the San Francisco Chronicle The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and even the news section of The Wall Street Journal as well as the editorial pages of virtually every big-city newspaper. It includes PBS NPR NBC ABC CBS CNN and MSNBC. In the 1992 presidential election for example almost 90 percent of Washington-based journalists admitted to voting for Bill Clinton for president.
But because Fox News is allegedly biased in favor of conservatives critics whine like children whose lunch money got snatched. Conservatives have been pummeled for decades. Now that Fox News and conservative talk radio give people alternatives critics squeal as if being sodomized.
Is Fox skeptical about the bailout and Cash for Clunkers or more likely to blame government rather than greed for the housing meltdown? Yes. Does Fox appear to focus more on Obamas dithering over his top Afghanistan commanders request for the troops the general thinks necessary to succeed? Yes. The better question is why arent the others doing the same thing? The double standards and pro-liberal negligence are mind-boggling. If media malpractice were a crime many reporters would be on death row.
When the Obama administration claimed 640000 jobs were saved or created with $159 billion of the stimulus many news outlets blithely reported this. Do you know that comes to $250000 per job?!!! And the administration claimed half the jobs were teachers. How many teachers make $250000 per year? Very little skepticism. Why didnt journalists immediately challenge this as a matter of who what where when and why? If George W. Bush had done this (God forbid hed have supported an $800 billion stimulus package) the mainstream media would have -- and should have -- said Why that comes to $250K per job!!!!!
But as to Fox News its BMW -- bitch moan and whine. Oh the humanity!
Larry Elder is a syndicated radio talk show host and best-selling author. His latest book Whats Race Got to Do with It? is available now.
