Is Howell Raines Right About Fox News? Some Say Yes
March 15, 2010 2:21 pm ET by Joe Strupp
Is Howell Raines right about Fox News?
The former executive editor of The New York Times penned a column Sunday for The Washington Post in which he criticized the News Corp. channel for biased reporting, and also took a swipe at other news outlets for allowing Fox's efforts to go unnoticed.
"Through clever use of the Fox News Channel and its cadre of raucous commentators, [Roger] Ailes has overturned standards of fairness and objectivity that have guided American print and broadcast journalists since World War II. Yet, many members of my profession seem to stand by in silence as Ailes tears up the rulebook that served this country well as we covered the major stories of the past three generations, from the civil rights revolution to Watergate to the Wall Street scandals," Raines writes. "This is not a liberal-versus-conservative issue. It is a matter of Fox turning reality on its head with, among other tactics, its endless repetition of its uber-lie: 'The American people do not want health-care reform.'"
Does Raines have a point? Maybe.
We asked a handful of television critics and journalism observers what they thought of Raines' argument. The answers might surprise you.
"I think he's mostly right," said Bill Mitchell, a top instructor at The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., one of the prominent media studies organizations in the nation. "I think a lot of liberals in the media cut Fox too much slack. Howell is right to call Fox out for its agenda just as Fox is right to call others out on theirs."
He adds, "Howell clearly has a point. Fox is more to the right than other media is to the left. It is important to stand up for independent journalistic principles."
Eric Deggans, a prominent media critic with the St. Petersburg Times, agreed. He said many writers, including himself, have noted its political stance.
"I think Howell makes a lot of great points in that piece and we should be looking at what Fox does more," Deggans said. "I have often written that Fox News is a right-leaning cable news channel. That they tend to take a political position in much of what they do."
Fox News officials did not respond to a request for comment.
Phil Rosenthal, a top media critic at the Chicago Tribune, says some people overestimate Fox's influence, while he adds that their political leaning is known: "The channel itself has marked itself with an identity giving it a point of view. I am not sure Fox News cares. I don't think it's that big of an audience."
William Marimow, editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer and former editor of The Baltimore Sun, said he does not watch Fox much. But he said more scrutiny is always better. "A healthy scrutiny is good for all media," he said. "I don't think Fox should be singled out, but they should all be critiqued."
and media is a cannibal which feeds upon itself.
Journalism has become Myth, that which was in another
America. Murrow, Cronkite, Severeid--today it is just jargon,
time filled to sell soap, something to keep the shills in their seats.
Even if the great ones had not passed they could not have stemmed the madness. In the long run, it may be a good thing, in the sense that it forces us to take sides, or at least sigh in disbelief--
Remember McLuhan? The medium is the message, not the content,
the news is not exempt from Andy's 15 seconds of fame.
The corporation, as has been recently proven, is devoid of a moral framework--efficiency is the first commandment. It may behoove us to redefine just who Big Brother is these days.
Can I answer by saying "Hell yeah"?!
He also asks if Raines has a point. To which I say ....."Hello"!
Not trying to be fresh here, but the people commenting on these questions seem a tad tepid, if not downright timid in their responses. To any lay person who 1. gives a damn about whether or not we have a free media in this country, I'd say some anger (and frankly a bit more knowledge on these people's part), would at least help me and my pysche, if only for a bit of righteous commiseration.
And 2. How can they exhibit such seeming nonchalance when their very livlihood and the livlihood of professional journalism is at stake?
Those are the questons that I have for the media folk. Any chance they can answer those? Oh, and when did they have their collective backbone removed?
Can anyone perceive that I'm a tad ticked? ;-)
You could go down the list of the propagandists they employ.
-Huckabee - Great musicians on your show Mike, I especially loved the "Drill here, Drill Now" nonsense that one band played during that episode in which you exploited two young african americans to fit your anti-Acord agenda. Fantastic! Let the audience clap and cheer in sheepish joy!
-Hannity - Can this guy be a more blatant racist? If you ever come across the unbearable white nationalist forums, you'll see that they're stances are no different then Sean's. Again, another drone who clearly has his viewpoint of this world in tact before he even says anything.
-O'Reilly - It's funny, when you watch his show, you sometimes think, "oh hey, Bill's actually berating a conservative". But the reality is, he's just shooting some talking point in order to get the more "educated" rebuttel from his conservative guest. Albeit there's probably a democratic strategist, how often do they get any airtime? Besides, notice the different between fox news liberals and conservatives. They seem to like the Bob Beckell and Alan Colmes looking types, not to say anything is wrong with either of those gentleman, but the public perception will be in line with thinking of them as goofy looking, where as the conservative's are usually attractive blonde women or their savior Scott Brown-esque nude model types. Again, brainwashing the viewer to liken their agenda.
-Cavuto - Again, another guy who spews right wing propaganda in order to further push the networks (and ultimately the GOP's) agenda. Brainwashing at it's finest and lowest at that. Tell the viewers a couple things enough, and they'll begin to believe it. Didn't seem like he had any quarrels with the fawning Saudi Prince interview he gave. Am I the only one who see's something very dangerous about that entire situation?
-Van Susteran - I thought she was a Fox News "Liberal"? According to Murdoch, maybe during the Clinton era, but she's as far right as they come. I guess Fox refers to her as their "Health Care Cancer", in so many words, because her agenda is clear, push anti-healh care reform, make it look as bad as possible, and make sure the public understands that as clearly as possible. Actually, it doesn't even have to be clear, just throw in the words "Terrorist", "Arab", "Muslim", "Taxes", "Birth Certificate", etc. and you'll surely get a rile out of your audience.
-Glenn Beck - I don't even know where to begin with Glenn. As a matter of fact, nothing need be said, he proves our points right daily.
-Fox and Friends gang - Watching Gretchen Carlson and Steve Doocy berate Dems and Progressivism in an attempt to further their Christian belief system is sickening. Again, the robots who watch this stuff religiously (no pun intended) truly believe the crap that they say. I mean, how can you not believe three upstanding Christians who look clean cut, and couldn't tell a lie if it hit them in the face...or so they make them think. If I see one more persecuted Christian on their show, I'm going to persecute myself from even surfing through that network again.
Ultimately, the agenda they have pushed is that of fear. Fear our President, for he a Muslim Terrorist lover who isn't even a US citizen! He wants to take away all your liberties, tax you to death, unionize the US with Mexico and Canada, squash the value of the dollar, create a new currency, and ultimately throw you in a FEMA concentration camp to rot! Oh, and he will repeal the two term law and become Dictator Hussein, the almighty emperor of the American Union! Honestly, this is basically what they are getting at, and it's SCARY! It's scary because it's NOT TRUE and the fact that they push an agenda to make people believe it's true is far past propaganda, it's to the point where 1984 doesn't seem to unrealistic, except you could change the channel. Kudos to MMFA for reporting this daily, and giving light to those who are stuck in a cave. It's refreshing to know that there are watch dogs out there who see these things and understand that until we can make real change, the partisan hacks will always try to segregate us in an attempt to push forth their own agenda's and gain power, whether it benefits the American people or not.
But a former editor of the wildly biased NYT—I read it every day-- expressing outrage over Fox News bias would be funny if so many people, as evidenced in the skewered comments below, didn’t take it seriously.
"Yellow journalism, also known as the "Yellow Press", is a type of journalism that downplays legitimate news in favor of eye-catching headlines that sell more newspapers. Sometimes it deceives the audience it is intended for. It may feature exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering, sensationalism, or unprofessional practices by news media organizations or journalists."
The cancer that spreads from Fox grows in various forms. Put a spotlight on the vermin before he infects everyone. I encourage others to join Media Matters and the respectable journalists who expose dishonesty for the sake of all.
You could just as easily go after the liberal bias of MSNBC, CNN, etc., but they don't get the ratings. Raines is no impartial observer. Shame on the Post.
The way in which U.S. public discourse has been corrupted by the deranged antics and cynical deceptions emanating from FNC is actually quite frightening. It feeds the lunacy that cripples your education system and tears your society apart in the name of individuality.
Turning off FNC makes as much sense as wearing a blindfold to protect yourself from sunburn - you mightn't see it, but the damage is being done!
The 'standards of fairness' the loss of which Raines bemoans are a bunch of crap. They better reflect the USSR's Pravda than a free press. The National Enquirer has proven to be a better news source than the New York Times!
To say that the MSM are 'fair' or 'objective' is so blind as to call into question the ability of the writer to discern reality. Perhaps he's 'off his meds?'
And I'm wondering when the "liberal media" (anybody that's not Fox) will finally call them out for literally LYING to their audience. There are HOURS upon HOURS of video footage to prove it...they air it like it's fact...I just don't understand how falsely representing yourself as the truth is just OK with people. It's basically a channel for lobbyists (aka "experts") to appear to say how bad all Obama policy is for Americans.
I understand a lot of people are feeble-minded, but for even respectful Conservatives to allow Fox to distort and lie about every single policy matter really just makes me lose all respect for Conservatives in general.
Fox acts as if it's not "mainstream" but somehow gets more viewers than anyone else....they definitely stack the deck against Obama, against Democrats, and they flat out lie.
This isn't your Grandpa's Republican party...you know, the guy who worked his whole life at a blue collar job so the rich could get tax breaks. Wait...that's not right...
For this to continue to be legal is just wrong. Regardless of your political affiliation.
I wouldn't be surprised if our next election has a candidate sponsored by Fox news...if Palin is elected President, this country can't be saved...
Now, Mr Beck, what does your weird and wonderful chalkboard make of that?
Yes, they are a conservative news outlet, but they are not FAR to the right in any respect. They make as much attempt at being fair and balanced as the 'other' news organizations.
I watch CNN and MSNBC and find left leaning views, so why is it bad to have an alternative like Fox News? I wouldn't say CNN is FAR left, but they do lean to the left. I watch as long as I can take it, because I like to get a well rounded view of the news.
On the other hand, I sit and yell at O'Reilly because he is mostly just an idiot who likes to hear himself speak over his guests. Beck - I don't necessarily see that he has a view one way or the other. In my opinion, he puts info out there and wants you to decide for yourself. If you can't put your bias for him, as an individual aside, the information is little use to you - and for that, it is your loss. He may not be telling you what you want to hear, but I do believe he is telling the truth. Do I like him? No, I think he is a hypocrite - but then we all are to some degree. I want to know the information he presents, so I ignore his persona and listen to what he has to say - sometimes (I don't watch him regularly).
If you think the 'other' news outlets are not at least as left leaning and Fox leans right - then in my opinion, you are not being honest, or you are so brainwashed that you cannot be objective.
NONE of our news organizations are true journalists anymore. Fox cannot afford to be, and the 'others' seem to want to ride the liberal ship right down to the bottom.