Isn’t Fox supposedly the “Fair and Balanced” network, the one that claims, “We Report, YOU Decide?” Of course, in reality this is the network that is mostly right-wing propaganda, even more so after the departure of one of the network’s few bright spots – Shep Smith, who took the facts with him out the door.
On this same topic, check out Erik Wemple’s excellent article in today’s Washington Post, which correctly explains that “the opinion side of Fox News is eating the place whole,” that this is a network with a “steady and feebly opposed siege of lies, ratings and money against a ‘straight news’ operation whose primary purpose is to give company execs something to point to when the opinion-mongers offend.” So much, in other words, for “Fair and Balanced” coverage. To the contrary, with Fox, They Distort and We Deride. And hopefully don’t watch.
Unfortunately, Fox’s brand of claiming to be “Fair and Balanced,” while in reality being wildly biased in the rightward direction, isn’t confined to the national level. As the following story by Fox 5 Washington DC – “The station is owned by the Fox Television Stations subsidiary of Fox Corporation” – demonstrates, it’s very much alive and kicking at the local level too. In this case, check out Fox 5’s story on Fairfax County Public School’s possible renaming of Robert E. Lee High School.
Wherever you stand on this issue – and I’m strongly on the side of ditching Confederate names – a story like this should, at the minimum, have voices from supporters and opponents if you really want to be “Fair and Balanced.” But…nope. Instead, Fox 5 gives us:
- Interviews with three Fairfax Republican school board candidates – challengers Steven Mosley and Anastasia Karloutsos, plus incumbent Elizabeth Schultz – and ZERO Democrats. Certainly not “Fair and Balanced” there.
- No identification of Schultz, Mosley and Karloutsos as Republicans, or even – in the cases of the latter two – as candidates for School Board! In Karloutsos’ case, instead all we get is her identification as “Anastasia – McLean Resident,” and neither her last name or anything about the fact that she’s the Republican-endorsed School Board candidate in Dranesville district. In Mosley’s case, we get his full name but not the fact that he’s the Republican-endorsed School Board candidate from Mt. Vernon district. Why on earth is Fox 5 doing this? I mean, even from the Republican candidates’ perspective, you’d think that they would *want* to be identified as candidates. But regardless, isn’t this like Journalism 101, to accurately identify the people you’re interviewing so that viewers are aware? Apparently, Fox 5 flunked Journalism 101.
- In Schultz’s case, Fox 5 *does* identify her as an “FCPS Board Member,” but doesn’t note that she’s a Republican, let alone a far-right Republican who unleashes unhinged tirades like this one.
- No opportunities for the Democrats running in Dranesville, Mt. Vernon and Springfield districts to have equal time, or ANY time for that matter.
- Finally, news that the School Board publicly made a decision is not “exclusive” to Fox 5, despite claims to the contrary.
So…yeah, it seems like the rot from the top of Fox “News” has trickled down to the local level, as evidenced by this Unfair and Unbalanced story about the Fairfax County Public Schools.
P.S. On 11/5, make sure you vote Democratic up and down the ballot in Fairfax County – here’s a list of candidates.
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