Health Care & the Fox News Incentive
-
I'm pretty sure Jon Stewart had the same spot-on take the other night. Why is it always the brainwashes ALWAYS think everyone else is brainwashed?
Conservative Idol: Health Care & the Fox News Incentive
UPDATE: Not surprisingly, just as I was writing this post, Fox News did a "breaking news" segment that showed a crazed protestor screaming at Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter (D). Here's the screen shot from Fox's website. I'm sure the protestor will soon be an "exclusive guest" on a Fox News program. As I said, this is not merely a right-leaning news outlet - it is a partisan propaganda machine.
To understand how Fox News crosses the line from right-leaning news outlet into partisan propaganda machine (and there is a difference between the two), look no further than exactly how the network is driving (or at least trying to drive) the health care debate via the congressional town hall meetings.
As a PR tactic, Fox's three-tiered formula is absolutely ingenious:
1. First, Fox has given a huge amount of airtime to covering the lobbyist-organized protests at the town hall meetings, without, of course, mentioning that many of the protests are organized by lobbyists. Mind you, we know this interest in protest and "democracy" is completely politically motivated because we know it is completely new -- it's not some ongoing Fox News principle. This is the same network that regularly pilloried anti-war protests during the Bush administration, and gave them almost no coverage, much less positive, whatsoever. So it's safe to assume that Fox is only now interested in protest and democracy because it might hurt President Obama, Democrats and the progressive agenda.
2. Whenever one member of the protesters in the Khaki Pants Offensive makes an especially circus-like scene, Fox then has that particular protester on for an interview -- all under the pretense that the protester has made him/herself "news." In the last two days alone, I've seen Fox aggressively promote "exclusive" interviews with screaming protesters from Rep. John Dingell's (D-MI) and Rep. David Scott's (D-GA) town meetings. Fox dutifully promotes these people as persecuted martyrs, and their actual claims about health care are barely -- if ever -- explored for their veracity (or lack thereof).
3. Finally, after helping create the media image of mass protests, Fox has manufactured a reason to continue covering the supposed mass protests. And the cycle starts over.
What this does is create a vicious cycle whereby the small group of conservative activists who are terrorizing these town halls have an incentive to be more and more aggressive. They know that if they can go further than the last supposed martyr, they might get their mug on Fox News. In that way, it's a little like American Idol - only it's Conservative Idol. And so from protesters trying to shut down town hall meetings with screaming we get protesters shoving matches and then protesters arming themselves and then protestors making death threats. This is the Fox News Incentive System at work.
Let's be clear: I have absolutely no problem with conservative protesters -- even those organized by corporate lobbyists -- expressing their strong opposition to health care reform. While I happen to think most of these people are motivated from raw selfishness, and while polls show these people represent a tiny minority of Americans, I sincerely believe they have every right to make their voice heard. Indeed, my personal email signature is a Teddy Roosevelt quote which says, "To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
However, just because you have a right to speak, doesn't mean you have a right to block/intimidate others from speaking or a right to shut down town hall meetings. That's what the Me-First, Screw-Everyone-Else Crowd is trying to do in starting its World War Z. And the Fox News Incentive System is rewarding them for it.
via here.
-
It boils down to the basic business principle of supply and demand. Most other left-wing mainstream networks carried footage of the anti-war, anti-Bush, etc. protests. Fox would be one of many networks running the same thing. Unless their is an absolutley huge demand for news of it (ex. Micheal Jackson) it wouldn't be ideal to run the same thing everyone else is running. They focused on different topics (ex. : The war itself or Bush's policies, etc.) and kept their ratings up.
Fox is the only network running that much indepth coverage of the protest and its helping their ratings an awful lot. If one or two other stations would follow Fox's footsteps that would likely see a rating boost. If every network followed in Fox's footsteps than all networks would start to lose ratings.
There isn't any conspiracy here. Just a news network using basic business principles to keep good ratings.
-
People want to see the news that isn't filtered by the OBama admin or lefties in Congress:
Ratings
Friday Aug 14, 2009
The Scoreboard: Thursday, August 13
25-54 demographic: (L +SD)
Total day: FNC: 475 | CNN: 166 | MSNBC: 147 | HLN: 119
Prime: FNC: 834 | CNN: 235 | MSNBC: 281 | HLN: 153
5p: 6p: 7p: 8p: 9p: 10p: 11p:
FNC Beck: Baier: Shep: O'Reilly: Hannity: Greta: O'Reilly:
662 502 542 960 821 719 627
CNN Blitzer: Blitzer: Dobbs: Brown: Amanpour: Amanpour: Cooper:
157 166 159 235 235 235 169
MSNBC Matthews: EdShow: Matthews: Olbermann: Maddow: Olbermann: Maddow:
108 157 139 318 284 241 184
HLN Prime: Prime: Issues: Grace: Issues: Grace: Showbiz:
185 131 130 213 128 133 114
Data by Nielsen Media Research. Live and same day (DVR) data.
continued...
Thursday Aug 13, 2009
The Scoreboard: Wednesday, August 12
25-54 demographic: (L +SD)
Total day: FNC: 471 | CNN: 162 | MSNBC: 142 | HLN: 118
Prime: FNC: 895 | CNN: 232 | MSNBC: 334 | HLN: 193
5p: 6p: 7p: 8p: 9p: 10p: 11p:
FNC Beck: Baier: Shep: O'Reilly: Hannity: Greta: O'Reilly:
734 459 513 1080 807 790 727
CNN Blitzer: Blitzer: Dobbs: Brown: King: Cooper: Cooper:
99 161 220 182 286 229 149
MSNBC Matthews: EdShow: Matthews: Olbermann: Maddow: Olbermann: Maddow:
120 100 151 405 333 264 181
HLN Prime: Prime: Issues: Grace: Issues: Grace: Showbiz:
66 40 120 282 122 192 149
-
Yeah, more people trust to hear the news without the pro liberal slant.
But, to be fair and balanced,
Shep holds his own pretty well:
"FNC Beck: Baier: Shep: O'Reilly: Hannity: Greta: O'Reilly:
662 502 542 960 821 719 627"
-
And just to underscore the unbiased report there's a Jon Stewart ref!
Well done.
And all this after 8 years of "How dare you question my patriotism!!!???"
WSS
-
YES WE CAN be leftist hypocrites
YES WE CAN pretend we have the right to have gov power run your entire life
YES WE CAN try to "fix" the "living document" to allow Chavez, er... Obama to stay in office...
YES WE CAN have our union thugs beat the hell out of you if you get in the way
YES WE CAN diss your right to own arms and your free speech
YES WE CAN take your money one way or another, like man made everything he does global warming
YES WE CAN fund a gov health care insurance if we take all of your money, if you have any
-
And how many others slant LEFT and you all don't give crapola?
Funny that none of you admit it....
I see both sides of the story on Fox. Lefties talk plenty on Fox.
I watched "Meet the Press", and Tom DASCHLE sp? was rarely interrupted, but
the Rep Congressman? He could hardly finish a sentence.
Oh, gee, ya never notice the other channels? You always watch Fox News?
Ever WONDER WHY ? (ROF,L)
-
Dan, you are launching a personal attack from a comedian's monologue on
a comedy website?
Can't you just take subjects seriously with some serious content to back up your assertions?
If you can't, TRY to think about why that keeps happening.
-
And how many others slant LEFT and you all don't give crapola?
Funny that none of you admit it....
I see both sides of the story on Fox. Lefties talk plenty on Fox.
I watched "Meet the Press", and Tom DASCHLE sp? was rarely interrupted, but
the Rep Congressman? He could hardly finish a sentence.
Oh, gee, ya never notice the other channels? You always watch Fox News?
Ever WONDER WHY ? (ROF,L)
And how many others slant LEFT and you all don't give crapola?
Funny that none of you admit it....
cal...its no scret faux slant right, everyone else left. this fair and balanced charade is pretty funny though.....even funnier that you believe it.
good god youre a mental midget, or the alzheimer's has already ruined you. either way....
-
@danamal said:
Fox News is no more slanted than any of the news sources we have the difference between Fox and the others is that conservatives like to proclaim that Fox is the only news outlet that doesnt have some form of liberal bias.Hey they pay this duche bag
and he is as Liberal as you are.
-
good god youre a mental midget, or the alzheimer's has already ruined you. either way.... Chocfullofniconpoopnuts
*******************************************************
See the post directly ahead of my posts. See who wrote them. Never mind, it was Dan.
I was talking to Dan. My posts you copied, with what you posted,
Don't have anything to do with each other.
I.....was......posting.....to Dan.
I DID say "you all", which seems to me to be generally true about the LIBS on the board. I know what you SAID, but most of the time it's "Fox is biased haha"
around here with libs.
BTW, Chocofullofcrap, "you all" means all the libs on the board, for the most part. Not just you.
Idiot.
-
good god youre a mental midget, or the alzheimer's has already ruined you. either way.... Chocfullofniconpoopnuts
*******************************************************
See the post directly ahead of my posts. See who wrote them. Never mind, it was Dan.
I was talking to Dan. My posts you copied, with what you posted,
Don't have anything to do with each other.
I.....was......posting.....to Dan.
I DID say "you all", which seems to me to be generally true about the LIBS on the board. I know what you SAID, but most of the time it's "Fox is biased haha"
around here with libs.
BTW, Chocofullofcrap, "you all" means all the libs on the board, for the most part. Not just you.
Idiot.
-
I know I'm tired, been planting hay in the high eighties, working hard, staying up late,
we've been having great success at farmers' markets, etc...
but has K ever added anything intelligent or at least serious to any converstation?
I think he's locked into one liners and little picture jokes.
But, hey, libs want "serious conversation".
As long as they can control what's being said.
Say, that sounds like Obama !
-
good god youre a mental midget, or the alzheimer's has already ruined you. either way.... Chocfullofniconpoopnuts
*******************************************************
See the post directly ahead of my posts. See who wrote them. Never mind, it was Dan.
I was talking to Dan. My posts you copied, with what you posted,
Don't have anything to do with each other.
I.....was......posting.....to Dan.
I DID say "you all", which seems to me to be generally true about the LIBS on the board. I know what you SAID, but most of the time it's "Fox is biased haha"
around here with libs.
BTW, Chocofullofcrap, "you all" means all the libs on the board, for the most part. Not just you.
Idiot.
I.....was......posting.....to Dan.
you mean the post i quoted....that was posted before danamal made his post?
oh, im the idiot. least i can remeber more than 15 minutes in the past.
thought i'd throw in an edit so you understand whats going on here cal...
post #7.....i said all news has a slant
post #8.....you asked how many others and said no one admits it.
post #9....DAN's FISRT POST IN THE THREAD....
time to get out the grinder and fix those cataracts.
-
Nice. Dan's post was deleted.
Say, that's pretty good. But I am tired,
and I was talking about libs. And you
really do suck anyways. GGG
-
Choco translation:
"You're a fool, and you fooled me, so what I am I? Wait, that isn't what I mean, dammit...son of a...."
-
Choco translation:
"Cal, I hate you because you think I wear little pink jammies and have
choco pufflies in my sippie cup for breakfast, and that I want to be
a ballerina when I grow up"
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better 💗
Register Login