Why we should be grateful we don't have to be subjected to Fox News

There are some things that we in Britain have to be thankful for. We live in an affluent and tolerant society, we can complain jovially to each other about the weather, we can even watch Adrian Chiles and Christine Blakely every evening should we so choose. And we don’t have to be subjected to Fox News (*for those pedants among you I appreciate it is available via a Sky subscription).

Just as the British tabloids are feared and viewed with a certain amount of bewilderment by those across the Atlantic, the same goes the other way for their rolling 24 hours a day TV ‘news’ channels. For this is the station which brings you the likes of Bill O’Reilly, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity, presenters of hours of hate-filled and biased political commentary brought direct to your living room. Though this blog may have taken issue with much rubbish spouted by the Daily Mail, rest assured this is just an uncomfortable pin-prick in comparison to the full-scale rack of torture that is Fox News.

For those unsure of the type of content broadcast, this is the station that on the day of Barack Obama’s historic inauguration as US President dedicated much of its coverage showing images of the departing George Bush. This is the station whose main star Beck upon presenting Sarah Palin cried on air because he was so moved by her ‘patriotism’. The same station who allowed business anchor Neil Cavuto to insinuate Al-Qaeda’s Osama Bin Laden was going to be supporting John Kerry in the 2004 election. The station whose host John Gibson, during the sensitive election of 2000 where serious questions were asked of the ballot counting, said: “Who needs to know that he's [Bush] not a legitimate president?”

And it doesn’t just stop at controversial comments. When a New York Times piece criticised the network in 2008, Fox News staggeringly doctored photos of the journalist in question, Jacques Steinberg, and the editor, portraying them unattractively with yellowed teeth, skewed facial features and darkened eyes. Not only was this petty in the extreme but offensive and morally downright abhorrent.

Just a week ago Hannity was caught out by Jon Stewart’s Daily Show using footage from a completely different protest in order to exaggerate the scale of one of the “tea parties” it had openly backed and encouraged people to attend to demonstrate against the government. Although subtle, one shot of a sunny autumn day then cuts to another which is overcast and the trees are magically green again. Hmmm…

And yet nobody was sacked. Can you imagine what would have happened had a similar tactic been used here? There would have been uproar with the aftermath lasting for weeks. But Hannity merely dedicated a few seconds on his next show, saying Stewart had “got him” and it had just been a “mistake”.

It begs the question why can this be permitted, and why is a comedy programme doing the work of investigative journalists? I would strongly urge anyone unfamiliar with Stewart to watch his show, (aired weeknights at 20.30 on More4). It is satire at its very best and certainly counters any claims that American TV is weak in this regard.

But the issue at large here is one of responsible objective media reporting. Fox News claims to be “fait and balanced” and gets very fidgety when people openly question this. In fairness their news probably isn’t as biased as one may think. But the thing is most of content on the channel is not news per se, it is comment. And it is here where impartiality is left behind at the station and the train has long since disappeared.

Fox News is partisan in its support for the (right-wing) Republicans. Literally overnight its views changed, supporting Bush right to the end and then changing tack to blaming the new administration for all of the country’s ills. Like the Mail in the UK, Fox News plays on people’s fear, with regular updates on the level of security threat. But it is much snider in its reporting and very much more sensational, the result being very manipulative.

In one of the most shocking outbursts I have witnessed on broadcast television, Beck who previously had overtly stated that Obama’s economic policies were “communist”, “socialist” and also “fascist” (contradiction duly noted…), later affirmed Obama was a “racist” and had “a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture”. Fortunately some sense among the population was seen and advertisers in their dozens refused to be associated with the show. But it’s astounding that this type of comment was allowed to go unquestioned, unpunished.

People are perfectly entitled to their views but only up to a certain point can you air such opinion. This is example was not only defamation but an insult to millions. It is no surprise to learn that the White House has boycotted interviews with the network though Fox has been stinging in its criticism of this, openly declaring a “war”. But the sad fact is Obama will suffer as a consequence due to the power the network holds over so much of the nation.

It all just makes me relieved and so much the more grateful for our neutrality laws when it comes to TV news. Next time you’re sat watching Nick Robinson, maybe you should appreciate it a little bit more.