We're "America's Newsroom," but we Don't Care if We're Hypocrites
Reported by Melanie - May 20, 2005
I watched about six minutes of crazy-making Fox News television today (May 20, 2005).
The crazy-making began just prior to Your World w/Neil Cavuto when Fox aired a promo for its Saturday evening line-up. Included was a teaser for the 6:30 p.m. ET show, Fox News Watch. The announcer said: "Is this the end of big media as we know it? The in-depth look at the Newsweek debacle."
Next came Your World. Cavuto's first segment was about the photo of Saddam Hussein clad only in underwear which News Corp. (Fox's parent company) published on the cover of its tabloids, The Sun, and the New York Post. Cavuto's guest was a member of the Arab-American Chamber of Commerce and he was "thrilled to see these pictures" published. Cavuto did not tell his audience that Fox's parent company owns the two tabloids.
Next came two representatives from "Soldier Ride," a bicycle ride sponsored by Fox News and organized to raise money for injured troops.
Comment: Fox is more than happy to keep bashing Newsweek for its story about the Quran but does Fox ever claim that publishing that piece was a good idea? No. It refuses to reveal its connection to the Saddam photo story but brings on a guest to make the photo's publication look like a good idea just in case any of its viewers know about the connection. Then, it advertises a Fox-sponsored bicycle ride (no problem revealing a link there) to raise money for injured troops on the same day its parent company did something some think might cause a backlash resulting in even more injuries to those very troops. Despicable, is all I can say. Oh, and by the way, how do you feel knowing you're being represented around the world by a "news" organization with "standards" like these, and one that calls itself, "America's newsroom"?
