Fox News Ironically Obsessed Over Newsweek Palin Cover

So, have you seen the cover of this week's Newsweek, with vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin in extreme close-up, revealing that the GOP's latest celebrity actually ages, and has slight wrinkles, like us mortals? Yeah, well, the good folks at Fox News aren't having any of it! The fact that this image was shot in this way, without an eye toward touching the image up digitally, is unfair. This morning, they gave this issue - that will help many of you decide how to vote, no doubt! - a thorough going-over. They even called in outside experts to discuss photoshop and alterations!

The overall message seems to be that the failure to alter a picture is a clear demonstration of liberal bias. How ironic! Because there was never a need to ask for outside opinion on this matter. As Jane Hamsher notes, Fox News has plenty of in-house expertise on how digital image alteration can help provide conservative "balance." Or have you forgotten:

On the July 2 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, co-hosts Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade labeled New York Times reporter Jacques Steinberg and editor Steven Reddicliffe "attack dogs," claiming that Steinberg's June 28 article on the "ominous trend" in Fox News' ratings was a "hit piece." During the segment, however, Fox News featured photos of Steinberg and Reddicliffe that appeared to have been digitally altered -- the journalists' teeth had been yellowed, their facial features exaggerated, and portions of Reddicliffe's hair moved further back on his head. Fox News gave no indication that the photos had been altered.

After putting up the photos of Steinberg and Reddicliffe, Fox & Friends also featured a photograph of Steinberg's face superimposed over that of a poodle, while Reddicliffe's face was superimposed over that of the man holding the poodle's leash.

Insert "lipstick on a pig" joke here, I guess!

RELATED:
Pinning the Irony Meter Once Again: Fox Whines About Unretouched Palin Photo In Newsweek [Campaign Silo]

PREVIOUSLY, ON THE HUFFINGTON POST
Eye of the Barracuda: Newsweek Looks In, And Sees Mediocrity

Comments

[RRG64]

The media relies on eyeballs and ears because they bring advertising revenue. They will keep at it as long as their ratings go up. It is important not to get caught up in that on the flip side. McCain is toast and there is a new media evolving. Some channels will remain "unfair & unbalanced" until the American people stop watching and their ratings go down then they might change their tune.

The ones who remain "unfair & unbalanced" regardless of ratings it will be because of their ownerships political views, economic ties,etc.

Stop watching news channels that perpetrate hate(digitally-by proxy) or do not explicitly represent the ideas that founded our great country to

"form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity"

Take your eyes off their channels and spend your money selectively.

The power really does lie in the hands of each one of us.

[desertbloom]

Does your IQ have to be under 100 to work for FOX?

[notb observer]

No, but when you are starting to approach 100, you are definitely on your way to senior management ;)

[notb observer]

Dear Ms. Palin,

We regret to hear that your experience while running for the second highest office in the land has been downright confusing, and we apologize for any embarrassment this nomination has caused you.

Unfortunately, we cannot be held responsible for the vagaries of the media, or of individuals within the electorate, since we cannot control the democratic process which has evolved in our country over more than two centuries. Our democracy is a "work in progress", however, rest assured that we remain committed to taking all reasonable steps to make it as accessible and inclusive for all who wish to participate.

To that end, we are instituting electoral reforms which we believe represent much needed improvements based on recent lessons learned. Specifically, it will now be necessary for all candidates to demonstrate minimal levels of intelligence and qualifications before running for elected positions. We are currently examining whether it will also be necessary to extend these same requirements to the voting public.

The following hyperlink contains a draft copy of the reform proposal. We encourage you to ask an assistant to explain it to you, and of course, we welcome any feedback you can offer.

http://www.the_idiots_guide_to_running_for_higher_office.elections.fed.gov

Finally, should you feel you have been the victim of discrimination due to a physical or mental disability, you may seek redress from the appropriate government agencies.

Thank you again for your interest in running for office.

Sincerely,

The Electorate

[Dustee]

Fox News?

They probably don't see the halo over her head and can't figure out why. So something must be wrong with that cover.

[jackstone54]

Those bozos over at Fox News are nauseating hypocrites! They trumpet
"fair and balanced news" but their bias is so blatant. They have no decency and no shame at all!
Bill O'Reilly bloviates (remember how he sexually harassed a woman on the network?).­..Sean Hannity is insanity..­.Steve Doocy is a dumb blond (like his counterpart on "The View")...a­nd horse-faced plagiarist Ann Coulter, a frequent guest, swore she'd vote for Hillary Clinton over John McCain! I've stopped watching Fox News. It's the station of right-wing idiots and the Ku Klux Klan.

[Forest]

Few thinking people take Fox News seriously unless they live where t.v. programming options are reduced to one channel. The Fox folk fib and mock real news rather than report it. At best, O'Reilly, Hannity and the rest of the featherweight Foxhooligans are bad theater and a waste of prime time.

[egal]

See, that's the problem.

The kind of people who believe Fox are the kind who don't think for themselves. this also means they are the type who can be incited to mindless violence by some rallies filled with obvious lies, driven to protest some manufactured unfairness even thought they're already being given the best deal, and led to wallow in so deep and putrid an us-them mob mentality that they become little more than blithering idiots Fox News could march out like an army of evil with little riling and no capacity of being reached by reason.

[Boadicea]

Republicans are outraged over this because Newsweek, by not retouching the photo, has diminished what they are selling with Sarah - female beauty.

Sarah is on the ticket because she is attractive looking. The unflattering photo takes away that allure and renders her absolutely useless to them. She doesn't have skills, intelligence, vision or depth. She has good looks, and that's it.

Newsweek's photo questions Palin's qualifications for her job as female sex symbol for the Republican ticket.

Funny that Hillary's campaign never protested all the unflattering photos of her. OH, wait - Hillary wasn't running on her beauty!!

[luvangelHussein330]

All week they have been asking who is the "real" Obama...wh­ile getting thier panties all bunched up because they didn't air brush AK barbie...

[SgtLucifer]

Rolling Stones Mag. - Make-Believe Maverick
A closer look at the life and career of John McCain reveals a disturbing record of recklessness and dishonesty

By TIM DICKINSON Posted Oct 16, 2008

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/make_believe_maverick_the_real_john_mccain

[Forest]

Thank you for providing this illuminating link. I hope its audience spreads beyond Huffpo and we hear more discussion about McCain's penchant for recklessness and hubris:

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/make_believe_maverick_the_real_john_mccain

[PNOGUY]

I don't care if Sarah Palin ages the same as everyone else. But did Newsweek offer such unflattering shots of Michelle Obama or Hillary Clinton? I don't think so.

If you want a good example of how the left-leaning press treats photos, dig out the recent Rolling Stone with Obama on the cover looking like a saint in a holy picture. (And then compare it to their hatchet job on Palin a few weeks later.)

[chasingsol]

This isn't a fashion magazine where an unrealistic image of supposed perfection is being published, it's about a Vice Presidential candidate! This whole charge of bias in publishing an UNRETOUCHED (!) picture is ridiculous and laughable. Does Fox News have nothing more constructive to report on? Oh wait, they're just an extension of the McCain/Palin campaign with their 24/7 fixation on Bill Ayers. AND YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT BIAS?!

[hmmmmm77]

I heard the whole thing was Bill Ayers idea.

[notb observer]

Unless someone purposely alters a picture in a negative way (like Fox did), I don't see what the big deal is about seeing someone's unaltered face on a magazine cover. She's already wearing makeup, isn't she ? Did they ambush her coming out of her igloo in nightgown and hair curlers to get the paper... Oh wait, bad example, she doesn't read the paper ! Fox just assumed the picture was an attack on Precious Sarah's only asset, but what really happened ? They did not bother to ask questions (that's called investigative reporting).

Comparing pictures from Rolling Stone and Newsweek is stupid. Rolling Stone frequently puts out "artsy" covers, Newsweek doesn't. Do you object to Rolling Stone exercising their 1st Amendment rights ?

Meanwhile, Fox & Fiends just spent 3 solid days talking about Obama's connection to Ayers and Palin's cover picture. They ignored the tanked economy, which is the most significant economic event in the US since the Depression ! I know that Fox is not a real news network, but you'd think they could have found something more important to discuss. Oh, and PS: CNN did do a special report on the Ayers story, but your mind controllers at Fox probably "forgot" to mention that.

Lastly, if Palin's un-PhotoShopped picture really trumps the economy as the number one issue facing America right now, why don't you write to your congressman and let him know immediately instead of whining about it here !!

[PNOGUY]

You're right. They should drop the Ayers thing. Instead, they should talk about how Obama and his legal client ACORN ruined our economy.

[Lee2320]

Is this suprising?! I mean this is Paranoid Delusional Party (otherwise known as the Republican party) we are talking about here. These people don't believe in Reality - period. So ofcourse they are going to scream bloody murder if you try hand it to them on a magazine cover! They're leaders are always to be seen as eternally beautiful God like creatures, while everyone who does not believe in their party is to be seen as a troll-like slug. Anybody every notice strangely enough how all the pictures of Hillary Clinton posted on Drudge's website ALWAYS make her look like an old hag? Granted, she's not as young as Palin anymore, but only an idiot would believe the photos posted of her on Drudge are chosen at random. So in regards to the Republican claim that somebody at Newsweek chose and set up Palin's cover photo deliberately to make her look bad, I guess they of all people would know when something like that is being done, wouldn't they?

[PNOGUY]

Bingo! You've hit it. You compare Drudge > Clinton to Newsweek > Palin, which is exactly the point. Newsweek is unashamedly in Obama's camp, just as Drudge is for the right wing.

[newpotusplease]

Sec. Paulson just gave a press conference on the economy given what has happened across the global markets this week, CNN,MSNBC CNBC covered it ....

what did FOX NEWS cover? Krauthammer talking about ACORN.
SAD SAD SAD

[lisakaz2]

Retouching is patriotic apparently (if it helps whatever cause they have).

[ElBruce]

Well honestly, what else do they have to talk about? It's not like there's anything going on that makes their candidate look good.

[mdk1]

And by the way, the FauxNews retouching was some of the crapiest, amateurish Photoshop work I've seen in awhile. It looked like something a 9th grade high school yearbook staffer would have pulled of. Of course it IS FauxNews we're talking about...

[Forester]

Sometimes when I surf by FOXNEWS and they have these eager bimbos deferentially interacting with their fellow white men personalities, I get a creepy feeling that old white men watching at home are getting their rocks off. Ditto for Palin's appeal. Did you see how Kissinger was looking her over in their sit-down? gross. I also think they like the bimbo gals because they have an excuse for being just plane wrong - they are really there to look at, and then defer to those strong white men like BO, Cavuto, etc. disturbing imagery I must say.

[mdk1]

Sheesh, these useless fleshbags! They make it sound like Palin looked like the closeup of the hyper-realistic sculpture of the Neanderthal woman on the latest National Geographic. It's called NEWSweek you fascist airheads, they're not supposed to alter photos! At least they didn't give her a huge stereotypical Jewish nose or a giant forehead like the untalented hacks in what passes as the Fox News graphics department did to those to NY Times reporters awhile back.