Memo To The Media: Fox News Is Now the Opposition Party

Fox News has changed the rules. Now the press needs to change the way it covers Fox News.

Rupert Murdoch's cable cabal is now, first and foremost, a political entity. Fox News has transformed itself into the opposition party to the Obama White House, which, of course, is unprecedented for a media company in modern day America. That partisan embrace means the news media have to expand beyond typing up Fox News-ratings-are-up and the White-House-is-angry stories, and it needs to start treating the cable channel for what it is: a partisan animal.

The press needs to drop its longstanding gentleman's agreement not to write about other news outlets as news players -- not to get bogged down in criticizing the competition -- because those newsroom rules no longer apply. Fox News has exited the journalism community this year. It's a purely political player, and journalists ought to start covering it that way. The press needs to treat Fox News the same way it treats the Republican National Committee, even though, frankly, the RNC probably can't match the in-your-face partisanship that Fox News flaunts 24/7.

I understand Fox News still wants to enjoy the benefits of being seen as a news operation. It still wants the trappings and the professional protections that go with it. But it no longer functions as a news outlet, so why does the rest of the press naively treat it that way?

Fox News is now at the forefront of a political movement.

Read the entire Media Matters column here.

 

 

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Comments

[Estreet1964]

12:55 PM on 10/14/2009

Editors and executives of all the MSM news outlets are prone to p*ssing themselves whenever they get a call or an email accusing them of having a "liberal bias".

They will never call out Fox for what it is: the propaganda apparatus for the Republican party.

[alkamm]

06:31 AM on 10/14/2009

The reluctance of CNN to question those they trot out to spew inaccurate facts and figures has been well-exposed by Jon Stewart. Although Fox is more clearly partisan, CNN's culture of "we'll have to leave it there" rather than even mildly challenging lies is perhaps even more insidious than Fox's clear partisanship.

[Duppy]

05:31 PM on 10/13/2009

I have tried watching FOX a few times but have had to change the channel after 10 minutes. They spew too many lies and misrepresent the facts too much. As a person who keeps up with current events and knows the facts, I cannot watch a channel that continuously lies. They are totally not credible and they are like a "Trash Tabloid " rather than a real news channel. That is unfortunate.

[Chip W]

10:26 PM on 10/13/2009

If you look at what it is they're doing it can be interesting. Like the psychology they use to engage their viewers. Following their logic, and noting the flaws, can be a good mental exercise.

[alkamm]

06:27 AM on 10/14/2009

I agree that watching Fox, no matter how uncomfortable, is a way to exercise the brain. Those who swallow their mediations and conditioning are not, of course, benefiting as much as progressives. It's always good to know the enemy, to know their schemes and tropes. Don't fear the fake news. Understand it and use it to rise above the limits they'd put on us if they had the power to redefine truth.

[kladinvt]

03:31 PM on 10/13/2009

Pajoly...I couldn't agree with you more! Let's see some ballot initiatives across the country to remove any and all tax exempt status from any self-proclaimed "religious" organization that delves into politics.

[pajoly]

01:30 PM on 10/13/2009

Good. Next up. Withdrawl the tax exemption for ANY and EVERY church that delves into politics, such as endorsing one candidate over another or publicly advocates for policy changes based on its intepretation of morality.

Time for us to admit that the hard right is a cult that is actively working towards a "Christian" theocracy.

[Dustee]

07:56 AM on 10/15/2009

Agreed!

[WorkingClass]

11:19 AM on 10/13/2009

FOX is certainly the most partisan, but all the corporate media have the same agenda. The corporate agenda. Don't expect "the press" to do anything but defend FOX news.