Today marks the launch of FOX Nation, an opinion and news site that was immediately heralded at FoxNews.com, where Grover Norquist wrote: "I believe that Fox Nation has the potential to do to the Internet what FOX News did to cable television. That is, be a disruptive, transformative-but also profoundly constructive-media force."
I get the idea that Fox News was a "disruptive" and even "transformative" force. But "profoundly constructive," who ya foolin'?
Indeed, Fox Nation looks like just another platform from which Fox News can be "the voice of opposition" to the Obama administration. In fact, the site is off to a great start, offering the same kind of "fair and balanced" drivel disseminated from the mothership at Fox News.
Fox News Senior Vice President Bill Shine said he hopes the site will be "a mix between the Huffington Post and Drudge." You'll have to forgive me for judging so quickly----after all, the site has only been up for a few hours---but, it's looking much more like the latter. Indeed, in Drudge-like fashion, one of the main functions of the political content at the site appears to be crafting inflammatory and widely misleading headlines for links to articles by news organizations whose content contradicts the Fox headline.
Here are just a few of the top stories at the Fox Nation homepage:
Scary! Obama nominee wants one world order. The link goes to a NY Post article that tries to scare readers about the legal beliefs of Harold Koh, the former dean of Yale Law School and President Obama's nominee to be the State Department's legal adviser.
Obama fires GM CEO. The actual headline of the article at Politico: "GM CEO resigns at Obama's behest."
Rush says Hillary twice the man Obama. For some reason, Fox Nation actually seems to want to call attention to this sexist smear. Though, I don't get the sense that they are doing so critically.
"Affirmative Action for Muslims in the White House?" Ah yes, the infamous Drudge question mark. Of course, the answer is "No;" the article to which the headline links says nothing about affirmative action. Instead, it reports that based on an "effort, driven by community leaders and others, including U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn" a group submitted to the White House "a book with resumes of 45 of the nation's most qualified [Muslims] -- Ivy League grads, Fortune 500 executives and public servants, all carefully vetted."
And speaking of that last story, you should read some of the outrageous, vile, and hateful comments posted in response to this fairly innocuous bit of news. Here's just a sample:
I can't believe people still don't get what animals muslims are. They will not stop until they've killed us all and ended our way of life. I will never forget what they did to us on 9/11. It's either us or them people!!!
If Mr Obama wants a democratic presidency, why doesn't he let "The People" vote for whether or not "WE" want Muslims in this country at all! He is making a mockery of the office of "President". What a disgrace.
YOU SAY OBAMA I SAY OSAMA YOU SAY BIN LIDEN I SAY BIN BIDEN YOU SAY TERRORIST I DSAY PRESIDENT!!!!!!!! WOW , IS THERE ANYTHING HE CANT DO BESIDE RUIN ONE HECK OF A LIFE.
Can anyone say Manchurian Candidate?
kill all ragheads
Osama Muslin HUSSIEN Terrarist!!!!!!!!!!!!
After reading those, you can only imagine what the comments are like for the "Scary! Obama nominee wants one world order" article.
I look forward to Fox addressing the issue of comments to the site two months from now. You see, Fox News Senior Vice President Joel Cheatwood told Howard Kurtz:
When registration begins in two months, users will be asked to abide by "core principles of tolerance, open debate, civil discourse and fair and balanced coverage of the news," with insulting comments deleted.
"If they're critical of Fox News, that's fine," Cheatwood says. "You just can't say anything that's hateful or hurtful to someone else."
I guess until then, visitors are free to write whatever "insulting comments" and despicable garbage they desire.
Profoundly constructive indeed.