Fox News Tries Some Propaganda

[Gene Scarborough]

Here is something scary from Fox News:



The article contains the piece. Fox has withdrawn it, but it went out and will likely become virile on the Internet.

They can claim to now be more fair, but is Rupert Merdock ever apolitical?
Are we developing a propaganda approach to news in America?

[Tim Bonney]

Fox News IS Propaganda!

[Gene Scarborough]

Just how many "average Americans" have figured this out yet?

Certainly not some of my supposedly intelligent friends!

The majority of the hate politics cartoons and other statements originates from the Republican campaign starting to focus on Romney vs. Obama. Yesterday old Donald Trump was doing his "birther" stuff once more and people still are sucking up to that cow patty.

How do we get people to differentiate between logical debate and campaign vs. total bomb throwing?

[Haruo]

But this is nothing new. When I was a kid there was a certain "newspaper" in New Hampshire. And before my time there was "yellow journalism". The Internet helps lies and facts spread farther faster, though.

[KeithE]

[Gene Scarborough]

I can certainly bear witness to the divisiveness. I have 2 particularly Obama-hating friends who constantly send me stuff which is more mean than political. It is certainly not based on any facts of recovery and withdrawal from war under the current Administration.

I did try something to offset it. I simply forwarded the crap to a good and wise older minister as strongly Democratic as my other older minister friend is Republican. The other person involved is our Beaufort County Democratic lady coordinating activities here. Both started eating him up with facts as opposed to his pretense.

He has tucked his tail now and refuses to discuss things as we did for a solid week. That is not a good indicator there will be any political compromises or changed minds before November. It is now a slug fest and, sadly, American voters are enjoying it!

Good political campaigns deal with ideas and proposals. They do not deal with dirt like "birther" allegations still flowing and a refusal to admit the President has accomplished anything in 3 years. The Tea Party and Republicans are taking a "total refusal to cooperate" position. Statesmanship is not to be found except in the President's appeals to Congress to cooperate.

Until that returns, we will remain a failed economy.

[Mrs Haruo]

I hear a distant rumbling. I think it is the sound of a lot of dead Republican statesmen of the past kicking the slats out of their graves. I said STATESMEN, not politicians. There is a difference, although it can be hard to tell at first glance. I think I will have a very fertile garden next year. There is so much utter flying through the air between now and November and in the aftermath I'm just going to hunker down and try to stay out of the path of all the mud slinging and let the manure settle on the back 40 and plow it under next spring. Used to be elephants had something to trumpet about. What turned the G.O.P into a bunch of nasty bitter backbiting dogs in the manger just peeing on everybody else's oats and hay? "Enquiring minds want to know"

from under my aluminum foil hat to ward off the aliens

the little woman that helps stack books

[Gene Scarborough]

You have such clear vision, lady!!!!

[Matto]

I don't think this Fox piece was unreasonable, and I don't see it as propaganda either.

The role of the media is not to panda to any government. It is to hold the government to account to it's promises no matter which government it is. Those in power must face heavy scrutiny.

If any given government doesn't fulfill it's promises, it's the job of the media to put the boots to it, and not just a little bit.

Obama promised change, but just delivered the same.

[Gene Scarborough]

Good media attempts to present truth and facts. It leaves the decision to an informed readership without trying to lead them to a skewed story.

The problem with the Fox piece was that it presented political propaganda as a news story.

Think about the big government scandals and how the media was in a bind to address them. The bottom line is that no newspaper or TV station stays alive without income from selling their papers or commercials. If you have viewers or readers looking to have their prejudices affirmed, you are giving them what they want rather than facts and truth.

The Watergate scandal is a prime example. You had a popular President Nixon engaged in dirty tricks politics. The Washington Post reporters got involved in the story as a simple break in. From there they detected deeper evils. The editor and his Board were confronted with a dilemma = ignore it and keep the peace / expose it and be called "the liberal press." It is the same dilemma a Pastor faces if corruption exists in his church leaders and the Bible calls for honesty. Ethics is the area we are talking and it is a real dilemma of conscience.

Hitler used Goebbels as his Minister of Propaganda. They flat lied and distorted to promote their political agenda. The Japanese did the same. The result was mass killing and conquest with the public thinking they were a good nation. We had the problem with Viet Nam. Bush claimed Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq when there were none found.

No democratic society can survive on lies and mis-information. We are still awaiting some truth about this economic meltdown. Supposed laws and regulations have been widely violated. Rich institutions and corporations and banks could be far weaker than revealed to date. Truth sent Nixon into resignation. Who knows, without good investigative reporting, what is the real truth of this mess we are having now.

We just need truth without distortion to enable us to make wise decisions, come November. If all the current political ads are accurate, we have some real liars and distorters in office now! Both sides can't be right when each claims the other is a crook and idiot. I, for one, am tired of distortions!!!

[Matto]

No the role of the media is to inform the people, by putting the boots to those in power when they need to be held to account for their lies.

Whether it is Bush or Obama the media must slug them when their promises are found out to hyped up garbage.
The founders saw the media as the watch dog of society, and watch dogs must bite to be effective.

[Gene Scarborough]

To a degree, that is certainly true.

The problem is no politician is as perfect as he wants to believe. We are wiser to accept their warts as long as it is productive. Right now the warts in America are flowing with puss. That puss is lies and distortion by the rich and corporations and banks.

If anyone has the guts to put their financial backers in jail for violations of SEC and banking regulations---it will be a distinct blessing to us who are screwed in the "arse." Good Aussie lingo!!!!

[Matto]

[Ed Pettibone]

[Gene Scarborough]

Men like Walter Chronkite have faded away.

Most newscasters these day are news-lite. The truth of the matter is Americans are lite and get what they want to be entertained by.

It's more about ratings and what can be charged for commercials than anything else---and that is tragic!

[KeithE]

[Matto]

[KeithE]

[Matto]

[Ed Pettibone]