Fair and Balanced My Ass

"If we weren’t fair and balanced, we wouldn’t have the number one network in news — by a very wide margin. People believe we’re fair and balanced, and they love us."

News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch, on Neil Cavuto's show.

Cavuto falsely reported Fox News covered the Million Man March. A hard task to do considering Fox News wasn't on-the-air until almost a year after the Louis Farrakhan march. Apparently, Fox News staffers are experiencing the same time travel problems as season 5 of Lost.

The Mark Foley sex scandal became a huge problem for the Republican Party. Fox News ran a picture of Foley labeling the Congressman a Democrat.



There are the emails from John Moody to Fox News staffers. Moody sets a clear mandate on his version of fair and balanced.

We have good perp walk video of Eric Rudolph which we should use. We should NOT assume that anyone who supported or helped Eric Rudolph is a racist. No one's in favor of murder or bombing of public places. But feelings in North Carolina may just be more complicated than the NY Times can conceive. Two style notes: Rudolph is charged with bombing an abortion clinic, not a "health clinic." and TODAY'S HEARING IS NOT AN ARRAIGNMENT. IT IS AN INITIAL HEARING.

Moody makes it clear supporting the Bush administration's position on Iraq is more important than mourning soldiers.

From: John Moody
Date: 4/6/2004

The events in Iraq Tuesday are going to be the top story, unless and until something else (or worse) happens. Err on the side of doing too much Iraq rather than not enough. Do not fall into the easy trap of mourning the loss of US lives and asking out loud why are we there? The US is in Iraq to help a country brutalized for 30 years protect the gains made by Operation Iraqi Freedom and set it on the path to democracy. Some people in Iraq don't want that to happen. That is why American GIs are dying. And what we should remind our viewers.

Moody's fair and balanced journalistic ethics informs him the Left want to see Iraq continue to be under a brutal dictatorship. Exactly who are these people? Moody again tells his worker bees not to mourn the loss of American military personal.

If, as promised, the coalition decides to take Fallujah back by force, it will not be for lack of opportunities for the terrorists holed up there to negotiate. Let's not get lost in breast-beating about the sadness of the loss of life. They had a chance.

Moody's fair and balanced coverage of President George. W. Bush.

"His political courage and tactical cunning ar[e] [wo]rth noting in our reporting through the day"

Fox News hysterically attempted to pass off a Senate Republican Communications Center press release as their own research. If Fox News actually bothered to fact-check the press release the SRCC typo wouldn't have been in the on-screen graphics.

Steve Benen covered Sean Hannity taking a quote from President Barack Obama's speech out of context.

Last night, for example, whining incessantly about President Obama's speech in Cairo, Hannity told Fox News viewers that the president "decided to give 9/11 sympathizers a voice on the world stage." He then showed Obama saying, "I am aware that there are still some that would question or even justify the events of 9/11."

Here is what Obama actually said.

"The first issue that we have to confront is violent extremism in all of its forms.

"In Ankara, I made clear that America is not -- and never will be -- at war with Islam. (Applause.) We will, however, relentlessly confront violent extremists who pose a grave threat to our security -- because we reject the same thing that people of all faiths reject: the killing of innocent men, women, and children. And it is my first duty as President to protect the American people.

"The situation in Afghanistan demonstrates America's goals, and our need to work together. Over seven years ago, the United States pursued al Qaeda and the Taliban with broad international support. We did not go by choice; we went because of necessity. I'm aware that there's still some who would question or even justify the events of 9/11. But let us be clear: Al Qaeda killed nearly 3,000 people on that day. The victims were innocent men, women and children from America and many other nations who had done nothing to harm anybody. And yet al Qaeda chose to ruthlessly murder these people, claimed credit for the attack, and even now states their determination to kill on a massive scale. They have affiliates in many countries and are trying to expand their reach. These are not opinions to be debated; these are facts to be dealt with."

Even conservative David Horowitz admitted "Obama gave a great speech." Obama's speech was well-received in American and the Middle East. Fox News won't report that.