Is FOX News really that bad?

[Eddie Teach]

Their fairness has always been iffy, but in the last year it's taken a nosedive.

Of course, I'm still more likely to watch Fox than the other guys because it's more entertaining. 

[derspiess]

Question on Glen Beck: he started on CNN, and switched to Fox. Since he switched to Fox, he has become enormously controversial. Is that because the left wing attack groups weren't inclined to go after a personality on CNN, he has a bigger audiance on Fox, his opinions have become more controversial on Fox (I only saw him on CNN), or some other reason?

I haven't watched him much on TV at all, but I had trouble trying to listen to his radio show because he seemed to have a tendency to run short on actual content, which he would try to make up for by re-stating the same thing 100 times.  Sometimes he would even fail to do that, resulting in dead air time.

Having said that, he does seem to be able to piss off the correct groups of people, so he's definitely doing something right.

[viper37]

Is FOX News really as bad as they make it seem? Blowing things out of proportion, misrepresenting things, riling people up, and even contradicting themselves in their opinion on some things depending on whether Republitards or Dumbocrats did it?

They do have a tendancy to do that.  More so than other medias.  They are not 100% untrustworthy though.  They usually get the facts right, but the way they treat it...

[derspiess]

Would you say that FOX News is dominated by actual news reporting or by the opinion folks? In a similar vein, do the opinion people get more coverage than their role at FOXN warrants?

Depends on what time of day you watch. If you're watching mid-morning thru the afternoon, it's pretty much all news.  Prime-time is pretty dominated by the opinion folks, but that is not really when most people are watching for news anyway.

[BuddhaRhubarb]

I think the point of that Stewart piece was that sure maybe there's some "straight-up" news on Fox... but it gets drowned out by the op-ed people who are louder, more colourful (to put it nicely) .... real news stories that don't have a so-called "right wing" slant are buried under non stories about kids singing songs they won't remember the next week, let alone be "indoctrinated" by. (for example. CNN has been OJ-ized for a long time. the only news they care about is of the balloon boy variety, but just like Fox the odd tidbit of actual news still trickles through... but you have to look for it.

Sadly the venerable CBC has now joined into this style of tabloid silliness, making the radio the only way to get interesting, important news instead of opinions about news disgusied as news. the world sucks.

[Grey Fox]

There's News on Fox News?

[DisturbedPervert]

All tv news pretty much blows, especially Stewart.

[Barrister]

Incidentally people who watch the daily show are better informed then people who watch Fox News.

http://people-press.org/report/319/public-knowledge-of-current-affairs-little-changed-by-news-and-information-revolutions

From your very own link:

Even after taking into account their overall news gathering habits and their political and demographic characteristics, the audiences for the comedy shows, The O'Reilly Factor, the web sites of national newspapers, and NPR all have significantly higher knowledge scores than the average.

As I'm sure you're aware, The O'Reilly Factor is a show on Fox News.

Your link does prove that people who watch news-oriented shows are more knowledgeable about current affairs - no surprise there.  What it does NOT show is that people who watch Colbert are more knowledgeable that people who watch Fox News.  In fact they tend to be about the same.

[Ed Anger]

I find people who get their news from the comedy central shows to be overly smug and deserving a punch in the nuts.

Also, Beck, Olbermann and Dobbs watchers deserve two punches in the nuts.

[Caliga]

Pay no attention to Raz.  FOX News is fine.  I do think it has a bit of a right lean, but not nearly as much of a lean as, say, CNN (which obviously goes the other way).  For example, over the past few months nearly every day on CNN.com there is some sob story on about how some moron did stupid shit that resulted in them being uninsured and now owing like millions in healthcare cost... the underlying message being OMFG WE NEED SOCIELIZED MEDICINE.

[Caliga]

Also, Beck, Olbermann and Dobbs watchers deserve two punches in the nuts.

Agree on Beck... that guy is simply annoying as fuck, not to mention rude and a total blowhard.  Princesca seems to love him though

[Ed Anger]

Also, Beck, Olbermann and Dobbs watchers deserve two punches in the nuts.

Agree on Beck... that guy is simply annoying as fuck, not to mention rude and a total blowhard.  Princesca seems to love him though

A punch in the ovaries then.

[Razgovory]

Incidentally people who watch the daily show are better informed then people who watch Fox News.

http://people-press.org/report/319/public-knowledge-of-current-affairs-little-changed-by-news-and-information-revolutions

From your very own link:

Even after taking into account their overall news gathering habits and their political and demographic characteristics, the audiences for the comedy shows, The O'Reilly Factor, the web sites of national newspapers, and NPR all have significantly higher knowledge scores than the average.

As I'm sure you're aware, The O'Reilly Factor is a show on Fox News.

Your link does prove that people who watch news-oriented shows are more knowledgeable about current affairs - no surprise there.  What it does NOT show is that people who watch Colbert are more knowledgeable that people who watch Fox News.  In fact they tend to be about the same.

Also It's still below Colbert.  Fox News in general is at the bottom.

[DGuller]

Seriously, I was once in a hotel room with absolutely nothing to do, so I watched Fox News.  Huckabee was on at the time, and I actually thought he was very even-handed when having guests on his show.  The guy has some contemptible beliefs, but at least he can muster up some decorum and humor, something that very few on the right can do on TV.

[Barrister]

Also It's still below Colbert.  Fox News in general is at the bottom.

Yeah, right beside local news.

O'Reilly is right there at the top in a statistical tie with Colbert.