Handling Fox News

It's a generally suspected and known that Fox News has a definite slant to the right, this is fine given what other media organizations do. We don't have Fox News on cable here in Canada, what exposure we have to Fox News is limited to online videos posted on their website and YouTube. I am willing to stick my neck on the line to say that a.) the misrepresentation of facts at Fox aren't always as bad as it appears to be and b.) not every facet of Fox News is "Faux" as people call it. Fox News actually provides some interesting points of view if you take everything you hear objectively, this is something we should all be doing when it comes to mass media news. I do have to say that hosts like O'Reilly and Hannity do have some very thought provoking ideas from time to time.

A week or so ago I was looking into how Stephen Harper (our PM) carries himself on international TV. I found an interview done by Fox in 2009 surrounding the G20 meeting. Wallace opens the interview on the subject Afghanistan. At this time Canada was largely fulfilling a training role in Afghanistan. Harper is effectively misquoted as saying that if Obama did have a concrete plan for the mission in Afghanistan that Canada would look at changing our mission parameters. This was never on the table back home and would be very hard for him to do on his own.

Next up comes the world economy and Canada vs. US Corporate tax rates. The question (I think) was slanted in a way to highlight high tax policies of the Obama Administration and create a larger effect on the viewerbase. Harper then proceeds to give a great answer to this question based on economics. He highlights the huge budgetary problems that the US faces and the limitations that can create.

You can watch the video for yourself:


Do these few things I've pointed out mean that Fox News is the scum of the Earth? No. Does this mean that you should watch with an objective eye? Absolutely.

This interview stood out blatantly because a foreign leader was being interviewed. It's not exactly the best thing to head over to someone else country and start telling their leader how to do things. The level of tact that Harper has become known for at home was apparent in this video. It allowed me to see him answering these questions in a way that gave an effective answer while not falling into the playbook of Fox News. And once again, this doesn't just happen at Fox News.

PS: The auto industry is important for Canada

I have to completely agree with you Shane. I think with all media outlets you have to take it with a grain of salt.

I was up late one night and was flipping channels and came across Bill O'Riely's program on Fox News. I decided to give it a shot so I watched a bit of it. The ideas that he had weren't that bad and really made me think about some difficult situation that were happening in the world. Then came time for an interview with him and oooooboy did things go downhill. This man can not interview. He doesn't listen to the opposing side and he doesn't know how to rebuttal. So other than that I would say he is an interesting news commentator to watch to open your spectrum to things other than the CNN and the MSNBCs of the world.

I think you have to watch both sides to get clear picture of the landscape of our media, but when you leave your prejudgments and predispositions at home, you can make clear informed decisions when it come to the world around us.

Everyone reports with a slant. They lead with their questions, or they use people to make a story more emotional.

I agree somewhat with Trekkie, the "morning news" shows are pretty much the worst because they're mostly celebrity news, making them something I never watch.