The voices on cable news are deafening (or at least muted on my television). Their slants and biases stretch and destroy traditional definitions of journalism. From these shows, mediatainment, an entire new genre of television has emerged.
Fox News Channel has been said by many as the largest culprit in the industry, despite its slogan of being "Fair and Balanced."
Since it does little to hide its romance with the current Presidential administration, its obvious that their slogan is dubious.
"Fair and Balanced" is as much a lie as the recent State of the Union Address (see weapons of mass destruction and Niger).
At this juncture I could continue complaining about the President or the cable networks. I could complain that there were no weapons of mass destruction ever found. I could complain that there was never any proven ties to Osama Bin Laden.
I could complain that our fickle nation forgot that our government never found any of the "evidence" they claimed existed to unilaterally preemptively attack Iraq.
I could complain that instead of feeling guilty about the State of the Union lie, the National Security Adviser to the President argued on CNN, "It is 16 words, and it has become an enormously overblown issue."
I could complain that lying to gain support for a war is much larger than lying about stealing cookies from a jar. I could complain, but then I digress.
To refocus, Fox News Channel isn't "fair and balanced." It's important to note that I am not misusing these quotes before fair and after balanced.
Rather I am trying to protect myself from a frivolous lawsuit, similar to that which Al Franken was forced to endure throughout August. The grounds of the suit were for trademark infringement, because Franken titled his latest book, "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right."
Fox News Channel had the audacity to argue, "Franken's reputation (...) is not of the same caliber as the stellar reputations of FNC's on-air talent."
Unfortunately, some do not agree with that ironically biased quote of their own supposed media brilliance. Luckily the judge disagreed too, sighting the case as frivolous.
One more problem can not be overlooked about Fox News Channel's claim to have qualified hosts, most notably Bill O'Reilly. At a recent book convention in California, O'Reilly relies on insults and slurs, rather than trying to have an intelligent debate with none other than Al Franken.
However, little can be expected from the Fox New Channel on-air talent whose previous job experience is working for the tabloid show Inside Edition.
The lessons are simple: try to avoid the television media, do your own research and form your own educated opinions.
And if you insist on getting your news from the cable networks, try the "Daily Show" on Comedy Central, the best fake news on television, and there's lots of competition from Fox News Channel for that title.
