Fox News is NOT a news channel

Jump to Last Post 1-2 of 2 discussions (47 posts)
  1. profile image0
    promisemposted 7 years ago

    I'm always amazed at how many people don't understand Fox News. It has a successful business strategy of appealing to people's conservative biases, which is why a majority of viewers are conservative Republicans.

    Fox is not a news channel that seeks the truth. It provides reporting and commentary about the news with a conservative viewpoint. That's an important difference.

    Pew Research:

    "The Fox News audience skews more ideological than that of its two main competitors (CNN and MSNBC).

    "Fully, 60% of Fox News viewers describe themselves as conservative, compared with 23% who say they are moderate and 10% who are liberal, according to a 2012 survey by the Pew Research Center.

    "By contrast, the ideological makeup of CNN viewers (32% conservative, 30% moderate, 30% liberal) and MSNBC viewers (32% conservative, 23% moderate, 36% liberal) is far more mixed."

    If you want to watch Fox News, so be it. But please don't tell everyone including the forums on HubPages that it's a news channel that "tells the truth".

    1. profile image0
      ahorsebackposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      How naïve ,   Whatever YOU think of Fox news ,  a majority of people aside from liberal poll takers ,  believe  they are  more neutral than other news sources and they are !   Obviously ,by your  own posts and comments ,you're one of " them ", my advice  if you don't like Fox and you obviously don't , then turn your ears in the other direction .  You obviously don't know enough about media neutrality ,  integrity and especially honesty to tell us what WE  should believe , How is it that it's " conservative bias "  and yet  what are all the other sourses  ,liberal scripture ?  I suggest you go back to your Huffington post

      1. profile image0
        promisemposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        Classic extremist response -- attack the person, attack the source, attack the experts, deny the facts.

        The same widely respected Pew Research also found that MSNBC had far more negative coverage of Romney's campaign than positive.

        Does that now make it a conservative poll taker?

        1. profile image0
          ahorsebackposted 7 years agoin reply to this

          Msnbc , Is the National Enquirer  of media , no more no less !

          1. profile image0
            promisemposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            Yet it has a nearly equal number of viewers from all three political groups -- 32% conservative, 23% moderate, 36% liberal.

            Are the conservatives who watch MSNBC wrong and the conservatives who watch Fox News right?

            My mother watches both channels. Does that make her a conservative or liberal?

            1. profile image0
              ahorsebackposted 7 years agoin reply to this

              I for one , can watch several news outlets  , judge each of them  objectively , and then make my own conclusions .   THAT is where most people who simply skim the  news choice of the political ideology  don't do .     Its less troubling to the conscience  if you just watch that which you  wish  to hear .
              I suggest Mr. Rogers  for most liberals . It much less  in depth , that way you don't have to think !

    2. profile image58
      retief2000posted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Can you provide a link to this Pew poll?

      How interesting that it is interpreted in this way. I would suggest that it conservatives are more open minded than liberals considering how few liberals are willing to view a "conservative" news station and how many conservatives willingly tune into MSNBC and CNN - not conservative news by any stretch of the imagination.

      As for "tells the truth," from what you posted, this poll is about viewership, not about accuracy or objectivity in reporting. I would suggest that those metrics are still available for debate.

      1. mrpopo profile image73
        mrpopoposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        Took the words right out of my mouth.

        1. profile image0
          promisemposted 7 years agoin reply to this

          Surprising answer from someone who says he is left of center.

          1. mrpopo profile image73
            mrpopoposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            It really has nothing to do with left and right. It has to do with interpreting data correctly.

            Your only source of data from your original post were of the audience composition of Fox News vs MSNBC and CNN. Audience composition has nothing to do with accuracy of news reporting. The only thing we can conclude from this data is that liberals are less likely to watch Fox News. The why that you've proposed is because Fox News is inaccurate. But it could also be because liberals are less open minded. Again, the only data you provided (in your initial post) is of audience composition.

            Looking at that same data pool we find that the NYT, Colbert Report, Rachel Maddow and Daily Show are heavily skewed towards a liberal audience composition. Does that establish them as inaccurate or biased sources? Does that mean they are utilizing a business model of appealing to people's "liberal biases" and not seeking the truth?

            We simply can't make such conclusions off of audience composition. Your other sources are closer to the mark regarding that aspect.

            1. profile image0
              promisemposted 7 years agoin reply to this

              Audience composition has everything to do with bias and accuracy.

              Men's Health magazine has an audience that is 88% male. It intentionally writes articles that appeal to men because its focus on men is the company's business strategy.

              Professional journalism standards require a credible news organization to produce content without regard to the politics of its readers. Credibility is essential to attracting the largest number of readers or viewers.

              As a business strategy, a city with one newspaper wants and needs to reach the largest number of people for the sake of advertising. If it simply appealed to one side or another, it would quickly lose a large number of readers and go out of business.

              Maddow, Colbert and Daily Show have no such constraints. They are no different than Men's Health in that they intentionally appeal to a narrow target. They don't claim to be "news" shows.

              NYT skews left because its editorial pages are left while news pages are required to be neutral. Is it perfect? Certainly not. But that's why the business works even with imperfections.

              Fox News as a "news channel" has no such need or intent. Instead, it intentionally produces content that appeals to conservatives, which is why its viewership is 60% conservative, 23% moderate and 10% liberal.

              1. mrpopo profile image73
                mrpopoposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                Media targeting a specific audience doesn't make the content of said media inaccurate. What part of men's health magazines are ideological, biased or inaccurate?

                Take another look at your claim:

                "Fox News is ideological, biased and inaccurate because 60% of its viewers are conservative."

                It is identical to saying

                "Men's health magazines are ideological, biased and inaccurate because 88% of its viewers are male."

                Audience composition by itself does not tell you whether or not something is inaccurate or biased.

                1. profile image0
                  promisemposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                  In the case of news organizations, yes, it does. In the case of magazines, no, it doesn't.

                  I'm sorry I haven't been able to explain clearly enough the distinction between the two.

                  1. mrpopo profile image73
                    mrpopoposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                    I'm sorry to say that saying "yes it does" and "no it doesn't" without an explanation doesn't clarify matters.

                    As I've already said, a discrepancy between liberal and conservative audience participation does not necessarily mean the news organization is biased. It could be that the audiences themselves are biased.

                    But I think I see where you're coming from. You think that news sources are mostly impartial and if there is any discrepancy in audience participation, it must be because the news source is not impartial or accurate.

                    Unfortunately, that's a naive position to take in this day and age:

                    http://www.people-press.org/2009/09/13/ … ecade-low/

                    Less than 1/3 people think news sources get their facts straight, and less than 1/5 think that they deal fairly with all sides.

                    This isn't something exclusive to Fox News and it isn't something you'll deduce from audience composition.

      2. profile image0
        promisemposted 7 years agoin reply to this

        It would be just as revealing to learn more about the political views of someone who thinks that conservatives are more open minded than liberals.

        Would conservative viewers flock to a channel with a liberal viewpoint? I find that quite hard to believe.

        The fact that Fox News has a conservative viewpoint seems well known to everyone except for conservatives.

        http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/20 … -fox-news/

        1. profile image58
          retief2000posted 7 years agoin reply to this

          Thank you for the link.

          As for the sound of a mind closing, listen:
          It would be just as revealing to learn more about the political views of someone who thinks that conservatives are more open minded than liberals.

          There it is.

          Let's do this as a simple exercise in logic.

          If more conservatives willingly tune into CNN and MSNBC, despite the liberal slant of those outlets than liberals tune into the conservative Fox News, then one may reasonably conclude that conservatives are less put off by liberal views than liberals are put off by conservative ones.

          What is open mindedness?

          Is it the willingness to listen to an opposing view point or is it shouting down that view point and driving it off campus? We have seen what liberal open mindedness means on college campuses all over the nation. Shout down, bully or flee in terror from any viewpoint that challenges the "openmindedness" of the academy.

          1. profile image0
            promisemposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            What is close mindedness? It is bias and generalization about everyone except for conservatives.

            Bias and generalizations can be found even in highly intelligent people who can't see themselves or anyone else with objectivity.

            It is believing that all media is liberal except for Fox News, all conservatives are open minded, all liberals are closed minded and colleges are filled with students shout down and bully anyone who is a conservative.

            1. profile image58
              retief2000posted 7 years agoin reply to this

              The qualifier "all" has been placed in this conversation by you, not I.

              1. profile image0
                promisemposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                Yes, that word was placed by me, but in response to your generalizations about liberals, i.e., "shout down", "bully" and "conservatives are more open minded than liberals".

                The word "all" is implied in blanket generalizations.

                1. profile image58
                  retief2000posted 7 years agoin reply to this

                  I think the word you really want is inferred.

                  1. profile image0
                    promisemposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                    Oh, please. Are you so desperate to evade me that you are going to start nitpicking about individual words?

        2. profile image58
          retief2000posted 7 years agoin reply to this

          Again, this says nothing about accuracy in news presentation. It is about viewership. Fox News has conservative commentators and liberal ones - Greta Van Susteren is no ones Rush Limbaugh. Yet where is the conservative on MSNBC with an hour long show? I would offer that there is no conservative on Fox News as wildly unfit to serve as a network host as is Al Sharpton, yet he is embraced by MSNBC.

          Yet MSNBC has a larger portion of conservative viewers than Fox News has of liberal ones, why? What explanation is there for this other then conservatives are less put off by MSNBCs liberalism than liberals are put off by Fox News' conservatism.

          Speaking strictly as a conservative, I find Fox News far less conservative than a liberal can understand.

          A liberal does not understand conservatism. That, sir, is an example of a tautology.

          1. profile image0
            promisemposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            People who understand the Fox News business strategy best are professional journalists and media executives who don't identify themselves as liberals or conservatives.

            People who understand it least are passionate viewers who take everything that is said as fact and reject any criticism about the channel's objectivity.

            That being said, multiple research studies support that same point. Pew Research found that, out of 13 news channels, Fox had the highest credibility rating among Republicans and the lowest among Democrats. More importantly, it had the lowest rating among political independents.

            CNN is the most trusted major network and Fox the least trusted.

            http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/20 … mplicated/

            Fox is viewed as the most ideological network. Its viewers see other networks as liberal (hint). Even Fox viewers see Fox as mostly conservative.

            http://www.people-press.org/2009/10/29/ … l-network/

            Other studies found that Fox viewers were least informed about domestic and international events.

            http://www.poynter.org/2012/survey-nprs … ed/174826/

            Your question about MSNBC is an easy one. Morning Joe is one of their most popular shows with a Republican host and a Democrat host. The show is dominated by the Republican.

            Even my solidly Republican parents watch Morning Joe, and they watch Fox News more than any other channel. Thanks to Fox News, they also believe Obama is a Muslim and communist who wasn't born in the U.S.

            "A liberal does not understand conservatism" is not a tautology. It is a sweeping generalization.

            1. profile image58
              retief2000posted 7 years agoin reply to this

              "Morning Joe is one of their most popular shows with a Republican host."

              Republican does not equal conservative - more evidence of how little liberals actually understand about either.


              "Thanks to Fox News, they also believe Obama is a Muslim and communist who wasn't born in the U.S."

              I defy you to offer evidence of causality regarding this most sweeping of generalizations.

              "A liberal does not understand conservatism" is not a tautology. It is a sweeping generalization.

              If a liberal actually understood conservatism, he would no longer be liberal.

              1. profile image0
                ahorsebackposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                "If liberals actually understood conservatives they would no longer be liberal  "..........Brilliant !

                Liberals , by  educational indoctrination  since  the nineteen sixties and  beginning in elementary education , have  almost totally brainwashed most of our young .   I was there during he transition -from neutral education  and teachings TO an assumed liberal brainwashing  and political correctness .      The American education system has been  railroaded by  socialist  indoctrinated teachers , just like the justice system has !

                Fox news is one of the last  hold outs in our entire media for truths -   My advice reclaim your children's  education  and neutral political and  conservative values -  home school them if you have to !  Let the socialists  die along the path  of political correctness  and  divisive nanny state  mentality !
                There is nothing worse in the political and education spectrum than pseudo-intellectual socialism  !  It has destroyed  your children's future .

                1. profile image0
                  promisemposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                  All right wingers are brilliant! Everyone else is an idiot!

                  1. profile image0
                    ahorsebackposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                    Well Yeaaaa!

              2. profile image0
                promisemposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                Must all Republicans be conservatives? There was a time not long ago that the party embraced people like me -- those of us who can think for ourselves but at the same time believe in certain principles.

                Now it is simply the bastion of extremists who ironically are destroying the party, nominating Donald Trump and fueling the rise of far left liberals like Bernie Sanders.

                You don't throw everyone else off a sinking ship just because you control the lifeboats.

                1. profile image58
                  retief2000posted 7 years agoin reply to this

                  The topic was liberals on Fax News, i.e. Greta Van Susteren. You countered with Joe Scarborough as a Republican on MSNBC. I said republican and conservative are not the same thing. This is hardly a statement that (again your word) "all' Republicans need be conservative.

                  You offered Scarborough as an example equivalent to Van Susteren - whose actual political party affiliation I am unaware - as if he were a conservative as a counter point to my saying she was liberal. I wonder do you understand what you write?

                  It is hardly conservatives who are most for Donald Trump, witness National Reviews denunciation of him. Almost every writer in the "no Trump" issue is a well known conservative. 

                  Trump and Sanders are responses to a distant and antagonist Washington political elite ignoring the effects of their self serving politics. Both are reactions supported by grass roots disenchantment - if not out right anger - at a political system that appears to exist solely to serve as a way to keep those currently in office perpetually in office.

                  Trump is a symptom, he is an imperfect vessel into which a large portion of the Republican electorate has poured its resentment of a distant and antagonistic Republican leadership in Congress.

              3. profile image0
                promisemposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                "I wonder do you understand what you write?"

                Are we now making this personal? I would be glad to trade insults if you are frustrated that you can't browbeat me into submission and give up both published facts and my personal beliefs. Maybe freedom of expression is available only to the far right.

                Republican does equal conservative. I suggest you read more about the turning point with the party that led to the ouster of moderates and right of center Republicans like me.

                https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/won … d-species/

                Please read my alleged generalization again. I said it was my parents who believe it. That's not a generalization. That's a specific.

                I might be tempted to say, do you understand what you read?

                1. profile image58
                  retief2000posted 7 years agoin reply to this

                  It is an epistemological commentary on the inconsistencies in your reasoning. If there were ideological purity in the Republican party there would not be a need for conservatives "caucusing" separately

                  1. profile image0
                    promisemposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                    Deny and evade, deny and evade.

            2. Dont Taze Me Bro profile image59
              Dont Taze Me Broposted 7 years agoin reply to this

              You say, "People who understand the Fox News business strategy best are professional journalists and media executives who don't identify themselves as liberals or conservatives."

              Well that's a straight up lie. See when challenged on the facts liberals just make things up. All studies show that professional journalists and media executives are liberal biased. Here is just one http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/view … asp?id=207

              And as far as MSNBC goes, what significance is the breakdown of their audience when Fox's audience is 4-5 times larger? "32% conservative, 23% moderate, 36% liberal." If anything those in their audience who claim to be conservative or moderate are really liberal because most liberals actually think they are moderates and it is no secret MSNBC is a shill for liberalism, period!

              1. profile image0
                promisemposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                I'm supposed to believe what a right-wing blog says about the media? Seriously?

                You don't have a clue how the media works. Try working in it for 30 years before you make such extravagant claims.

                1. Dont Taze Me Bro profile image59
                  Dont Taze Me Broposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                  Another typical liberal tactic, ignore the facts and claim the facts are right wing biased. I said there are many studies, here is what UCLA found (not exactly right wing)

                  Of the 20 major media outlets studied, 18 scored left of center, with CBS' "Evening News," The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times ranking second, third and fourth most liberal behind the news pages of The Wall Street Journal.

                  There isn't one study that claims as you do that there are "professional journalists and media executives who don't identify themselves as liberals or conservatives."

                  That's just absurd and if it were true I'm sure you'd have provided evidence already, but you have no evidence, just innuendo and lies, exactly what a typical liberal does and that is no secret but pure fact.

                  1. profile image0
                    promisemposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                    You clearly have a serious problem with liberals. In fact, I'm not a liberal. My politics are purely right of center. I voted for Reagan both times.

                    I don't have to claim what I said is true. I lived it for more than 30 years. Have you ever worked in the media? Of course not.

                    I just don't like bullies who spread propaganda.

                    You clearly didn't read my other posts on this thread with multiple links to credible sources of information and not silly right-wing blogs.

  2. profile image0
    ahorsebackposted 7 years ago

    Americans have reached a point , right or left  , where we no longer trust our government , our media or our  economy ,   what that alone speaks of is a separation of  a people from its government , =     a state of mind open to revolutionary change ?

 
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)