Monday, July 12, 2004

Shortage of liberal journalists at Fox? 

While we were on the show Saturday, Mitch discussed the news documentary scheduled for tonight that purports to show that Fox News is biased. I mentioned last month that there was an article about media bias last year by Groseclose and Milyo which argued that Fox is about as right-wing as Charles Stenholm (D-TX). I was watching one of their Sunday news programs and I observe Mara Eliason and Juan Williams on a panel with Paul Gigot and Bill Sammon. I don't know, that doesn't look like the usual Token Will we see on other shows, does it? Let alone the fact that the list of panelists -- identified as "whistleblowers" and "former Fox employees" -- includes Eric Alterman. Let alone that this event is sponsored by the MoveOnToSocialism.kills crowd. It's not even a good film, says Howard Kurtz.
Greenwald says he culled the Fox clips from more than eight hours of tapes submitted by 10 volunteers recruited by MoveOn, who found patterns in the network's coverage.

"It's not that they never present the other point of view," Greenwald says of Fox. "It's that they present, a percentage of the time, one point of view." While he considered including some of the non-conservative voices on Fox, he says, "it's a film. At times you make the decision -- that's not so interesting."

Greenwald does highlight instances in which anchors put plenty of topspin on the ball. David Asman, teasing an upcoming segment with the headline "Jobs Killer?," said: "John Kerry's plan to bring millions of jobs back to America, well, someone here says, watch out! Kerry's plan will end up killing more jobs instead."

Still, some of the editing in the movie is questionable. In a montage involving criticism of Kerry's tax policies, political correspondent Carl Cameron is shown saying: "If you want to destroy jobs in this country, you raise taxes." Left on the cutting-room floor is that Cameron was quoting Commerce Secretary Don Evans.

There's more in there. RTWT.

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