Outfoxed Rupert Murdoch\'s War on Journalism

Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War On Journalism

A News Channel that labels itself "Fair and Balanced" should be unbiased in its coverage of news and events. After watching Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism, I became convinced that the concerned channel had over time failed to appropriately inform and educate its viewers. Before watching the documentary, I had been an avid fan of Fox News.

Receiving an endorsement (however veiled) from someone should be regarded an honor. However, when the said endorsement comes from someone whose view of the issue at hand should be balanced and neutral, there is a serious problem. By digging deeper into Fox News' psyche, Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism shows just how irresponsible journalism could get. For instance, in an attempt to discredit liberals, Fox News is accused of selecting liberals who appear weak and inarticulate to appear on it while at the same time picking confident and articulate conservatives. Guests having an opposing opinion are also given horrible treatment. This way, the channel succeeds in defeating the liberal agenda and thus conveniently endorsing conservatives. This in my opinion cannot be regarded fair and balanced coverage.

After watching this documentary, I quickly came to the realization that the media could easily be utilized to distort viewers' perception of reality. Fox achieves this by encouraging punditry, promoting repetition of ideas, "repackaging" the news, fear mongering, and via the utilization of intimidation as a tactic to align both its workers and individuals who appear on it to its core political ideology. For journalism to be regarded objective, news reporters must be allowed to remain impartial in their coverage of news. They must not be coerced to report only that which is regarded proper by the top executives of the news firm they work for. The documentary in this case highlights several instances whereby employees were coerced to promote the political perspective of the channel. Those who failed to do so were threatened and risked being fired or suspended. In my opinion, such actions effectively threaten objective reporting. In a way, Bill O'Reilly became a pivotal player at the News Channel for his promotion of Fox's core political agenda. In my view, should other journalists seek to pursue the same path to recognition, the foundation on which balanced news coverage is built would collapse. If the evidence presented in the documentary is anything to go by, we are fast moving into an era of "managed news." Such blatant distortion of facts must not be allowed to prevail in a modern society that regards itself just.

After watching the documentary, I also became convinced (sadly) that journalism is fast loosing its professional touch. Taking Bill O'Reilly as an example, his tendency to lose his temper in my opinion shows lack of control on his part. If nothing is done to rein in such irresponsible and unprofessional conduct, news reporting and televised debate will soon be devoid of both objectivity and fact.

The influence media has in electoral politics should also be checked. This in my opinion can be done by discouraging the monopolization of the media and by embracing sound rules and policies that seek to enhance discipline and professionalism in the industry.