Rest easy, right wing, the “liberal media” needn’t bother you any more. You have a home of your own. In fact, wealthy benefactors have built you many mansions to nurture your faith.If your political compass pulls to the right, you have found comfort on the 24-hour Fox News Channel run by Roger Ailes, former White House communications director for the elder Bush.
There’s even better news for those with a starboard lean. In the last 20 years conservative foundations have outspent mainstream think tanks, shelling out billions to influence policy.
And it doesn’t stop there. Not only do you have Rush Limbaugh but his disciples dominate talk radio, and you can add most Christian/ Republican stations to the conservative crusade.
And what’s wrong with that? Nothing, really, except that a steady diet of “mummy food” makes the brain flabby — allergic to news, views and questions that don’t fit the Fox formula.
But that’s all right, too. If there’s a place for CNN, there ought to be room for Fox. Vive la difference! And what a difference. CNN’s most famous reporter is Christiane Amanpour. Fox’s celebrity reporter is Geraldo Rivera.
If you want to know what Fox’s Bill O’Reilly thinks tune in to “The O’Reilly Factor” and he’ll tell you with the bark off. If you don’t care what Larry King thinks but are curious about the views of his famous guests, click on CNN.
If you’re dying to know what the global media mogul Rupert Murdoch thinks, fire up Fox News or pick up a copy of his noisy New York tabloid, The Post. They’re not modest about opinions.
Basically, Fox is all opinion, all the time — sometimes sly and sometimes straightforward. When Brit Hume sneers at mention of The New York Times and Shepard Smith rolls his eyes at Democratic criticism, body language tells you where they stand.
ADT Research of New York did a study last year that concluded: “Cable news networks appeal to two distinct audiences: highly ideological so-called news junkies whose daily entertainment derives from the overheated debates of the political class; and a less-committed group who rely on experienced newsgathering when a global crisis hits the headlines. CNN’s operation is designed as a resource for the latter; FNC’s for the former.”
Sharp opinions, sharply delivered with a rightward twist makes interesting viewing. Fox has built an audience that beats CNN daily, but it can’t match the breadth, depth and maturity of the older network’s reporting staff.
Opinionated anchors are more interesting, but are they more believable? A Pew study found 37 percent believed “all or most” of what CNN reported. Fox News received 24 percent.
Advertisers want their copy to be surrounded by the most believable news and choose CNN over Fox by an estimated 2 to 1, though neither network publishes those figures.
“The CNN brand is still the most respected out there,” says Andrew Donchin, who directs TV buys for a New York agency.
That is what the customers want. A University of Pennsylvania study of the future of the news concluded that “providing the highest quality news is the best policy for news organizations...”
Murdoch’s man Brit Hume may sneer at The New York Times but its believability is only enhanced by its very public admission of error in the case of young Jayson Blair. Its profits are growing while Murdoch’s Post is struggling.
So fear not, right wingers. With your billionaire foundations, a legion of talk radio shows and your very own TV network, you’re not exactly facing the hordes of the “liberal media” unarmed.
