OUTFOXED: A Review
Ok, I still don't think I have had enough time to absorb and understand the full implications of Outfoxed, the documentary about media giant Rupert Murdoch and specifically Fox News Channel, but I figure now is as good a time as any to put fingers to keyboard (especially since I have a few minutes while my kid's watching Shrek 2).
KidBastard and I watched the 77 minute film last night. It consisted of interviews with many people formerly connected with Fox News Channel, including three interviews with "anonymous" people who insisted on having their voices changed. Known faces you will see in this film are Harry Belafonte, George Carlin, Al Franken, Ted Kennedy, Jon Stewart, and more. There was also interviews with Walter Cronkite and footage of an interview with Christiane Amanpour (a woman whom I rarely talk about, but have incredible respect for). The film is not done in the Michael Moore-narrative sense, but rather the director, Robert Greenwald, allows the people speaking in the interviews to do all the talking.
On the down side, I wish people had taken a little more care with their appearances. One woman (a former CNN producer I believe) actually wore a cheap black shirt with little images of a pair of shoes, a handbag and other slightly silly "fashion" patches all over it. It was hard to take her seriously - I really wish someone had advised her to wear a silk shell and a blazer or something.
Also, Robert Greenwald made several "rookie" mistakes when it came to some of the interviews - allowing subjects to sit in front of framed pictures that reflected images of the outside street, not having proper lighting for subjects with reflective eyeglasses on, having a poor background behind a subject. These things, while very minor, do not help lend to the professionalism I'm sure he was lookng for with this documentary.
However, the film is extremely powerful. While I knew that Fox News Channel is very slanted towards the Republican agenda, I was totally blown away by the sheer blatency. Reporters who shed good light on Republicans or shed poor light on Democrats got their stories on the air, while the opposite was cut. Their tagline "We Report - You Decide" all-out lies to viewers.
They discuss the verbiage frequently used in FNC, such as "Some people say..." This phrase is used in an effort to deflect responsibility for the statement from the reporter. For example, when interviewing someone, a reporter can ask "Some people say that John Kerry isn't looking good on the campaign trail. What do you think of that?" and in that statement place their own slant on the topic. The film shows clips of FNC personalities saying "Some people say..." or "Some say..." over and over and over.
Additionally, the film focuses on the amount of liberal guests vs. the number of conservative guests. The filmmaker broke it out into percentages - and the results might stun you. Typically, the liberals they had on their programs either "generally agreed" with whatever the host was talking about, or the host would eventually cut off their microphone and never have them back.
Of course, one section was devoted to Bill O'Reilly and his need to tell people to "shut up." This is something I first read in the Al Franken book "Lies and the Lying Liars that tell them." Apparently Bill O'Reilly thinks he only told someone to "shut up" one time, however, the film shows clip after clip of him using the term either directly to someone or in his opinion statements. One of the most disgusting parts of the film was where Bill O'Reilly told Jeremy Glick, the son of a victim of the 9/11 attacks to shut up, and continued talking down his nose to Mr. Glick because Mr. Glick was angry at Bush for not going after the right people for 9/11. I had also read about this in the Al Franken book, but never saw the footage. Bill O'Reilly is nothing more than a big mouth with nothing of consequence to say. What a pig.
There's so much more about the film I could write about, but in the end you really should just see it. All my friends are welcome to borrow my copy, and if I don't know you, I picked up a used copy for about $5 on Amazon. Normally I would support the filmmaker directly, but since I am poorer than dirt at the moment, I must cut a few corners where I can. My apologies to the people who made this film possible, but hopefully the knowledge that their film is making an impact is consolation.
The outcome: I will no longer view Fox News Channel and will be sure to encourage everyone else I know to boycott it as well.
KidBastard and I watched the 77 minute film last night. It consisted of interviews with many people formerly connected with Fox News Channel, including three interviews with "anonymous" people who insisted on having their voices changed. Known faces you will see in this film are Harry Belafonte, George Carlin, Al Franken, Ted Kennedy, Jon Stewart, and more. There was also interviews with Walter Cronkite and footage of an interview with Christiane Amanpour (a woman whom I rarely talk about, but have incredible respect for). The film is not done in the Michael Moore-narrative sense, but rather the director, Robert Greenwald, allows the people speaking in the interviews to do all the talking.
On the down side, I wish people had taken a little more care with their appearances. One woman (a former CNN producer I believe) actually wore a cheap black shirt with little images of a pair of shoes, a handbag and other slightly silly "fashion" patches all over it. It was hard to take her seriously - I really wish someone had advised her to wear a silk shell and a blazer or something.
Also, Robert Greenwald made several "rookie" mistakes when it came to some of the interviews - allowing subjects to sit in front of framed pictures that reflected images of the outside street, not having proper lighting for subjects with reflective eyeglasses on, having a poor background behind a subject. These things, while very minor, do not help lend to the professionalism I'm sure he was lookng for with this documentary.
However, the film is extremely powerful. While I knew that Fox News Channel is very slanted towards the Republican agenda, I was totally blown away by the sheer blatency. Reporters who shed good light on Republicans or shed poor light on Democrats got their stories on the air, while the opposite was cut. Their tagline "We Report - You Decide" all-out lies to viewers.
They discuss the verbiage frequently used in FNC, such as "Some people say..." This phrase is used in an effort to deflect responsibility for the statement from the reporter. For example, when interviewing someone, a reporter can ask "Some people say that John Kerry isn't looking good on the campaign trail. What do you think of that?" and in that statement place their own slant on the topic. The film shows clips of FNC personalities saying "Some people say..." or "Some say..." over and over and over.
Additionally, the film focuses on the amount of liberal guests vs. the number of conservative guests. The filmmaker broke it out into percentages - and the results might stun you. Typically, the liberals they had on their programs either "generally agreed" with whatever the host was talking about, or the host would eventually cut off their microphone and never have them back.
Of course, one section was devoted to Bill O'Reilly and his need to tell people to "shut up." This is something I first read in the Al Franken book "Lies and the Lying Liars that tell them." Apparently Bill O'Reilly thinks he only told someone to "shut up" one time, however, the film shows clip after clip of him using the term either directly to someone or in his opinion statements. One of the most disgusting parts of the film was where Bill O'Reilly told Jeremy Glick, the son of a victim of the 9/11 attacks to shut up, and continued talking down his nose to Mr. Glick because Mr. Glick was angry at Bush for not going after the right people for 9/11. I had also read about this in the Al Franken book, but never saw the footage. Bill O'Reilly is nothing more than a big mouth with nothing of consequence to say. What a pig.
There's so much more about the film I could write about, but in the end you really should just see it. All my friends are welcome to borrow my copy, and if I don't know you, I picked up a used copy for about $5 on Amazon. Normally I would support the filmmaker directly, but since I am poorer than dirt at the moment, I must cut a few corners where I can. My apologies to the people who made this film possible, but hopefully the knowledge that their film is making an impact is consolation.
The outcome: I will no longer view Fox News Channel and will be sure to encourage everyone else I know to boycott it as well.
by MG at 10:28 AM
3 Comments:
Your comments on outfoxed is an angry article. I try to be objective and you clearly have not watched fox news.
Bill o'Reilly is a very blunt guy but he takes no prisoners on either side of the political spectrum. See his shows on Florda and Jed bush. Also, he very harsh on George bush over Iraq and how he has handeled it. The essense of a smart blog is to put aside your bias and check out facts. You clearly have not. I know that you will likely ignore this but one can alway hope.
No I will not ignore it, and in fact I will answer it.
First of all, I have watched FOX news. I've watched long enough to recognize the way they lean, which is the way Rupert Murdock leans.
Bill O'Reilly has proven himself to be a windbag, who overstates his credentials, and actively lies about how he dresses down his guests. I do not find his show informative, fresh, or insightful. I have actually watched his show several times, but I don't need to watch it continually to come to that conclusion.
Lastly, you said this: "The essense of a smart blog is to put aside your bias and check out facts." I'm not sure where you discovered this "rule" about blogs, or if you just made this judgement on blogs yourself, but it's a load of crap. A blog is a person's own experiences and opinions - an online journal of their thoughts. Nowhere do I state that my site is anything other that my own personal opinions. I am not a journalist who is required by their profession to view all things from a purely objective point of view. I already KNEW I didn't like FOX, and when I saw OutFoxed, it not only confirmed my opinion of it, but enlightened me to some of the tactics they use to help slant things the way they want them to appear.
So if you have some grand notion of how bloggers think or should behave, I'd really recommend you let go of those ideas, because I have yet to read a blog that does what you state they should be doing.
I am fourteen years old and have just wacthed this video about FOX news. I thnik FOX news has many problems and it will face many more in the future if it does not change its way of showing news. I also think a lot of the people who were interviewed wern't that important in the FOX world and didn't really have the most correct information. I think that FOX news needs to care and think more about the world other than its fear of being imberessed on the screen.
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