Is Fox News really different?

by Joseph Farah
30th January, 2013

For many Americans, Fox News is their “alternative” choice for news.
They’ve made it the No. 1 cable news network, largely because they believe its “fair and balanced” promotional slogan.
Many even believe Fox leans to the right and provides news they can’t get anywhere else.
But is Fox really different from the rest of the media? Or has it been successful merely at positioning itself as different?
Would it surprise you to know that individuals at News Corp., the parent company of Fox News, gave nearly six times as much money to Barack Obama than Mitt Romney in the 2011-2012 election cycle?
Would it surprise you to know that individuals at News Corp. gave more to Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., than to Mitt Romney?
Would it surprise you to know that individuals at News Corp. gave more to Ben Cardin, Democrat from Maryland, than to Mitt Romney?
Would it surprise you to know that News Corp. gave more than twice as much to Democratic candidates in 2012 than to Republicans?
Would it surprise you that this pattern was about the same in 2010 and 2008?
Would it surprise you to know that News Corp. gave far more money to Democrats running for both the House and Senate in 2012 than to Republicans?
Do the owners and top managers of Fox News and News Corp. not have the right to support any candidates they want to support?
Of course they do.
But the American people have a right to know where the hearts and minds and pocketbooks of their trusted news sources really are – especially when it comes to politics.
Fox News has certainly learned there is a vast public audience whose values and worldviews are unserved by the major media. That’s the secret to its success.
There’s no question other media are even more skewed to the left than is News Corp. CNN, NBC, ABC and CBS are even more in the tank for so-called “progressive” politics. Nevertheless, I’m sure it will be shocking to many Americans just how supportive of the political status quo and the Democratic Party agenda News Corp. truly is.
News Corp. donated more money to Obama than to any other American politician. But this wasn’t a new development in 2011 and 2012. In fact, Rupert Murdoch’s company has been donating more to Democrats since 1989.
CNN, languishing in the cable ratings wars against Fox, has even reported on this fact – presumably hoping it might turn off some Fox News viewers with the truth about political donations.
The CNN report makes the point: Fox News offers viewpoints from many Republicans and conservatives – because it knows those views resonate with the public and helps bolster the network’s “fair and balanced” marketing ploy. But the Bible tells us in Luke 12:34: “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Where do you think Fox News’ heart is?
I’m not demeaning everyone at Fox. It is clearly better than CNN, MSNBC, CBS, NBC, ABC and PBS. There are some great people who work there.
There are good people who work at every news agency. But when you consider the bias of the Big Media in the U.S. and around the world, don’t be fooled by slogans designed to tickle your ears. Don’t be fooled by clever marketing gimmicks.
One of America’s biggest problems is control of the news and the flow of information by a state-influenced, if not a state-controlled, media.
Constantly I am asked by WND viewers: “Why doesn’t Fox News cover this story?” They ask, “Where’s the rest of the media on that story?”
Now, as the late and incomparably independent Paul Harvey would say, you know the rest of the story.