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[Alcibiades]

http://home.businesswire.com/portal...d=news_view&newsId=20040629005898&newsLang=en

FOX News Channel Garners More Than Half of Cable News Audience During Second Quarter; FNC Captures Nine Out of Top Ten Cable News Shows

Cable News Market Share - Total Day and Prime- % of Persons 2+ Watching Cable News Channels


NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 29, 2004--FOX News Channel (FNC) garnered more than 50% of the cable news audience in primetime and total day during 2Q'04, according to Nielsen Media Research.

In contrast, CNN and MSNBC both attracted less than a third of the same market share in 2Q '04. In primetime, FNC commanded 55% of the cable news market share, averaging 1.4 million viewers, while CNN claimed just 32% of that audience with 828,000 viewers. During Rick Kaplan's first full quarter as president, MSNBC's primetime line-up attracted a paltry 13% of the cable news audience with 321,000 viewers (down 41% in viewership year to year).*

FNC's Total Day average of 820,000 viewers made up 54% of the cable news pie, nearly doubling CNN's 31% (468,000 viewers) and more than tripling MSNBC's 15% share (226,000 viewers). *

In the key 25-54 demo, both CNN and MSNBC lost more than half their 25-54 audience in these day parts over the same period last year. FNC averaged 457,000 persons in primetime and 291,000 persons in total day, exceeding CNN and MSNBC's combined totals of 344,000 persons in prime and 231,000 persons in the total day time periods. *

In addition, FNC sustained its programming dominance capturing nine out of the top ten shows in cable news, as CNN's heavily promoted primetime lineup continued to flounder. CNN's only show in the top ten, Larry King Live, remained stagnant at number four with 1,291,000 viewers, trailing FNC's The O'Reilly Factor (2,051,000 viewers), Hannity & Colmes (1,492,000 viewers) and The FOX Report with Shepard Smith (1,339,000 viewers) respectively. Since launching in September 2003, Paula Zahn Now and Anderson Cooper 360 have yet to rank within the top ten cable news programs -- Zahn currently ranks at 16th while Cooper is languishing at number 21. **

FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour general news service covering breaking news as well as political, entertainment and business news. For more than two years, FNC has been the most watched cable news channel and currently presents nine out of the top ten cable news programs. Owned by News Corp., FNC is available in more than 85 million homes.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    HH   HH   P2+ P25-54 A18-34 A18-49
                                    COV  AA    AA    AA    AA     AA
NET   PROGRAM NAME          DAYS    AA% (000) (000) (000) (000)  (000)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[b]FOXN  THE OREILLY FACTOR    MTWTF__ 1.9  1589  2051  610   131    476
FOXN  HANNITY & COLMES      MTWTF__ 1.4  1167  1492  509    98    382
FOXN  THE FOX REPORT
       W/S.SMITH            MTWTF__ 1.2  1039  1339  455   106    375[/b]
CNN   LARRY KING LIVE       MTWTF__ 1.2  1077  1291  287    50    224
[b]FOXN  SPECIAL REPORTW/BRIT
       HUME                 MTWTF__ 1.1   975  1214  392    90    317
FOXN  ON THE RECORD W/GRETA MTWTF__ 1.1   927  1154  396    79    302
FOXN  FOX AND FRIENDS       MTWTF__   1   848   944  333    61    273
FOXN  THE BIG STORY W/J
       GIBSON               MTWTF__ 0.9   796   933  310    70    245
FOXN  STUDIO B W/S.SMITH    MTWTF__ 0.9   737   863  276    66    239
FOXN  YOUR WORLD W/NEIL
       CAVUTO               MTWTF__ 0.8   679   789  268    56    220[/b]
CNN   NEWSNIGHT W/ AARON
       BROWN                MTWTF__ 0.8   678   782  252    48    200
[b]FOXN  FOX NEWS LIVE         MTWTF__ 0.8   659   753  258    63    231
FOXN  DAYSIDE WITH LINDA
       VESTER               MTWTF__ 0.7   576   654  221    66    198[/b]
CNN   WOLF BLITZER REPORTS  MTWTF__ 0.6   544   618  156    43    124
[b]FOXN  FOX & FRIENDS FIRST   MTWTF__ 0.6   547   586  258    50    188[/b]
CNN   PAULA ZAHN NOW        MTWTF__ 0.6   492   564  165    37    130
CNN   LOU DOBBS TONIGHT     MTWTF__ 0.5   463   543  146    39    116
CNN   CROSSFIRE             MTWTF__ 0.5   476   519  127    30     96
CNN   CNN LIVE              MTWTF__ 0.5   433   494  154    43    127
CNN   AMERICAN MORNING      MTWTF__ 0.5   415   487  154    50    143
CNN   ANDERSON COOPER 360   MTWTF__ 0.5   410   472  158    38    129
MSNB  HARDBALL WITH C.
       MATTHEWS             MTWTF__ 0.5   386   471  127    19     95
CNN   LIVE FROM...          MTWTF__ 0.5   412   463  133    38    111
CNN   INSIDE POLITICS       MTWTF__ 0.5   410   454  107    31     85
MSNB  SCARBOROUGH COUNTRY   MTWTF__ 0.3   284   339  114    32     93
MSNB  COUNTDOWN W/ K.
       OLBERMANN            MTWTF__ 0.3   268   315   97    20     76
MSNB  IMUS IN THE MORNING   MTWTF__ 0.4   289   312  103    16     70
CNN   CNN DAYBREAK          MTWTF__ 0.3   269   301  119    33    110
CNBC  THE APPRENTICE        M___F__ 0.3   243   297  174   100    176
MSNB  DEBORAH NORVILLE
       TONIGHT              MTWTF__ 0.3   215   252   84    19     67
CNBC  LOUIS RUKEYSERS
       WALL ST              ____F__ 0.2   190   233   41     7     29
MSNB  NAT GEO EXPLORER      ____F__ 0.2   181   224  106    22     96
CNBC  SQUAWK BOX 9:30A      MTWTF__ 0.2   205   220  116    12    106
CNBC  CLOSING BELL          MTWTF__ 0.2   190   204   65     8     52
MSNB  THE ABRAMS REPORT     MTWTF__ 0.2   175   204   86    15     69

It's funny cause their the lowest rated Fox News show is Fox and Friends First, a show that comes out at 5 AM in the morning (central time) still ranks higher than almost all of CNN shows...


I like Neil Cavuto so I'm happy to see this:

FOXN  YOUR WORLD W/NEIL
       CAVUTO               MTWTF__ 0.8   679   789  268    56    220
CNN   LOU DOBBS TONIGHT     MTWTF__ 0.5   463   543  146    39    116

GRETA VAN OWNED:

FOXN  ON THE RECORD W/GRETA MTWTF__ 1.1   927  1154  396    79    302
CNN   NEWSNIGHT W/ AARON
       BROWN                MTWTF__ 0.8   678   782  252    48    200

 

[RiZ III]

well thats too bad

 

[Justin Bailey]

PWN3D

 

[Mustang]

Well, maybe the huge amount of Liberal channels out there hurts.

Too much choice I guess.

 

[Scalemail Ted]

Stupid Fox and their Reality TV programs.

 

[Triumph]

This is just confirmation of something I've long suspected: the masses are asses.

 

[jiggle]

On a related note, cnn.com is leading foxnews.com nearly 4 to 1 (foxnews.com is also trailing msnbc.com, nytimes.com and washingtonpost.com).

But jeez, it's just news. Must there be a war out of everything?

 

[sefskillz]

the google ad for this page is amazing

edit: apparently my use of amazing has ruined it.

 

[Dead]

the google ad for this page is amazing

edit: apparently my use of amazing has ruined it.

hahahaha, the right wing conspiracy

 

[Belfast]

I don't like FOXNews, but even I admit I watch it more than any other cable news network. Its like that scene in Private Parts where everyone's trying to find out why Howard Stern is getting ratings and even the people that hate him are tuning in to see what he'll say next. That's kind of how I feel about FNC, I pretty much tune in just to see the stupid spins they're going to put on things next.

 

[AntoneM]

<nintendo fanboy> yeah but CNN stomps all over xFox in worldwide numbers.</nintendo>

 

[Pattergen]

I don't like FOXNews, but even I admit I watch it more than any other cable news network. Its like that scene in Private Parts where everyone's trying to find out why Howard Stern is getting ratings and even the people that hate him are tuning in to see what he'll say next. That's kind of how I feel about FNC, I pretty much tune in just to see the stupid spins they're going to put on things next.

Hahaha, I never thought about that. I too sometimes watch it to see what kind of shit they will make up / totally ignore.

 

[Alcibiades]

slanting the news DOES NOT EQUAL making it up (unlike the NYT and Washington Post which got corrected by Demoratic 9/11 commission members on their false reporting)...

 

[Minotauro]

I don't like FOXNews, but even I admit I watch it more than any other cable news network. Its like that scene in Private Parts where everyone's trying to find out why Howard Stern is getting ratings and even the people that hate him are tuning in to see what he'll say next. That's kind of how I feel about FNC, I pretty much tune in just to see the stupid spins they're going to put on things next.

This is pretty much how I feel. FNC is ten times more entertaining than CNN because it's all just so absurd. Seriously, whenever you have to use the phrase "fair and balanced" to describe your coverage, it's probably the furthest thing from it. What's sad is that people actually take their word for it and are too fucking stupid to notice their obvious bias.

Also, what's interesting about this whole thing is that liberals will actually watch FNC because the reason outlined above or, simply, to know the arguments of their enemies. You really can't say the same for conservatives. I mean, can you even imagine a conservate tuning into a show like Bill Maher's with any regularity?

 

[sc0la]

lol at the banner in this page

edit: img tags not working

 

[Alcibiades]

This is pretty much how I feel. FNC is ten times more entertaining than CNN because it's all just so absurd. Seriously, whenever you have to use the phrase "fair and balanced" to describe your coverage, it's probably the furthest thing from it. What's sad is that people actually take their word for it and are too fucking stupid to notice their obvious bias.

Also, what's interesting about this whole thing is that liberals will actually watch FNC because the reason outlined above or, simply, to know the arguments of their enemies. You really can't say the same for conservatives. I mean, can you even imagine a conservate tuning into a show like Bill Maher's with any regularity?

I used to watch Bill Maher quite a bit on ABC and I'm a conservative, just like Fox News, he always had a variety of opinion and diverse thought on his show...

 

[----]

This is just confirmation of something I've long suspected: the masses are asses.

This confirms something I've long suspected: liberals are arrogant elitists out of touch with America usually living in big cities and unaware of the issues important to the majority of the country.


Fox News prime time destroys CNN because FNC actually has on liberals and conservatives to argue against. CNN has Aaron Brown or Paula Zahn boring you to sleep with his/her pompous take on the days events. FNC primetime is opinionated and confrontational so it is much more interesting to watch. Jay Leno asks his guest tougher questions than Larry King does. Watching Hannity, Colmes, or Oreilly have it out with a guest is much more entertaining to watch. My favorite show is Special Report though. It's the most informative political show of the day and the panel at the last 15 minutes are usually the most interesting to listen to.

It's interesting to see that it's not just the prime time that FNC dominates in but the entire day.

 

[fart]

iirc "the majority of the country" w/rt population lives in "big cities"

 

[Alcibiades]

This confirms something I've long suspected: liberals are arrogant elitists out of touch with America usually living in big cities and unaware of the issues important to the majority of the country.


Fox News prime time destroys CNN because FNC actually has on liberals and conservatives to argue against. CNN has Aaron Brown or Paula Zahn boring you to sleep with his/her pompous take on the days events. FNC primetime is opinionated and confrontational so it is much more interesting to watch. Jay Leno asks his guest tougher questions than Larry King does. Watching Hannity, Colmes, or Oreilly have it out with a guest is much more entertaining to watch. My favorite show is Special Report though. It's the most informative political show of the day and the panel at the last 15 minutes are usually the most interesting to listen to.

It's interesting to see that it's not just the prime time that FNC dominates in but the entire day.

While in many ways O'Reilly used to be my favorite show a few years ago, discovering Brit Hume was especially important for me and I love that show a lot, and would catch it more than O'Reilly sometimes...

Special Report with Brit Hume does a good job of gathering excellent commenators from all over the broad political spectrum...

Among the commentators I love hearing from in the "Fox All-Stars" Panel they have in the last 15 min. are:

Mara Liasson (NPR), Mort Kondrake (The Hill), Bill Salmon, Juan Williams (NPR?), Fred Barnes (Weekly Standard), CC Conally (Washington Post), William Crystal (Weekly Standard), Kitty Kay (BBC), Charles Krauthammer (syndicated), etc...


Far from the bastion of conservative-only thought people who don't watch would have you believe...

In fact, Special Report w/ Brit Hum is probably the most serious political discussion on either MSNBC, CNN, or Fox News...

I've seen a couple of shows come close on CNBC, but Special Report is the most informative and most serious in a consistent manner...

In fact, two weeks before the NYT took a story from the Gore campaign about that Bush commercial that said "RATS" in like a single frame, Special Report w/ Brit Hume had already showed the ad and even freeze-framed it for people, but nobody took it up as a major news item until right closer to the election the NYT started getting worried about Gore's numbers, they decided to "make news" out of something Fox News had already covered...

 

[Socreges]

Humanity cries.

 

[Error Macro]

This is just confirmation of something I've long suspected: the masses are asses.

Is this how you explain why the majority of registered voters are Democrats? That's a pretty stupid statement to make based off the popularity of a television network. Maybe more people watch it (both parties included) because *gasp* maybe people find it to be actually more fair and more balanced than the other stations?

 

[Hitokage]

In FNC-land, moderates and faux democrats(eg. Tammy Bruce) are the ones being held up as "the other side". Seriously, I'd like to know if FNC has ever actually allowed an even debate on their channel.

 

[Phoenix]

This confirms something I've long suspected: liberals are arrogant elitists out of touch with America usually living in big cities and unaware of the issues important to the majority of the country.


Fox News prime time destroys CNN because FNC actually has on liberals and conservatives to argue against. CNN has Aaron Brown or Paula Zahn boring you to sleep with his/her pompous take on the days events. FNC primetime is opinionated and confrontational so it is much more interesting to watch. Jay Leno asks his guest tougher questions than Larry King does. Watching Hannity, Colmes, or Oreilly have it out with a guest is much more entertaining to watch. My favorite show is Special Report though. It's the most informative political show of the day and the panel at the last 15 minutes are usually the most interesting to listen to.

I will just say that this is a well reasoned position. One of the positions of FoxNews is to present controversy and use that to drive viewership, not news. Its the same strategy that is used in the Fox broadcast networks to being in the reality TV crowd. They pander to the lowest common denominator and use that to keep bringing the people in. The question remains whether other networks are willing to give up their current positions as 'news outfits' to compete with this.

 

[Alcibiades]

In FNC-land, moderates and faux democrats(eg. Tammy Bruce) are the ones being held up as "the other side". Seriously, I'd like to know if FNC has ever actually allowed an even debate on their channel.

what are you talking about, of course they have, they always bring in California Democrats (like Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, Susan Estrich, etc...), lots of people from the "black" community, tons of debates with the NARAL (abortion rights) people, etc...

Heck, I've saw Micheal Moore on Fox News years ago when he was promoting "Stupid White Men", and his debate with O'Reilly was definitely even, he's no "faux democrats"...

Besides, Tammy Bruce is usually represented as a conservative and/or moderate debating with another liberal, just like in her appearance on Bill Maher a few years ago...

Do you even watch Hannity and Colmes, you have far-left, Bush-hating people there all the time, from NY establishment elites to the like of the Black Panther Party calling Saddam and Osama "brothers"...

 

[StoOgE]

someone up there said that Fox gets better ratings because it has liberal on there to argue against it. I call bullshit. FNC has liberal on the show so they can say half a sentence, get put on mute, and then yelled at by the host.

Pretty much, all guests on FNC are kept on a short leash, as soon as they say anything the host disagrees with, the shouting begins..

 

[----]

I will just say that this is a well reasoned position. One of the positions of FoxNews is to present controversy and use that to drive viewership, not news. Its the same strategy that is used in the Fox broadcast networks to being in the reality TV crowd. They pander to the lowest common denominator and use that to keep bringing the people in. The question remains whether other networks are willing to give up their current positions as 'news outfits' to compete with this.

I'm sorry I don't think political debate is "pandering" to the lowest common denomintor. I think presenting one side of an issue only or making personal attacks and dehumanizing your ideological opponents through propoganda is really pandering to a base crowd of individuals.

FNC has liberal on the show so they can say half a sentence, get put on mute, and then yelled at by the host.

The only time I've seen a guest put on mute is when they filibuster. What is a host supposed to do when another guest wants to say something, but the other guest is intentionally trying to take up the entire segment's time by yelling out their point of view endlessly? The people put on mute are usually the one's who were yelling not the host. Plus O'Reilly's show has really changed. The yelling and stuff doesn't even happen anymore. It's actually kind of disappointing. The show is still pretty good, but it's not as confrontational as it used to be because he doesn't invite on as many far out/crazy guests as he used to.

They pander to the lowest common denominator and use that to keep bringing the people in. The question remains whether other networks are willing to give up their current positions as 'news outfits' to compete with this.

And once again we hear the silly liberals arrogantly looking down at all the American people beneath them. Gotta love that if they don't see things your way then they're the lowest common denominator attitude. So pompous.

While in many ways O'Reilly used to be my favorite show a few years ago, discovering Brit Hume was especially important for me and I love that show a lot, and would catch it more than O'Reilly sometimes...

Special Report with Brit Hume does a good job of gathering excellent commenators from all over the broad political spectrum...

Among the commentators I love hearing from in the "Fox All-Stars" Panel they have in the last 15 min. are:

Mara Liasson (NPR), Mort Kondrake (The Hill), Bill Salmon, Juan Williams (NPR?), Fred Barnes (Weekly Standard), CC Conally (Washington Post), William Crystal (Weekly Standard), Kitty Kay (BBC), Charles Krauthammer (syndicated), etc...


Far from the bastion of conservative-only thought people who don't watch would have you believe...

In fact, Special Report w/ Brit Hum is probably the most serious political discussion on either MSNBC, CNN, or Fox News...

I've seen a couple of shows come close on CNBC, but Special Report is the most informative and most serious in a consistent manner...

Couldn't possibly agree with you more. That Fox All-Star panel (conservative and liberal) is the best panel of people on tv. And now that they've gotten rid of that annoying Special Report music they used to have it's pretty much the greatest show in cable news.

 

[AntoneM]

Heck, I've saw Micheal Moore on Fox News years ago when he was promoting "Stupid White Men", and his debate with O'Reilly was definitely even, he's no "faux democrats"...

actually Michael Moore is not a Democrat, he didn't vote for Gore and he's not registered as Dem.

 

[AntoneM]

And once again we hear the silly liberals arrogantly looking down at all the American people beneath them. Gotta love that if they don't see things your way then they're the lowest common denominator attitude. So pompous.

And once again we see the tight-assed Conservatives condeming 1/2 the Nation.

 

[Phoenix]

And once again we hear the silly liberals arrogantly looking down at all the American people beneath them. Gotta love that if they don't see things your way then they're the lowest common denominator attitude. So pompous.

This should be good. Explain how you pulled from the crack of your ass that I'm a liberal based on anything that I've said thus far.

 

[----]

actually Michael Moore is not a Democrat, he didn't vote for Gore and he's not registered as Dem.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0628041moore1.html

 

[SKluck]

Moore isn't independent, he just says that to try to seem impartial.

 

[AntoneM]

yeah, in 1998 he might have been, I'm not talking about 6 years ago

 

[The Faceless Master]

FNC is better than comedy central... i watch it whenever the reruns of shows i saw earlier are showing on CNN

 

[Tekky]

Well, I believe that's what happens when you continue to cut education funding (which is what George Bush is good at; you've got to pay for those tax cuts for your rich friends somehow).

The result is that the masses want entertainment instead of information.

Lots of people like to watch WWF, too. Does that mean that it's better than, say, PBS?

There was a report about the Nielsen numbers vs. Fox and CNN a while back. I think it mentioned that CNN viewers tend to tune in several times a day, but just for a quick fix, while Fox viewers tend to just leave the TV turned on & tuned in for a long time. What it amounts to is that you can't really count on the numbers as giving you the whole picture.

BTW, you won't see much in the way of _live_ debates on FOX. They always have to edit out the parts where the 'liberals' make good points or catch the lies of the 'conservatives'.

 

[Belfast]

Is this how you explain why the majority of registered voters are Democrats? That's a pretty stupid statement to make based off the popularity of a television network. Maybe more people watch it (both parties included) because *gasp* maybe people find it to be actually more fair and more balanced than the other stations?

key words = "REGISTERED VOTERS"

maybe it just so happens that the Democrats care more about their country.

 

[----]

There was a report about the Nielsen numbers vs. Fox and CNN a while back. I think it mentioned that CNN viewers tend to tune in several times a day, but just for a quick fix, while Fox viewers tend to just leave the TV turned on & tuned in for a long time. What it amounts to is that you can't really count on the numbers as giving you the whole picture.

BTW, you won't see much in the way of _live_ debates on FOX. They always have to edit out the parts where the 'liberals' make good points or catch the lies of the 'conservatives'.

Almost the entire FNC lineup is filmed live every single night. Or maybe you think punchy Shepard Smith's numerous blunders like "Jenny from the block getting a blow job" are left in on purpose. It's amazing how the hosts manage to break away live during important news events and comment on those new events. You probably don't even watch the channel so what's the point.

I watch all of the channels, it's not really that hard to do. I also tune into CNN for brief periods of time as well. Tuning in and out so quickly has a lot to do with it being mostly uninteresting updates on the Kerry campaign. But let us not question the journalistic integrity of a network that has Christiane Amanpour who happens to be married to a top Kerry campaign advisor reporting from Iraq every day. Nah nah, let's not do that. CNN who cut deals with Saddam and hid important news stories to gain favor within the country is the epitome of journalistic integrity. Let's see and who was it on CNN that was the one and only war time coorespondent during the major combat operations of the Iraq war, why none other than General Wesley Clark. I saw him every day during the Iraq war on CNN sitting in with his goodbuddy Aaron Brown, talking to the people. Nope, no room to question CNN's ethics or bias at all. I wonder how it is that the network came to be known as the Clinton News Network during the 90's.

But CNN is a news organization for intellectuals right, while FNC is just a biased piece of entertainment for the lowest common denominator. Get off the high horse.

Well, I believe that's what happens when you continue to cut education funding (which is what George Bush is good at; you've got to pay for those tax cuts for your rich friends somehow).

The result is that the masses want entertainment instead of information.

Lots of people like to watch WWF, too. Does that mean that it's better than, say, PBS?

Gotta love the arrogance and elitism of the left. Not only do we get to hear Americans who watch FNC are uneducated, but we get watching FNC is akin to watching WWE wrestling. Amazing. Keep proving me right.

 

[Minotauro]

Gotta love the arrogance and elitism of the left. Not only do we get to hear Americans who watch FNC are uneducated, but we get watching FNC is akin to watching WWE wrestling. Amazing. Keep proving me right.

He's trying to make the point that, just because a lot of people watch something doesn't make it a valuable source of entertainment/news/whatever. I mean, do you even pay attention to what media is popular? From White Girls to Driver 3 to the Simple Life to Britney Spears to Sean Hannity, there's a lot of absolute garbage that the general public just laps up. Now, if the majority of people out there are intelligent and liberals are just elitist assholes, how else do you explain these results?

I'm sure I'm going to get a response about me being an arrogant prick or whatever but so be it. Sometimes, you have to be realistic about the general populace. I know Bill O'Reilly posits himself as some defender of the "folks" and constantly uses this to chastise people who he deems have extremist points-of-view but as history has shown, the popular opinion isn't always the best thing. Integration and women's suffrage were both unpopular ideas in their day and now we don't even question them. As much as it bothers conservatives, the future will see people moving away from organized religion, enacting more reasonable drug laws, and giving gays the right to marriage. They're going to have to learn to live with it.

 

[LuckyBrand]

Yah, i am going to have to agree that whoever said FNC edits content to make liberal guests look stupid hasnt EVER watched FNC before commenting.

i have seen o'reilly, hannity, shepard smith bungle stuff up bad many times, and even get owned many times..

 

[demon]

Yah, i am going to have to agree that whoever said FNC edits content to make liberal guests look stupid hasnt EVER watched FNC before commenting.

i have seen o'reilly, hannity, shepard smith bungle stuff up bad many times, and even get owned many times..

You can't edit out everything. Now I don't know about editing out stuff to make liberals look bad, but I myself have seen that shows like O'Reilly (which is really the only FNC show I'm familiar with) are structured to make the left look bad. O'Reilly always has some liberal idiot on his show whom he knows is a retard, just to make the view O'Reilly's opposing look bad and further his own aganda. He treats his liberal guests like shit, yet treats conservative guests of equal (un)brilliance like royalty. I could go on, but I'm dead sick of discussing O'Reilly, or anything Fox News related.

 

[Tekky]

One point: I'm under no delusion whatsoever that CNN isn't biased. Of course it is. You won't find any broadcasting information source that isn't biased.

With that in mind, an intelligent viewer will try to understand the bias of what he's watching and not just suck it all in as gospel. You should do this all the time, and not only when watching the "other guy's" shows.

CNN being a mainstream source, of course they try to "entertain" as well as "inform". They don't really do either that well, in my opinion. But honestly, I don't watch much TV at all these days. It's easier to get news off the web.

I did recently hear about a guest of the O'Reilly show, who showed up early and heard O'Reilly taping some intro regarding the 9/11 panel finding no Al Qaeda connections to Iraq. After the first taping, he didn't like what he said, so he taped another version wherein he claimed that the panel DID find an Al Qaeda connection. During his interview, the guest pointed out O'Reilly's lie. O'Reilly got all flustered and started shouting. Guess what part of the interview got edited out?

In any case, it's hard to argue with someone who's always right. He'll find a way to spin each thing one says in order to prove his points.

I'm not really trying to be elitist by denigrating the right. I'm just trying to be entertaining.

 

[Alcibiades]

someone up there said that Fox gets better ratings because it has liberal on there to argue against it. I call bullshit. FNC has liberal on the show so they can say half a sentence, get put on mute, and then yelled at by the host.

Pretty much, all guests on FNC are kept on a short leash, as soon as they say anything the host disagrees with, the shouting begins..

do you even watch, one of the Hannity's trademarks is if he can't stop a guest by try 2 to challenge the point they just made, he lets them "rant" until they can't find what to say and then he'll go "ok, now can I ask my question?"

 

[Error Macro]

key words = "REGISTERED VOTERS"

maybe it just so happens that the Democrats care more about their country.

Yeah, and maybe the masses are asses.

 

[MetatronM]

And once again we hear the silly liberals arrogantly looking down at all the American people beneath them. Gotta love that if they don't see things your way then they're the lowest common denominator attitude. So pompous.

I apparently think of Texans in the manner you think of liberals. Fascinating.

Gotta love the arrogance and elitism of the left. Not only do we get to hear Americans who watch FNC are uneducated, but we get watching FNC is akin to watching WWE wrestling. Amazing. Keep proving me right.

I wouldn't go that far, but I would say the O'Reilly Factor and the Jerry Springer Show are first cousins. Take that as you will.

Regardless, I find arguing about the merits of one biased cable news channel versus another to be amazingly banal and thoroughly obnoxious on all accounts. Personally, I think everyone would have a MUCH better view of the world if they simply watched the Daily Show and read The Onion. Maybe they won't have all the details or know about EVERY Middle American teenage white girl who goes missing, but they will have an overall better understanding and perception of the world we live in as a whole and how events ACTUALLY effect us. I firmly believe this.

Or if you MUST have "real" news, you could just watch EuroNews or BBC America. Both are equally vastly better than the American alternatives.

 

[Kuramu]

While in many ways O'Reilly used to be my favorite show a few years ago, discovering Brit Hume was especially important for me and I love that show a lot, and would catch it more than O'Reilly sometimes...

Special Report with Brit Hume does a good job of gathering excellent commenators from all over the broad political spectrum...

Among the commentators I love hearing from in the "Fox All-Stars" Panel they have in the last 15 min. are:

Mara Liasson (NPR), Mort Kondrake (The Hill), Bill Salmon, Juan Williams (NPR?), Fred Barnes (Weekly Standard), CC Conally (Washington Post), William Crystal (Weekly Standard), Kitty Kay (BBC), Charles Krauthammer (syndicated), etc...


Far from the bastion of conservative-only thought people who don't watch would have you believe...

In fact, Special Report w/ Brit Hum is probably the most serious political discussion on either MSNBC, CNN, or Fox News...

I've seen a couple of shows come close on CNBC, but Special Report is the most informative and most serious in a consistent manner...

In fact, two weeks before the NYT took a story from the Gore campaign about that Bush commercial that said "RATS" in like a single frame, Special Report w/ Brit Hume had already showed the ad and even freeze-framed it for people, but nobody took it up as a major news item until right closer to the election the NYT started getting worried about Gore's numbers, they decided to "make news" out of something Fox News had already covered...

i don't like shows like O'Reily or Hanity & Colmes, but i LOVE the Brit Hume special report show, especially the last two segments with the panel. no nonsense, civil debate.

 

[Swordian]

The secret behind the success of Fox News: http://homepage.mac.com/mjsmitho/FoxNewsPornSlip/FoxOpps.html (NSFW)

 

[MIMIC]

No wonder why Fox News is ahead. Here's the kind of stuff they show.

I edited this picture, but the uncensored version was featured as a graphic in a story they ran: