12/06/2007

A Snapshot Of The Fox News Website...

This is a screen capture I did around 8 PM Thursday night. Lets take a look at what news Fox News thinks is important for us to know:

A- A title favorable to a Republican candidate. Everyone wants to be comforted. The reactions were primarily positive to a speech in which Romney only used the word "Mormon" once. There is no mention of the fact that Mormonism is one of the only major denominations that has rituals that are not open to the general public. Why is this? There is also a blurb about Gennifer Flowers and Hillary Clinton. These folks just can't let it go, can they? This is the top left entry, so we assume this is the most important news of the moment.

B- A bullshit piece of fluff about how some arrogant rich dude who craves attention leaves a big tip. No legitimate news value whatsoever. This one actually warranted a picture. It is a close second in importance and the picture gives it a lot of prominence.

C- Some important piece about online bullying. Obviously one of the most important issues our society faces right now. Sorry to make light of it and I certainly feel bad for any person who endures any type of bullying, but to give this the number three spot, basically, in rank seems a bit disproportionate.

D- A blood and guts story. Something that ultimately affects a very small circle of people.

E- The smallest print of the different sections, this is where the more important stories are tucked away. Things that may be critical of the president, such as "Bush Admin. Credibility Suffers After Iran NIE Report" usually end up here along other throwaway stories as "Eight-Month-Old Tips Scale At 41 Pounds".

I wonder if the people who work at Fox News feel pride in the work they do. Do they honestly feel that they are providing something of value to our society? It's hard to imagine.

15 comments:

Dr. Monkey Von Monkerstein said...

The terrorists win if you question FOX News.

Moderator said...

The CNN site is really no better.

Cap'n Ergo "XL+II" Jinglebollocks said...

I dunno-- the Trump(eter) of Doom has one o' them Mona Lisa smiles...

Gaby Hess said...

I can read between the lines: you are a closet Fox fan. Admit it.

Slinger said...

I agree with Grant - Sometimes CNN is worse with the selection of main stories.

The [Cherry] Ride said...

Begs the question: Why were you on Fox?

Joe said...

One of my pet peeves is the phenomenon of local crime stories being picked up and broadcast as national news. It's ultimately a gruesome diversion that does nothing but create a climate of fear.

BTW, does a tiki bar sound ok for the December 26 blogger get-together?

Anonymous said...

Apparantly, Mormons adamantly believe that the Garden Of Eden is somewhere in Missouri.

I swear I'm not making that up.

Distributorcap said...

NOTHING ON BRITNEY!

if you to Perezhilton.com they probably have a whole section on arms control and global warming

Cap'n Ergo "XL+II" Jinglebollocks said...

well, hell, Yahoo just told me that Syrians can't access FaceBook!! Th' world is a goin' to hell!!

what's that line from Batman? "This town needs an enema!!"

vikkitikkitavi said...

OMG according to Fox, there's been a "massive beer theft"!

Oh, the humanity.

Micgar said...

I absolutely detest FOX! You probably have seen it, but I just saw the whole movie/video-Outfoxed? If you haven't, its on Google vids.

Clare said...

I agree with Grant and Slinger - any TV news organization's website is going to have a top ten list of stories that's 90% fluff and gore.

That online bullying story is probably so high on Fox because Rupert Murdoch runs both Fox and Myspace, where the bullying occured, and MySpace might be held partially responsible for the girl's suicide.

Writeprocrastinator said...

"I wonder if the people who work at Fox News feel pride in the work they do. Do they honestly feel that they are providing something of value to our society? It's hard to imagine."

Why, it's making the nauseatingly affluent feel better about themselves and we could all use a little pick me-up.

Oh, and what Dr. Monkerstein said.

Cap'n Ergo "XL+II" Jinglebollocks said...

they missed a real news opportunity when they didn't report on th' doorman with bad breath. 'tsk, tsk. Tank gawd Yahoo snapped it up!!