For years the mainstream media outlets were primarily ABC, NBC, and CBS. Then the advent of twenty four hour news coverage came by the likes of CNN a creation of Ted Turner. Multiple twenty four hour news networks now exist which include FOX, MSNBC, FOX BUSINESS NEWS, and others. During the rise of conservative talk radio, the medium gave rise to conservative talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh, G. Gordon Liddy, Mark Levin, to name a few. The mainstream media cried foul because the influence of these conservative hosts began to significantly affect the outcome of elections. Now there is a rise of Libertarian talk show hosts on both radio and on television. Fox Business News showcases Judge Andrew Napolitano on “Freedom Watch” and John Stossel on “Stossel”. Though Fox gives these individuals a platform, it may be argued that Ron Paul and his libertarian leanings largely inspired this awakening of the American public regarding libertarian views of government. Proof of the popularity is exemplified in the fact that for two years in a row with 30 percent of the vote Ron Paul has won the CPAC straw poll followed by Mitt Romney trailing 7 points behind him this year.
The television network which has built its reputation on being “fair and balanced” has proven itself to be nothing of the kind. Fox News Network , a tentacle of News Corporation, Inc. owned by Rupert Murdoch, committed the unpardonable sin to those who love freedom and liberty beginning in 2008. Ron Paul was excluded from the Fox debates, minimized, and demonized by their pundits with right wing political philosophies. History is repeating itself. On February 15, 2011 Fox News aired a segment, reporting on the results of the CPAC 2011 straw poll. The video used to accent the report was, in fact, from the CPAC straw poll in 2010, when there was a larger group of Mitt Romney supporters. The booing in the audio was quite overwhelming. Unfortunately this exposes Fox to be no better of a journalistic source than CNN, MSNBC, and others who deliberately distort and spin newsworthy information. When other videos posted on YouTube are viewed, the booing is not anywhere near as prominent as in the video used by Fox News. They even refused to use CSPAN’s footage which also had omni-directional microphones and clearly reveals that the boos were not anywhere nearly as prominent in the audio as in the Fox News piece. The news network is now clearly proven to be nothing more than one more arm of the government propaganda machine.
Fox today issued a correction to their news piece and an apology to Ron Paul for their “mistake”. Many journalists realize that it is nearly impossible to mix up video footage which aired one year earlier with current footage, which is readily available at multiple locations on the web. The program feature clearly attempted to downplay the influence which Ron Paul has made in the minds of many Americans, especially among the youth. When viewing the footage from CPAC 2011 Live’s website, the cheers and standing ovation by a majority of the crowd contradict the footage used by Fox News. This shows a deliberate attempt to cast Ron Paul’s victory in the straw poll in a negative light. This example shows how Fox, along with other news networks, are deliberately attempting to shape the news and popular political opinion. Shame on Fox and every other network that deliberately lies to their audience! In short, this event highlights the need for Americans to get their news from multiple sources and become free thinkers, not accepting anything they hear on a main stream media station or web site. In many respects, one must go to alternative media sites in order to get the “real” story or at least the facts which are omitted from the main stream media’s coverage. The outcry, in great part, forced Fox News to retract and correct their program piece. This retraction shows signs that true Constitutional Conservatives are growing in number and influence. Perhaps hope still remains that this Constitutional Republic may be saved.
No comments:
Post a Comment