Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism is a documentary that lambasts media bias, specifically the conservatively-slanted Fox News, when the documentary itself is biased in the regard that it makes Fox News out to be the only network that is corporate-controlled and guilty of watering down or slanting its stories with a specific partisan agenda. Because of this, director Robert Greenwald seems to be effectively pushing his own agenda that media bias is wrong when it's slanted in the right direction but makes little to no mention of the "liberal bias" in news we've heard all too much about.
First off, I speak as a viewer anxious to watch a documentary about an issue that truly effects every American and how we obtain our information and our news. I'm not offended by Outfoxed's otherwise substantial critique of Rupert Murdoch, Fox News, or its practices, many of which rightfully deserved. I'm slightly disturbed, however, by the documentary's lack of peripheral vision. It's so easy to attack Fox News for its conservative bias, on-air flubs, and independent/right-leaning pundits who act as on-air columnists rather than reporters, but to dig deeper and find accusations of media bias all across the grid would be a challenge worth commending. Greenwald segregates his view to Fox News, which, unintentionally, becomes documentarian finger-pointing when you realize that rather than effectively give us equal opportunity critiques of the media's delivery of information, Greenwald is simply trying to give us one side of the issue while greatly suppressing the other side.
Grading the film on its own terms - a seventy-two minute critique on Fox News and Murdoch - the film finds ways to be marginally successful. It opens with PowerPoint-style graphics stating when Rupert Murdoch first bought pieces of media equipment, to when he first acquired different TV networks, to what he currently owns, to how many people watch a network he owns. Former Fox News producers and behind-the-scenes technical workers speak to Greenwald, however, with disguised voices for fear of the network's retaliation, which should already tell us something. Other apparently brave souls choose to keep themselves open and identified, all of whom argue Fox's blatant bias and dictative ways.
What Greenwald gets access to that will immediately turn heads are Fox News' memos that implore anchors to try and point out something about the Democratic Party that may make them look bad, make some sort of comment on air about some candidate, interrupt coverage of something else to something the political right is involved in, and so forth. All of these cases show how Fox News has cheapened the news element of journalism, as they constantly seem to be searching for a way to attack or blast the Democratic Party while casting the Republican Party in a better light.
A segment of the film is also devoted to the rise of "soft news" and journalism devoted to trivial news about celebrities and how Fox News has chosen to cover it. One former graphic designer for Fox News talks about how he designed an "ALERT" logo for the network to play before breaking news, like some type of disaster, some type of political bill going through office, or a developing story that demanded media coverage. He remarks how disgusted he was when he saw the "ALERT" logo - which ostensibly appears to be easy to attach onto a story that deserves front page news and immediate attention - to something like Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez's relationship or something incredibly trite and meaningless that should be nothing more than a blurb, if anything. Outfoxed doesn't wholly criticize Fox for this, but remarks how 24-hour news channels have become more about ratings than accuracy in reporting.
When Outfoxed gets observant and analytical is when it hits its stride as a film. It talks about how polls consistently show Fox News viewers as extremely misinformed when asked basic questions (have we found weapons of mass destruction in Irag? Do other countries approve of us entering Iraq?) compared to those who look towards other news outlets for their daily scoop. It also compares in a stretch of time the ratio to Republican commentators to Democratic commentators on Fox News and the result is 83% to 17% percent (5:1), respectively, with the liberal/Democratic politicians falling under the lines of left-leaning centrists who often sided with President George W. Bush on many key issues.
Finally, the other point Outfoxed thankfully brings up is the blurred line between news and opinion with its on-air reporters. Between Bill O'Reilly giving his opinion during his "no spin" "Talking Points" element of his program The O'Reilly Factor to Sean Hannity blatantly stating "'x' amount of days till George Bush's reelection" during the Bush/Kerry election season, it's so difficult to determine when the news stops on Fox and the opinion starts or vice-versa. No other news network seems to employ their pundits for their opinion like Fox News in addition to allowing them to say so much to their guests (IE: Bill O'Reilly consistently being allowed to interrupt people and telling them to "shut up" in a highly-unprofessional manner).
Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism is an interesting, albeit been-there-done-that critique of a network that will see more criticism in its entire lifetime than perhaps positivity. Despite being the most watched news network in America, it still carries baggage thicker than any other. Moreover, Greenwald has devoted much of his time as a director to shedding light on and criticizing enormous conservative industries, such as the Iraq War and even the billionaire Koch Brothers in his documentary Koch Brothers Exposed. I'd still love to see how Robert Greenwald would paint MSNBC and its blatant Democratic Party bias and see how the similarities match up.
First off, I speak as a viewer anxious to watch a documentary about an issue that truly effects every American and how we obtain our information and our news. I'm not offended by Outfoxed's otherwise substantial critique of Rupert Murdoch, Fox News, or its practices, many of which rightfully deserved. I'm slightly disturbed, however, by the documentary's lack of peripheral vision. It's so easy to attack Fox News for its conservative bias, on-air flubs, and independent/right-leaning pundits who act as on-air columnists rather than reporters, but to dig deeper and find accusations of media bias all across the grid would be a challenge worth commending. Greenwald segregates his view to Fox News, which, unintentionally, becomes documentarian finger-pointing when you realize that rather than effectively give us equal opportunity critiques of the media's delivery of information, Greenwald is simply trying to give us one side of the issue while greatly suppressing the other side.
Grading the film on its own terms - a seventy-two minute critique on Fox News and Murdoch - the film finds ways to be marginally successful. It opens with PowerPoint-style graphics stating when Rupert Murdoch first bought pieces of media equipment, to when he first acquired different TV networks, to what he currently owns, to how many people watch a network he owns. Former Fox News producers and behind-the-scenes technical workers speak to Greenwald, however, with disguised voices for fear of the network's retaliation, which should already tell us something. Other apparently brave souls choose to keep themselves open and identified, all of whom argue Fox's blatant bias and dictative ways.
What Greenwald gets access to that will immediately turn heads are Fox News' memos that implore anchors to try and point out something about the Democratic Party that may make them look bad, make some sort of comment on air about some candidate, interrupt coverage of something else to something the political right is involved in, and so forth. All of these cases show how Fox News has cheapened the news element of journalism, as they constantly seem to be searching for a way to attack or blast the Democratic Party while casting the Republican Party in a better light.
A segment of the film is also devoted to the rise of "soft news" and journalism devoted to trivial news about celebrities and how Fox News has chosen to cover it. One former graphic designer for Fox News talks about how he designed an "ALERT" logo for the network to play before breaking news, like some type of disaster, some type of political bill going through office, or a developing story that demanded media coverage. He remarks how disgusted he was when he saw the "ALERT" logo - which ostensibly appears to be easy to attach onto a story that deserves front page news and immediate attention - to something like Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez's relationship or something incredibly trite and meaningless that should be nothing more than a blurb, if anything. Outfoxed doesn't wholly criticize Fox for this, but remarks how 24-hour news channels have become more about ratings than accuracy in reporting.
When Outfoxed gets observant and analytical is when it hits its stride as a film. It talks about how polls consistently show Fox News viewers as extremely misinformed when asked basic questions (have we found weapons of mass destruction in Irag? Do other countries approve of us entering Iraq?) compared to those who look towards other news outlets for their daily scoop. It also compares in a stretch of time the ratio to Republican commentators to Democratic commentators on Fox News and the result is 83% to 17% percent (5:1), respectively, with the liberal/Democratic politicians falling under the lines of left-leaning centrists who often sided with President George W. Bush on many key issues.
Finally, the other point Outfoxed thankfully brings up is the blurred line between news and opinion with its on-air reporters. Between Bill O'Reilly giving his opinion during his "no spin" "Talking Points" element of his program The O'Reilly Factor to Sean Hannity blatantly stating "'x' amount of days till George Bush's reelection" during the Bush/Kerry election season, it's so difficult to determine when the news stops on Fox and the opinion starts or vice-versa. No other news network seems to employ their pundits for their opinion like Fox News in addition to allowing them to say so much to their guests (IE: Bill O'Reilly consistently being allowed to interrupt people and telling them to "shut up" in a highly-unprofessional manner).
Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism is an interesting, albeit been-there-done-that critique of a network that will see more criticism in its entire lifetime than perhaps positivity. Despite being the most watched news network in America, it still carries baggage thicker than any other. Moreover, Greenwald has devoted much of his time as a director to shedding light on and criticizing enormous conservative industries, such as the Iraq War and even the billionaire Koch Brothers in his documentary Koch Brothers Exposed. I'd still love to see how Robert Greenwald would paint MSNBC and its blatant Democratic Party bias and see how the similarities match up.