The results are in and not only did Fox crush the competition (again), lefty critics are saying Fox’s election coverage was “fair and balanced”.
Mediaite: But don’t just take our word for it, read what other media critics had to say. Writing for Time’s Tuned In blog James Poniewozik seemed to agree that Fox News was fairer than the lot:
To be fair, NBC did join coverage earlier, after an all-new Biggest Loser.) Fox News, for all its image as the Republican-friendly network, actually seemed to have the most reserved coverage in tone of the three big cablers, going with a more reserved set and less flashy graphics (granted, by cable news standards) than its competitors. A whiteboard was even employed.
Credit where due, Fox also had a more, well, balanced panel much of the night than its competitor MSNBC. Holding forth from left of center for Fox were the recently-high-profile Juan Williams and Democratic political guru Joe Trippi. MSNBC’s main lineup, on the other hand, was basically its center-to-left lineup of nightly hosts: Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O’Donnell.
Politico also drew a similar distinction between the coverage and analysis provided by MSNBC and Fox News:
Although Fox News took the most criticism during this campaign season for its alleged bias, it was MSNBC — whose new “Lean Forward” tagline inspired CNN’s promo — that wore its point of view most on its sleeve Tuesday night.
MSNBC’s election coverage was led by a panel comprised mostly of its opinionated prime-time hosts (Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews, Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O’Donnell, along with frequent contributor Eugene Robinson), with nary a conservative voice in the mix. In contrast, Fox News’s was provided by two anchors from its straight-news dayside, Megyn Kelly and Bret Baier, along with a panel that included conservatives like Karl Rove as well as liberals like Juan Williams. Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity stopped by only briefly.
During the commercials on Fox, I would flip to MSNBC and CNN. On CNN, I thought I was watching the morning commute on the NYC subways. Their studio was jammed packed with pundits. It was impossible to tell what was going on there.
On MSNBC, it was like watching a bunch of teens talking smack in the locker room, complete with dick jokes.
This is news? This isn’t even decent commentary. What this is is sour grapes on steroids! If MSNBC really wants to live up to their new “lean forward” motto, they might start by ditching these pathetic clowns for some more credible personalities. There are lefties out there that know how to make sane and credible arguments as well as conduct themselves in a professional manner.
Via: Memeorandum
Via: TV By The Numbers
Via: Mediaite
Via: The Daily Beast