Outfoxed

The Fox News channel was created by Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch in 1996. Former Republican Party consultant and NBC executive Roger Ailes was hired as the founding CEO of the news channel. The channel is broadcast to millions of homes around America and places a heavy emphasis on graphics and audio effects to catch the attention of viewers and keep a steady audience. Fox News has often been criticized as a biased media outlet that confuses commentary with news and derides the views of people whose ideologies do not line up with their own. There are many principles that journalists are expected to uphold and stand by, such as reporting truth and accuracy, never adding anything that was not there, being as transparent as possible and having accountability for consequences. 

Fox News has had the same two slogans for years: “Fair and Balanced,” and “We report, you decide.” Though Fox News claims to be a fair and balanced news outlet, this does not always seem to be the case. One of the five concepts from the foundation of the discipline of verification says “Be as transparent as possible about your methods and motives.” The documentary includes interviews with several former reporters for Fox who say that each morning, reporters would receive a memo from their bosses telling them which stories to focus on throughout the day. Oftentimes, these memos would tell employees to do things like discredit liberal agendas or liberal politicians. This style of reporting does not reflect a desire to be transparent in reporting methods; rather, it demonstrates how Fox News attempts to present an often skewed view of what is going on in the country and push their own agenda. Another concept from the foundations of the discipline of verification says to exercise humility. Fox News has several shows with specific reporters/hosts, some of which include “The Bill O’Reilly Factor” and “Hannity.” On his nightly show, Bill O’Reilly sometimes invites Liberal guests to talk about certain issues and is frequently rude to these guests, telling them to shut up and yelling at them when they express an opinion contrary to his opinion. O’Reilly’s show on Fox News is just one example of how reporters and hosts for the news channel do not always exercise humility and even tell guests to leave, as in the case of Jeremy Glick. 

One of the Radio Television Digital News Association’s guiding principles says that journalists should hold “accountability for consequences.” Over the years, Fox News has let journalistic and ethical slippery slopes pass in order to keep a reporter where they are. One such case occurred when correspondent Carl Cameron interviewed presidential candidate George W. Bush during his presidential campaign. This may not seem like a problem except for the fact that Cameron’s wife was working on staff for Bush’s campaign. For most, this would seem like a conflict of interest, but Fox News did nothing about it and treated as if it were not a problem. Reporters for the channel often say things like “Some people say” in an attempt to expand on something other people say when really, the reporter is the person who expresses that opinion. These statement are not usually attributed to an actual person and it is not difficult to realize that the reporter is trying to state their own opinion but not outright say it. All in all, it would seem that Fox News does not adhere to many of the principles set out for journalists to uphold journalistic integrity, accuracy, and transparency in reporting.