On Fox's answer to Howie Kurtz's hackery on CNN, Fox News Watch, conservative columnist and regular there Cal Thomas proudly celebrated Rupert Murdoch's ability to fool enough gullible Americans into thinking that Fox is anything besides a propaganda arm of the Republican Party and the fact that more people tuned into their network than their competitors during the mid-term elections.
SCOTT: USA Today started the coverage the day after the election with this headline, “Now What?” Cal I know you wrote a column about this, but does this apply to the voters? Or does this apply to the media? I’m not sure the media know what to make of this mid-term.
THOMAS: Jon, as you go through the numbers that you just had on the screen it’s very clear that MSMRIP; mainstream media is no longer mainstream. Fox is the dominant force in broadcast news today. There’s just no question about it. And most of the voters have figured this out. Jim mentioned the Dan Rather thing.
That was probably the beginning point of the people realizing that they could talk back to the media establishment. Now they no longer have to talk back. They’re irrelevant. Nobody watches them any more.
Thomas seems to have that Palin victim card down pat here doesn't he? Fox is just giving a voice to the little guy and fightin' against that "lame stream media" that just wants to keep the Republicans down and keep their voices from being heard. Thomas obviously assumes that none of the viewers of Fox News Watch are paying any attention to just whose interests his bosses are looking out for and it isn't the dupes who actually think they're a news organization or that represent the working class in America.
The rest of our corporate media isn't running too far behind them, but for anyone at Fox to be claiming that they're somehow "mainstream" compared to the rest of them is laughable. That's only true if "mainstream" equals ratings rather than telling their viewers the truth or covering issues that might actually matter when it comes to their economic interests.
I'm trying to remember who said it and maybe someone else can help me out here. Someone on the left and I'm thinking it might be Thom Hartmann talked to a reporter who covered the USSR and said that the one big difference between the Russians and Americans today is that most Russians knew that Pravda was propaganda. Sadly most Americans don't realize that the better part of what our corporate media is or not is telling them is just that, propaganda to benefit the wealthy and keep the viewers distracted about issues that matter, with Fox leading the way.
