FOX news..is it fair and balance?

A growing section of the world’s media is now privately owned. It has been suggested that there is a fundamental contradiction between the ideal that public media should operate as a public sphere and the reality concentrated in private ownership. Arguably, once the media is privately owned it creates fear that there will be restrictions of information and biasness in disseminating news. These long standing worries have been reinforced in recent years by the emergence of a particular news channel, the Fox News.

In October 1996, right wing American-Australian media conglomerate, Rupert Murdoch announced the launch of Fox news. Today, Fox news has gone to air with approximately 85 millions viewers in the United State. Murdoch proudly publicizes his news channel to be ‘fair and balanced’. However critics saw distortion in Murdoch’s slogan. Ideally, the principal role of a democratic media is to act as a check on the state. According to Curran (2000), the media should be the voice of the people in monitoring the full range of state activity and fearlessly expose abuses of official authority. However, Shawcross (1993) argues that: ‘Murdoch has always been willing to rein in his ideological commitment to his viewers in order to gain regulatory favors from politicians to conform to state-imposed impartiality rules or to woo audiences… Rupert steadfast determination is to promote, wherever possible, right wing values ‘

Due to the right wing perspective of capitalism and being as an entrepreneur, Murdoch views his media empire to be a profit centered business. To further illustrate this, the media also provide a channel of communication between government and the governed. This is to help the society to clarify its objectives, formulate policy and manage itself (Curran, 2000). However, instead of giving politicians with fair and plural representation, Murdoch will only favor politicians whom he thinks can give him advantages (Minehan, 2006). Murdoch fails to embody the ideal principal of a democratic media because he put the needs of profit before democracy.

In the United States, Fox news supported the current American President, George Bush in the invasion of Iraq to put an end to Sadam Hussein’s regime in 2003. According to Minehan (2006), Murdoch’s reward was that fox news reporters would be the first to arrive in Baghdad and was provided with protection from the US military. However, the grand slam was after the Iraq war Murdoch was granted the permission to buy DirecTv, the biggest satellite broadcaster in the United State. By doing this, Murdoch would emerge at the head of a global media empire and is valued at more than US$110 billions. According to Chenoweth (2001):
‘When joined to Sky Global (Murdoch’s satellite broadcaster in Asia) Murdoch satellite platforms would stretch seamlessly from North to South America, to Europe, across central Asia, China and Japan, down to Australia’ (p. xi). This means that Murdoch controls his own world highway, with a global voice and power that no one in history has ever had (ibid.).

It is appalling to witness the misuse of power in the media world. Ken Auletta (1995) one of the correspondent in the PBS (American public television) broadcast of, Who’s Afraid of Rupert Murdoch’, commented that ‘Murdoch is one most admired in a businessman-- bold, decisive, and willing to take the long view. But he is feared because what he produces can be viewed as toxic to our culture and our democracy’. Rupert Murdoch may as well be the most successful capitalist and the head of a global media empire. However, his claims that Fox News is fair and balanced has been untrue. Based on the facts stated in the above it can be seen that the news presented to the world by Rupert Murdoch are partial, influenced and biased. Without a doubt Rupert Murdoch is a brilliant entrepreneur but his means is unquestionably anything but fair and balanced.

References:

Chenoweth, N. 2001. Virtual Murdoch: reality wars on the information highway, Secker and Warburg, London

Curran, J & Gurevitch, M (Ed.) 2000. Mass Media and Society. (3rd ed.). Arnold: London

Minehan, M. 2006, “Rupert Murdoch” Presentation, Insearch, date accessed 19.11.06