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" Fox News fair and balanced "
You're alright, I don't care what I may have said about you before
NBC and MSNBC 'news'.
Tell me of one that is more fair and balanced
When I watch them they have both sides give there side of the story
They often have someone representing each point of view, as do most news outlets. They also often "stack the deck" in whom they select to represent the liberal point of view, again, as so other news outlets. But if you look strictly at the reporting done by the Fox News reporters, and their commentary, it definitely leans towards the right. Which I don't criticize them for. Like I said, nobody is completely "fair and balanced," but they are no more or less so than anybody else, IMHO.
Having someone on with an opposing viewpoint is the easiest way to appear to be balanced. You can always cut them off, or let their 30 seconds of their viewpoint be sandwiched in between 2 minutes of your own network's viewpoint. Another option is to pick an opposing voice that is not very strong (Alan Colmes for Fox comes to mind).
The real test for journalistic fairness is how an issue is framed. For example, say Republican Joe Smith proposes a 10% tax break for factory owners. Fox's headline would probably be "Smith Proposes Innovative Jobs Incentive Program", while on MSNBC you'd see something like "Smith Rewards Fatcats With Tax Giveaway."
It's those descriptors and value judgments that are the tipoff. The ones that take you beyond simply "what happened" to "how can we characterize it to help our side?"
As few as 10 years ago, those subtle biases were difficult to spot. These days, they don't try to hide them much, and I'm convinced many times the way both Fox and MSNBC frame the news is directed by the political parties. All you have to do is look at the story title below the talking heads.