Fox News Creating Political Ads

The Fox morning show Fox & Friends aired a four minute video attacking President Obama's term in office that was created by Fox News executives.




Fox News, which is continually criticized for its right-leaning reporting, is the highest watched news channel in the nation. This is a problem when American journalism purports itself as unbiased, and Fox news itself claims to be "fair and balanced." Fox executives claim that they had no knowledge of the video, that they dealt with it, and that they subsequently removed the video. This is not the first time that Fox has produced an attack ad against Obama; they played one before his State of the Union Address in January.

According to this article in MediaMatters,

The network helped launch the tea party movement, was instrumental in Republicans taking back the House in 2010, and basically served as the unofficial venue for the 2012 Republican presidential primary. 

This brings up the question of bias in journalism--if overtly biased sources can claim to be journalism and news, can news claim to be unbiased?

Obama shares his view on US Press

Pool, Getty Images

  At this year's White House Correspondents' Dinner, not only did President Obama cleverly target his opponent Mitt Romney and entertain his audience with humor, but he also made interesting statements about the role of the press in the United States. The President stated, "...whoever takes the oath of office next January will face some great challenges, but he will also inherit traditions that make us greater than the challenges we face. And one of those traditions is represented here tonight: a free press that isn't afraid to ask questions, to examine and to criticize". After paying his respects to journalists like Anthony Shadid and Marie Colvin, he goes on to say, "[Journalists] help protect our freedom, our democracy, and our way of life".


Although I feel that to some extent, in comparison to other countries' press, the US does have a system that allows people to challenge the government freely, I thought his latter statement was a little bold. I do not always feel that journalism is accountable to the people. When journalism is objective, is it really portraying the truth behind what is going on in our country? Objectivity, at times, may erase the greater meaning behind why crimes occur or our economy is failing us. For example, in the Trayvon Martin case various facts were given, but many times major news media fail to critically report that these incidents occur because of the racial tensions and stereotypes society has towards the African American community. Crucial analysis like this could really contribute to a discussion on the reasons why certain communities are targeted as criminals.


However, I feel that with the rise of technology and new media "citizen journalists" and "bloggers" have been the more critical lens of the press and media. People who once did not have the space to voice their views on issues are now the ones challenging news itself. They perhaps are the bridge to the gap between facts and social reality. Even though these group of news reporters are not as highly regarded, they are beginning to attain an important place in news reporting. The President even ended the night by sharing his appreciation for bloggers.

Find full Speech here: President Barack Obama at the 2012 White House Correspondents' Dinner

Slow Jamming the News

Recently President Barack Obama show a guest was on the Jimmy Fallon Show taped at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Jimmy Fallon is known for being one of the funniest comedians on late night television. Having the President of the United States on this show not only shed new light on what the president is like outside the office but he also managed to fit in some useful information about the president and his campaign. Much like the Daily Show or The Colbert Report, millions of people watch Jimmy Fallon's show and this is a way that could trigger people to see and hear about what is going on in the world today. In fact, according to The Washington Post this particular show racked in the show's best numbers in two years.

One of the skits that Jimmy Fallon did that night to open the show was called "Slow-Jamming the News". I thought it was really funny and it put a different twist to the "news" and president Obama. This is highly related to what we are learning in class about digital journalism and the forms of it. It puts the news in a different light that isn't so formal which makes it more attractive to people in my opinion. If the news is being put on a show that so many people watch in a less than traditional way it gives the news a new path. It opens up doors for people to investigate their world. It may not be the most informational piece but I think in the realm of digital journalism it can trigger an audience to do more research on their own to find out more. It works as a sort of teaser that lets the audience know the very broad and diminished version but it doesn't stop them from wanting more.

Corruption and needless spending in our Government

Two events have occurred the last couple weeks that have shocked the news world, government and citizens of the United States.  The first scandal was surrounding the General Services Administration who is supposed to set the standards for efficiency and cost-cutting, responsible for making sure the government does not waste taxpayer money.  They spent $830,000 on a weekend trip to Vegas which was an outrageous and needless spending of citizens tax dollars for their own personal enjoyment.

The second event, which even has President Obama defending himself against their actions, was when Agents from the Secret Service hired prostitutes while accompanying the President on a foreign relations trip to Columbia.  This came to the surface as the result of one of the agents refusing to pay $40 for services rendered.  By this flagrant disregard of their responsibilities to represent the United States in a professional manner that is expected from the Secret Service, whose job it is to protect the President from harm, these agents jeopardized the national security of our country, risking blackmail, dishonoring our nation and punishment as a result of their indulgent A-type personalities.

These huge events have grown so large among digital media, newspapers, magazines and so many television entertainment shows like the Daily Show, they have become daily segments on the evening news programs.

These events have shown why we should question whether our government agencies are fulfilling the purpose of their existence.  How ironic that the head of the GSA, whose agency is responsible for fighting corruption in the government, is being accused of corruption as a result of his poor decision of planning and approving a trip to Las Vegas for his own department.

It is also so ironic that presumed conservative, straight, wholesome, intelligent, and honest, trained government representatives can make decisions that compromise our government, themselves, the security of the President and the nation as a whole because of their selfish and immature behavior.

         The head of the GSA has resigned because of the scandal in disgrace and at least six secret service agents have been fired from their positions.

ITEMS bought in Vegas on the GSA boondoggle –

Clown, mind-readers, canteens, bicycles, Commemorative coins, keychains, T-shirts, yearbooks (thereby, ironically, keeping a RECORD of what they were doing in Vegas)

Links-

Los Angeles Times

The Daily Show 1

The Daily Show 2