In water-is-wet news: Media Matters just uncovered that FOX News is not only biased towards liberals, but even makes stuff up! The other day I had the most fascinating conversation with someone about just that.
I was complimenting FOX News on its ability to reach even the most average households. I know so many working class people with very little time to read or watch any news, yet FOX News is always blaring in their homes. A colleague, who happens to make documentaries for a living, made this observation: "It's like a wrestling match with good guys and bad guys and story lines. Did you ever watch wrestling as a kid?"
"Of course!" I replied.
It's true. I had my dad purchase the Wrestlemania packages, attended live matches at the Lowell Auditorium in Massachusetts and even had posters of wrestlers up on my bedroom wall. I was crushed every time someone told me that it wasn't real. They were such buzzkills who didn't get just how dangerous those steel cage matches really were.
I do think my friend had a point: not only were those WWF matches set up, but there were people -- including myself -- who believed that they were real. We believed that the world was nothing but good guys -- mostly All-American like Hulk Hogan -- and bad guys -- mainly Muslim or exotic-looking people like the Iron Sheik. Oh, and guys who acted gay, like, Mr. Perfect with his perfectly coiffed hair and pastel sweaters, they were bad, too.
And here's the kicker: despite our humble backgrounds we were willing to shill out cash for this drivel. We bonded over these matches and all the bad-mouthing that came with them. Really, it's a brilliant business. And yet here's another correlation: WWF, now WWE, creators Vince and Linda McMahon are ridiculously rich hardcore Republicans -- just like their counterparts at FOX News. It really is interesting.
I can talk about FOX News -- and wrestling! -- all day. But when it comes to explaining to a FOX News viewer why it's more entertainment than news, I tend to shirk from the conversation altogether. Maybe it's because I have drawn laughs from conservatives who think I am the one drinking the kool-aid. Never mind that I actually have a college degree in journalism and have worked in the business.
But, honestly, it's that FOX News has done such a good job of shutting down the conversation. "Just tell the person that they are liberal or elitist for dissing FOX," my friend said. Yes, that.
But it's also the fear of provoking the same reaction I had the first time someone told me that wrestling wasn't real. There is a lot of comfort in knowing that you can rid the world of people you don't like by simply beating them up. Or putting them in a sleeper hold.
So I ask you this: how do you snap someone back to reality? Do you ever comment on FOX "News" to a viewer? What do you say?