Rebranding "Fox News" Chapter Two
By way of background, There are many areas of the country where Fox News is the only "cable" news channel available. And in many more, CNN and MSNBC are are available, but cost extra.
Miguelito (Piggy) let us know in his comments that Rupert Murdoch (owner of Fox News) also owns Direct T.V. one of the two satellite companies (he purchased it in 2003.) This is an alartming situation, in that many people across the country are getting a very slanted view of events in the country and the world, with little opportunity to hear an opposing view. Worse yet, many of those people do not realize that Fox "News" is really entertainment, not "news."
Let's start a 'rebranding Fox News' effort as a sort of truth in advertising movement.
T-Shirts & Bumper Stickers, etc. with slogans pointing out to the public that they are being used.
We have some brilliant minds here on TPM. I think we could actually come up with a slogan or two that could actually be useful to support the general public that does not understand that Fox News is not a 'real' or 'fair and balanced' news channel but is instead a propaganda channel creating stories and suggesting how people should see and think about them, manipulating them.
I would like to come up with a slogan that might make someone think, create some question or doubt in their mind... just create the possibility of a little opening in there that maybe, just maybe they are giving too much power to FNN. My thinking is that while we could express our outrage and disgust via a slogan (go ahead and vent if you like), a more useful slogan would be simple (like 'Yes We Can') and thought provoking. While I am not suggesting that we could sway all FNN viewers, I am thinking that there is a target audience of people who just don't realize that what they are hearing is very tainted...
I ask that you contribute both your ideas and your feedback on others ideas. I also ask that you suggest, list, recommend all of the places and ways that this could be disseminated i.e. t-shirts, bumper stickers etc. (would you wear a shirt or have your dog wear one with your slogan on it or put it on your website,etc.?) How could we spread the movement so that other groups picked it up?
If you are interested in helping, please contact Synchronicity at: synchronicity@yeswecan.com
very well done! Thanks!
May 2, 2009 4:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
Me thinks that if there wasn't a Fox News someone would create it. There needs to be a place for those leanings just like a place for ours.
Have you seen this; The Irony of Satire
It's an Ohio State University study of what people of different leanings take away from satire.
KO had one of the authors on last night, I'll look for a link...
May 2, 2009 7:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
Well, Murry's Dad...it isn't their existence that is so concerning, it is that 1) they claim to give you "fair and balanced" news reporting, when in fact it is anything BUT fair and balanced, and is more entertainment than actual news (you know, like w/ journalistic integrity and stuff like that)and 2)Rupert Murdoch SEEMS to have an unfair advantage on the airwaves, backed up w/ print and internet venues (Wall St. Journal.)
I used to watch Fox News regularly. Until I discovered Obama last year, I thought I was just getting a conservative view of the news. But when their reporting about Obama was inaccurate, I realized we were being had...
Many, many people get the majority of their t.v. news from Fox, and they are being indoctrinated. This would be of less concern if there was a level playing field. But, many of those same people don't have the opportunity to even see MSNBC or CNN. In some locations, Fox comes w/ basic cable, but the other 2 stations are considered premium channels.
Please get your creative juices going and help us come up with what Billo would call a "pithy" slogan designed to tell people the "truth" about Fox... It is yet another way for us to fight back!
May 2, 2009 11:06 AM | Reply | Permalink
"1) they claim to give you "fair and balanced" news reporting"
Ever see another news org make that claim? It's because they know they are not like; "Honest John's Used Cars."
"2)Rupert Murdoch SEEMS to have an unfair advantage on the airwaves, backed up w/ print and internet venues (Wall St. Journal.)"
Murdoch bought and paid for that advantage in Congress and now his toadies are GONE. The WSJ has always been conservative so nothing new there. His vanity NY Post is losing money hand over fist.
"I used to watch Fox News regularly. Until I discovered Obama last year"
The key is you were able to "discover" on your own, point being there are options you just have to want it. If Fox is so pervasive then why does Obama have an 80%, I like him personally rating.
"Many, many people get the majority of their t.v. news from Fox, and they are being indoctrinated."
Maybe. Most of Fox viewers are pretty old and unsophisticated. Even if Fox is the only outlet younger folk have the net.
"But, many of those same people don't have the opportunity to even see MSNBC or CNN."
They are all on Dish so the option is there.
One more Fox draw, sex! I've never seen so many bare legs in my life, even at the beach. And then there is the cleavage. I've even been, "flashed." Compared to the other cable new outlets Fox should be rated R. Call me old but even in news as entertainment business I find it offensive. Obviously the religious right, moral majority do not.
"Billo would call a "pithy""
Need to cogitate on that one. For now "pass the loofah, please."
May 2, 2009 11:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
It is easy to sit on our side of the fence and say well they can just figure out on their own or write it off and say only 'old' people watch Fox so who cares. I've heard this relative argument twice now in response to these blogs.
Think for a moment about the famous older woman who said that Obama is a Muslim. John McCain told her 'no, he is not, he is an american and a decent man.' Sure we can just write these people off but I think that is ignoring how pervasive
Fox is. They have some brainwashed and we can actually help free them from that.
My parents are a prime example. They needed help understanding that there were being duped. They've helped other people understand this now. Sure we can just ignore this and let them die off because they are 'old' but I would rather send a message, extend them some assistance than leave them there. Things are unraveling for the republicans right now and I would rather take advantage of the situation.
May 2, 2009 1:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Think for a moment about the famous older woman who said that Obama is a Muslim."
Synchronicity, a question, which came first, famous older woman or Fox news?
Of course older woman. I seem to remember her telling Al Smith that that there Roosevelt was really a Jew.
I really don't think Fox News or the Washington Times turn anyone, they just reinforce who they are.
In fact I'd bet they create more Obama voters then they take away. Even famous older woman can have an epiphany, "Why are they always saying bad things about that Obama, seems nice kinda to me."
Hey, you gotta' have hope...
May 2, 2009 3:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well I have to disagree based on personal experience with my own parents which I wrote about in my blog yesterday. That is why I am even talking about this. This is not about Obama. This is about brainwashing and an 'unfair' advantage that FOX News has in being viewed, I suspect by the least educated and poorest americans. I am not kidding about this but I understand the desire to easily dismiss it.
Maybe you are right about this particular woman, maybe not. But having been an object of brainwashing via my religion in early years, I am VERY aware of the reality of this as well as some of tribe and group dynamics that give us the impulse to ignore our own reasoning in order to be 'accepted'.
May 2, 2009 3:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'll reiterate a point I was trying to make in my comment on synchronicity's blog. The cable and satellite companies have skipped past some of the original regs and intent of the FCC. In many ways, the FCC has failed to regulate structural 'advantages' that have become possible with the growth of this new segment of the communications industry. From the FCC fact sheet:
While cable and satellite companies may not be violating the letter of the law, I believe they are often violating the spirit of the it. These technologies have come into existence during the last 40 years, and pro forma have not been addressed in the 'hands off' regulatory atmosphere that has existed during this time. My cynicism leads me to believe that the approval of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporations' acquisition of DirecTV in 2003 was approved by a Republican Congress with a tacit understanding that by doing so they were building in a structural advantage to support conservative causes. Plus they got to reward one of their own at public expense, (Win-win!).
May 2, 2009 11:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'll reiterate a point I was trying to make in my comment on synchronicity's blog. The cable and satellite companies have skipped past some of the original regs and intent of the FCC. In many ways, the FCC has failed to regulate structural 'advantages' that have become possible with the growth of this new segment of the communications industry. From the FCC fact sheet:
While cable and satellite companies may not be violating the letter of the law, I believe they are often violating the spirit of the it. These technologies have come into existence during the last 40 years, and pro forma have not been addressed in the 'hands off' regulatory atmosphere that has existed during this time. My cynicism leads me to believe that the approval of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporations' acquisition of DirecTV in 2003 was approved by a Republican Congress with a tacit understanding that by doing so they were building in a structural advantage to support conservative causes. Plus they got to reward one of their own at public expense, (Win-win!).
May 2, 2009 11:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
I think ownership limits need to be reinstated.
The deregulation has not produced any type of net benefit to consumers
May 2, 2009 12:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well yeah. Especially when one owns the product and also controls the means of distribution of that product as well as competing products. This goes back to the anti-trust legislation born out of the days of the robber-barons, with a 20th/21st century twist.
May 2, 2009 12:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Apparently, we need to tweak the anti-trust laws to include these types of companies. I was wondering why there haven't been any of those issues, but then a gov't attorney explained it on NPR.
I worked hard to stop them from loosening the rules under Powell, and we stopped them once, but they kind of went around the FCC and got it done.
The most appalling thing to me is the utter lack of quality, not just in News reporting, but across the board.
The public deserves better.
May 2, 2009 12:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
The public deserves just what Fox purports to deliver: fair and impartial reporting. In lieu of achieving that virtual pipedream, we should be guaranteeing access to all non-ecclesiastical news channels with a basic cable/satellite subscription.
May 2, 2009 2:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ready for summer, Miguel?!
I read Murdoch's bio years ago- disgusting. His "News Corp" is the largest media owner in the world. Fox is just one branch. He began by turning Australia's and England's biggest papers into right-wing tabloids. He did the same when he came here starting with the San Antonio Express then the NY Post.
He has managed to lobby for lax ownership rules and even changed citizenship get more outlets for his propaganda empire.
Clear Channel Radio is another of the political propaganda monopolies. We need the Fairness doctrine reinstated.
Me? I'm waiting for the re-run of Disney's Path to 9/11. It's something the whole family can watch!
May 2, 2009 2:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ya Don, and I'm cynical enough to think that Murdoch is cynical enough that if his right wing propaganda mill ever looks like it's falling out of favor, he'll reinvent his 'news' channels as whatever he perceives to be the most desirable political flavor of the day.
May 2, 2009 3:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
I prefer my news from American sources.
FNN=Foriegn Not-quite News.
How about, "Watch American-dump Fox?"
May 2, 2009 11:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
3:30 in the AM? Ha. Stilli, you get as mad about things as I do and I never was a repub. ha
We do what Media Matters does. We just dog em. Everytime they put on a lie, call em on it.
By the way, did Miguel always wear those glasses. ha
They put a warning on my cigarette packages. Why not pass a law that forces Fox to post a warning on their screen in perpetuity:
EVERY THING STATED HERE IS NOT JUST A LIE, IT IS A GODDAMNABLE LIE.
May 2, 2009 1:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Only 1:30 my time, but still a little crazy, huh?
I'm at a retreat and sneak onto the iPhone as I can...Let's face it, I'm hopelessly obsessed.
May 2, 2009 1:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
I have noted in previous posts some of the signs around here of some of my more conservative friends coming around to see Pres. Obama as a plus.
But my circle of friends around here are still a microcosm of the attitudes and beliefs of the WV populace at large. Last night over beers another anecdotal bit of evidence surfaced: One of our irregular friends, I'll call him Bud, with an otherwise sharp mind (he was a top Mercedes Benz mechanic for years- yes some in WV drive ferin cars-lots of fun on the mountain roads) works across the street from our hangout.
Bud continues to be in the grip of the only news source we have-yes, Faux News. He especially enjoys running across the street when he sees me at the hangout to engage me in debate. Since the election, I have tried to avoid him as the debatees have become nonsensical.
The sign: The other guys have taken to running away to another part of the building as soon as Bud starts his political Faux News based rants. We still love Bud and he would do anything for any of us in need, but his marginalization is kind of sad. Even his 83 year old mother is tired of his BS.
The rest of us have just keep plugging away.
May 2, 2009 2:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
I admire your idealism, Stilli. Did you follow the SCAAMD effort that Raider and some other TPMers began last year? It looks as if Raider is persevering with it. Perhaps you would like to volunteer there. You, too, Synchronicity.
May 2, 2009 2:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes. Thanks for reminding me. I was involved but had a change of career after the election and was not online much or on TPM much. Now that I am back, I do want to support SCAMMD as well.
I am serious though about sending a pervasive subtle response out in response to the brainwashing of FOX.
I am hoping a brilliant mind will hit the nail on the head with a simple, non-reactive, perfect, and simple slogan.
I can only get the general ideas out in mine, like:
Fox News(cirle/slash over 'news)
Brainwashing America For Money
or
Your Brain is Rupert Murdoch's Toy
or
Telling You What To Think since 1985.
I know there is something out there that would work!
May 2, 2009 3:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
I live in Oklahomna, prime fox territory where they probably preach fox on Sundays in the many fundamentalist and evangelical churches we have here. It would be an exercise in futility to try to impress them with a oneliner against fox.
May 2, 2009 4:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
It might be dangerous. I have no idea of trying to impress a 'tribe' of people. My sense is that we can help the individual. There is actual brainwashing going on. It is typical to feel in the environment you are describing that you have to go against your own truth of what you think and believe in order to be accepted as part of the 'tribe'and be safe. I've been in those churches.
When given some support that is not reactionary but factual I think it could actually make a difference. It can give a little room for the thoughts that people have that FOX is overboard etc.
Simply
Fox News
Brainwashing America since 1985
I do like
Unfair and imbalanced to
but I still feel like there is something better out there...
May 2, 2009 4:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, dangerous, too. I never replaced my Obama sign after people threw it in the garbage can one trash pick up day because of dangerous although that was probably over reacting.
The problem with your suggestions is that they're too intelligent. They would go right over the heads of the people who watch fox news.
I think my favorite is Fact Free.
May 2, 2009 5:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Using my parents and others who 'no longer' are under the FOX hypnosis... I do think that 'some' people can be helped without too much effort because it is such a bunch of bs. Americans do not like to think that they being 'told' what to think.
The reality for many people this has come from the power of TV. Fox being made more available than other options etc. Not just because FOX is so 'popular'. It's easy to look popular when your dad owns everything and makes sure you are promoted and viewed everywhere...Murdoch has too much control.
Sure some people will not care and it won't make a bit of difference to them but to someone like my mom or my dad... it could.
Again I have notion of trying to 'get rid of' FOX or take on FOX etc. I am thinking of people like my mom, who was at the effect of Fox News until someone she trusted told her 'that is NOT news'.
Hey, maybe that's a good slogan.
Fox
That is NOT "News"
I like using the word brainwashing because I think it can create some doubt... even if it is not consciously recognized...
May 2, 2009 5:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
I live in the boonies where there is no cable and the only satellites we can reach above our trees are leased to DirecTV.
I had forgotten that Murdoch owns it, but I have to say there is no sign of censorship that I can see. We get MSNBC and CNN, along with C-Span, BBC America and Democracy Now!
The only thing I've noticed is that there are at least 11 religious channels, but we have the option to choose favorite channels so I can and do block them.
I hate Fox News as much as anybody does, but I just thought I'd better throw this out there because there seems to be some misinformation about DirecTV's programming.
I do have another peeve though. I'm really bothered by the number of hotels and motels that have Fox News blaring into their lobbies all day long. That's disturbing. I won't go back to them any time soon.
May 2, 2009 3:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for the info. Do you have more than basic programming for DTV? I ask because I have to travel for my work regularly and my experience has been that whether DTV or cable the basic offering most often do include Fox, occasionally include CNN and rarely include MSNBC. I have noticed this to be more true in the midwest than in the east. But I don't think that is a coincidence. And I wonder exactly what hotel chains etc Murdoch is associated with?
I am curious about the package your purpose. My estimation is that the poorer and less educated get more exposure to FOX.
May 2, 2009 3:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
In my area, the Dish Network basic package comes with Fox, but no MSNBC. THAT COSTS AROUND $10-$12 MORE PER MONTH.
May 2, 2009 3:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
sorry too many thoughts running at once. I am curious about the package you have as I am guessing it may be more than basic.
May 2, 2009 3:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, we have the Choice package. They have something called the "Family package" which is their basic, I guess. It has 50 channels, including C-Span, Bloomberg and Headline News, but no Fox News, CNN, or MSNBC.
It does include LinkTV, which is where the Lefty program Democracy Now! comes from. Interesting.
May 2, 2009 7:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Couldn't sleep last night, so I watched Glenn Beck. It was sheer lunacy, and my brain hurt as I watched. I'd rather watch cats climb a wall of chalkboards.
May 2, 2009 3:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
I have DishNetwork for my Satellite. Murdoch owns Dish? I had to upgrade to the 200 channel package for which I only watch abot 30! LOL. That is becase the channels I wanted were not included in the cheaper channels. Therefore, I have the privilege of having all of the cable news stations, inclding the faux news stations.
May 2, 2009 3:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
My guess is that FOX is included in the cheap package...
May 2, 2009 3:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
To get back to the idea of finding a slogan...
Fox News(circle/slash over 'news'
Brainwashing America For Money
Does NOT want you to think for yourself
I think someone else said something like:
Fact Free
Fox News(I ad putting the circle/slash through news)
Fox News(see above)
Giving you their opinion
Telling you what to think
I just decided that I should really ask my mom and dad for advice here since they were both until a year ago at the affect of the FOX News propaganda campaign.
May 2, 2009 4:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Want to stop the dumbing down of America? Avoid Fox News.
May 2, 2009 4:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
i like the
We all lose when you listen to Fox News(with the news X'd out)
However I am thinking of doing a test run on my parents with some of these as they were the 'target audience' type of people.
May 2, 2009 5:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Wikipedia:
The Modern English "fox" is Old English, and comes from the Proto-Germanic word fukh – compare German Fuchs, Gothic fauho, Old Norse foa and Dutch vos. It corresponds to the Proto-Indo-European word puk- meaning "tail of it" (compare Sanskrit puccha, also "tail").
Fukh
Puk
Tail
In any language it seems to indicate you are getting your information from the south end of a north bound creature, and are most likely getting shafted in the process.
May 2, 2009 6:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Brilliant! Thanks for that!
May 2, 2009 7:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
slogans:
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” You can believe it on Fox News. Believe it!
“Fox News: Working to make America great. Manufacturing the news since 1987.”
“Believe only half of what you see, and none of what you hear on Fox!”
“News flash: Fox News lies!”
“All Fox, No Facts”
May 3, 2009 1:27 AM | Reply | Permalink
Okay, this might seem extreme, but in the light of recent events I can not help but feel this way. I grew up in a home that played only Fox News all day, in fact I literally thought CNN and other news stations lied to people daily. Once I got to college and started thinking on my own, it wasn't long until I realized it was the opposite. Even now I have trouble going home, having to listen to O'Reilly over dinner as my blood boils.. I can listen and debate with intelligent conservatives and republicans but what Fox News presents as fair and balanced is often racist and always without fact.
There's a more sinister notion behind this though. Think about all of the violence that has gone on in the past six months, one event that comes to mind was the man who shot and killed three police officers in Pittsburgh, PA. He believed that President Obama was coming to take his guns, so he buried one in a PLAYGROUND, and shot and killed officers investigating a domestic disturbance call. I remember reading online about the crazy right rhetoric but because I did not watch Fox News I never heard it. During that week however I was home, and saw Glenn Beck call on his viewers to rise up while playing a video of the Nazis marching behind him, inciting fear of socialism and fascism. If Fox News does not want to tell the truth, the least they can do is understand the influence and responsibility they have over a group of individuals who feel that have lost and have been beaten down. They need to stop suggesting we're enemies that need to be fought, instead of opposing view points.
So my suggestion?
"CNN, MSNBC..We don't convince you to shoot people."
May 5, 2009 12:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
I just realized that was pretty extreme, anyone I have offended I apologize, but nothing gets me irate like O'Reilly, Beck and Hannity.
May 5, 2009 12:43 AM | Reply | Permalink