Smearing Fox News

Bill O'Reilly's July 24th Talking Points Memo

I don't really have much to say about Mr. O'Reilly's memo today except to point out a major logical flaw. Mr. O'Reilly asserts that "In short, we're fair. Our high ratings prove that." I had no idea that ratings determined truth and fairness. If that's the case, I guess "America's Got Talent" and "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" must be the fairest shows out there. It is a sad state of affairs when someone is willing to assert that ratings prove fairness. Ratings simply show how many people are watching your show. Fairness is another topic altogether. To emphasize how fair Fox News is, today's "No Spin Poll" is "What is the most biased news outlet in America?" Their choices: "The New York Times", "MSNBC", "Associated Press", and "NPR." I notice that CNN and Fox News did not even make the list as options. That's fairness for you. And how about the "Line of the Night" which is "It is not a stretch to say MoveOn is the new Klan" as quoted by Bill O'Reilly. That's certainly a fair statement. I don't have a problem with a show that is obviously showing preference to a particular viewpoint, but don't even pretend to claim it is "Fair and Balanced" or a "No Spin Zone." Unfortunately, there are people that will believe what Mr. O'Reilly says about being unbiased and therefore take what he says as truth rather than opinion.

And that's "The CounterPoints Memo."