Tried Fox News

I tried something different the other day: I deliberately kept the TV channel on Fox News and watched their evening shows. And came away with the conclusion that it was worth it.

I recognize that Fox is pretty slanted toward the political right. Please spare me that ridiculous, tired old cliche of theirs that they are "fair and balanced". In their so-called round-table discussions, what is usually presented is a "balance" between far-right, center-right, and centrist views, with the left shut out of the discussion. The hosts, without exception, are very conservative in outlook. And, like their liberal counterparts on MSNBC, they have an irritating smugness about themselves. While operating under the impression that, I, the viewer, am on their "side" as well.

I'm accustomed to the generally (and sometimes intensely) liberal slant on MSNBC's evening programming, so it was easy for me to filter out the conservative bias on Fox. Once I had done that, I felt that they were actually pretty good. Although their commentary was slanted, they did make a good effort at getting guests with opposing viewpoints, including liberal viewpoints (although this diversity was lacking in their regular panelists).

Bill O'Reilly at nine and Sean Hannity at ten each had as regular guest commentators virulently anti-Obama and anti-Democratic personalities: Bernard Goldberg and Dick Morris, respectively. And watching Goldberg and Morris one after the other gave me an interesting insight into them. Goldberg is what I would say is a "true believer" in his ideology and quite eloquently and knowledgeably (if a bit sarcastically) expresses himself on just about any issue that comes up for discussion. Morris, on the other hand, has a vile, vindictive mean streak to his personality. His driving force seems to be vengeance specifically directed at the Clintons, whom he used to work for in the 1990s, and generally against anyone sharing their political outlook. I found myself laughing with Goldberg, even when I disagreed with him. But Morris? More of a teeth-gritting, fist-clenching experience, I'm sad to say.

Sean Hannity was, of course, the most slanted of the hosts. But unlike Keith Olbermann on MSNBC, he welcomes guests from the other end of the ideological spectrum. My problem with Hannity's show the other night was his featured guest: that California beauty contest contestant who became a heroine or villain, depending on one's viewpoint, for her anti-gay marriage response to a pageant question. She seemed to me every bit as bubble-headed and ignorant as that South Carolina beauty contestant a couple of years back.

I wouldn't want to wholly depend on Fox for my news, just as I don't fully trust MSNBC. Better to take a composite of the news outlets. For myself, CNN seems to be the most neutral and reliable. But I may be watching Fox a little more often than before. Of course, I did completely avoid that nutcase Glenn Beck!