I’m as disgusted by Fox News Channel’s brand of “journalism” as the next guy, but even I was stunned by the substance of the leaked FNC memos written by Fox News Senior Vice President.<\/p>\n
The memos are apparently a major part of a new documentary, Outfoxed<\/a>, from filmmaker Robert Greenwald, who spoke to many former FNC employees who admitted and detailed the network’s slanted political agenda.<\/p>\n And while I’m looking forward to seeing the movie, the leaked memos themselves, which tell Fox News “journalists” how to skew their reports, are breathtaking on their own. Wonkette has all of them<\/a> for your reading pleasure, while the fine folks at Media Matters<\/a> have organized some of the worst memos by topic.<\/p>\n Here are a few of my favorites:<\/p>\n * Moody on the war in Iraq<\/i>: “Do not fall into the easy trap of mourning the loss of US lives and asking out loud why are we there? The US is in Iraq to help a country brutalized for 30 years protect the gains made by Operation Iraqi Freedom and set it on the path to democracy. Some people in Iraq don’t want that to happen. That is why American GIs are dying. And what we should remind our viewers (4\/6\/04<\/a>).”<\/p>\n * Moody on Senator John Kerry<\/i>: “Kerry [is] starting to feel the heat for his flip-flop voting record (3\/16\/04<\/a>).”<\/p>\n * Moody on George W. Bush<\/i>: “[Th]e president is doing something that few of his predecessors dared undertake: [pu]tting the US case for mideast peace to an Arab summit. It’s a distinctly [sk]eptical crowd that Bush faces. His political courage and tactical cunning ar[e] [wo]rth noting in our reporting through the day (6\/3\/03<\/a>).”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n *Moody on the 9\/11 Commission<\/i>: “The so-called 9\/11 commission has already been meeting. In fact, this is its eighth session. The fact that former Clinton and both frmer [sic] and current Bush administration officials are testifying gives it a certain tension, but this is not “what did he know and when did he know it” stuff. Do not turn this into Watergate. Remember the fleeting sense of national unity that emerged from this tragedy. Let’s not desecrate that (3\/23\/04<\/a>).”<\/p>\n * Moody on Bush’s tax cut<\/i>: “[Th]e tax cut passed last night by the Senate, though less than half what Bush [or]iginally proposed, contains some important victories for the administration. [Th]e DC crew will parse the bill and explain how it will fatten — marginally – [yo]ur wallet (5\/22\/03<\/a>).”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This may be a little over-the-top, but I’m left wondering what the difference is between Moody slanting network news coverage based on the Bush White House’s talking points and the instructions a state-run news agency might receive from a communist dictator. Sure, in the dictatorship, “reporters” who fail to cooperate with the party line are shot, but as a matter of journalism, both have people pretending to offer legitimate news to the people based on what the ruling party wants the public to believe.<\/p>\n