What can we expect from Faux over the next four years? Lots and lots of anger.

[babylonsister]

24 Hours Of Fox News by Isaac Chotiner
What can we expect from the channel over the next four years? Lots and lots of anger.
Isaac Chotiner
Post Date Monday, November 03, 2008


With precious little time remaining until the election, last week I sat down to watch as much Fox News as I reasonably could over a 24-hour period. As one might expect with Barack Obama so close to the presidency, the channel is in full nuclear meltdown mode; I was afraid the stench of desperation would waft out of the television set and into my studio apartment. Fox is going ballistic for good reason: These days, absolutely nothing is going right--in both declensions of the word. The paroxysms I witnessed hinted at an answer to a critical question: What will the opposition media look like during an Obama administration?

In this hour of GOP discontent, a split has occurred in the American right. It roughly looks like this: One group of conservative intellectuals--David Frum and David Brooks come to mind--has argued that the Republican Party is out of step with the country and unwilling to advocate an agenda for middle-class Americans. For its troubles, this faction has been attacked by the likes of Rush Limbaugh, who accuses Barack Obama of fomenting racism and lately seems to exist, along with his 20 million listeners, in his own universe. Limbaugh and his ilk (Andrew McCarthy and Mark Steyn on National Review's The Corner, radio host Mark Levin, and others) think the Republicans have run a weak campaign, and need to exhibit more anger and aggression in their confrontations with Democrats and the media. (Signs of clique membership: adoring Sarah Palin; cursing McCain for not bringing up Jeremiah Wright.)

As the right's main television outlet, Fox News's role in this debate--which is certain to become more heated after Tuesday--will heavily influence conservatism's next four years. And if my marathon watching session is any indication, Fox has chosen its side in the conservative civil war. Not so much partisan as simply angry, Fox looks to be cocooning itself: Boosting McCain's policies and character has taken a backseat to chronicling the obsessions of right-wing talk radio and blogs. (This is the crucial difference between Fox and MSNBC, which is remarkably good at staying on Obama's message.) To watch the channel in the final days of Decision 2008 is to enter a world where ACORN, media bias, Obama's campaign financing, and Fox News itself are the central storylines of the election. Once the network of optimistic, flag-waving jingoism, Fox has become a beacon of sky-is-falling fury.

more...

http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=e9c136fc-0453-478d-af7f-57586568c960

[Lex]

1. May they continue to marginalize themselves with their anger and misinformation.

nt

[onehandle]

2. I hope that (President) Obama continues to make fun of and marginalize them.

He can use the bully pulpit to show them for what they are.

[Janice325]

3. I wonder if they'll clean house and get rid of some of the more

"hysterical" types. Hannity comes to mind. Definitely O'Liely, but I think he's under contract for quite a while. :puke: I could be wrong about BillO, though.

[Glorfindel]

4. I wish we could expect that the nasty thing would just fade away

Sadly, no such luck, I'm afraid. Maybe it will just become increasingly irrelevant.

[knowbody0]

5. let's all go over there tomorow night

and watch Hannity and O'Reilly call it for Obama!

[babylonsister]

6. I may have to tune in just for the entertainment value, for about a minute. nt

[ben_meyers]

7. I expect that after the election is over it will be back

to shark attacks and missing white girls and all the cable "news" channels will plummet in the ratings.

[Orsino]

8. They always had more success when they were the underdogs.

Right-wing control is a hard sell these days, and they look that much more ludicrous in the * era. They'll go back to wishing out loud for real conservative government.

[TKolmsi]

9. Think back to

the days of the vast right wing conspiracy (there WAS one) during the Clinton administration and you have the next four years on Fox. I predict they will have an issue within a month. That's how they get their viewers, with negativity and invoking anger. Nobody wants to hear about how well things are going.

[codjh9]

10. Oh, I sure as hell hope so! I want every Freeper/Fundie/Repuke to be sad, angry,

disillusioned, and to just go through pure hell like I have in the last 8 years.