Finally, Democrats appear ready to wage war on Fox News
For years, Democrats have been deeply conflicted about Fox News. At times, they’ve shunned the network as an irredeemable source of disinformation, boycotting it or banning it from covering Democratic presidential primary debates. But such efforts have been temporary: They have tended to resume appearing on the network and have reverted to treating it as more or less a news channel, albeit a hostile one. Now, however, it’s becoming clear that interacting with Fox News as a news outlet in any sense is no longer an option for Democrats. In light of the news that network personalities knowingly deceived viewers about the 2020 election for cynical pecuniary purposes, Democrats plainly have to take on Fox News in a new way. And some of them know it. “I don’t think we’ve ever had a moment like this, where a major news network has been exposed as deliberately deluding its viewers or readers,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told me. “This is a seminal moment in the history of mass media. And we need to treat it that way.” But what should that look like?
This week, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries signaled an aggressive posture in a letter to Fox News founder Rupert Murdoch. The two New York Democrats demanded that the network get star anchor Tucker Carlson and others to recant their lies about the 2020 election on the air. This might be the first time that the Democratic congressional leadership has formally labeled Fox News content “propaganda.”
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“We need to be in the business of communicating the gravity of what happened,” Murphy told me. He noted that Democrats must be “very clear about how manipulative Fox executives and hosts are,” and that they rely on “deliberate lying as a means to get ratings, and to keep viewers hooked in.” Should Democrats again refrain from appearing on Fox News? They have long been conflicted about this, with some arguing that Democrats shouldn’t forgo the opportunity to reach right-leaning voters wherever possible. But in light of the new revelations, there might be a better way to think about it. Dan Pfeiffer, who was senior communications adviser to President Barack Obama, says Democrats should remember that their appearances on Fox News will never reach many conservative voters in unadulterated form. A Democrat’s quotes will inevitably be diced into incriminating bites and fed to a larger conservative audience via high-rated opinion shows and right-wing social media.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/03/02/fox-news-texts-rupert-murdoch-democrats/
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... is to compel the cable companies to drop this horrible pox from their line-up of regular channels. They can offer Faux Noise as an extra channel that people have to PAY FOR, but nobody gets it on their regular subscription. AND those of us who DON'T want it, should not be forced to subsidize these lies. That's what is happening now and it will continue until we demand a change.
Faux Noise would lose at least 70% of their funding overnight if the cable companies dropped them from the line-up. We all must complain to AT&T, Comcast, Time-Warner, Verizon FIOS, whoever we're sending our hard-earned money to every month - and demand that Faux Noise be dropped from the line-up. If enough of us did that, I guarantee it would happen. The cable companies are afraid of all of us cutting the cable, and they don't want to lose us.
At least 75% the regular monthly cable subscribers DO NOT watch Faux Noise, and yet millions of us are force to subsidize it every month. Approximately $2.00 per month goes to Faux Noise from almost every cable subscriber in the country. Think of that!
Here's the source for my information: https://unfoxmycablebox.com/#yourmoneysupportsfoxpropaganda
Last edited Tue Mar 7, 2023, 08:16 PM - Edit history (1)
So many have done so that it's really hurting the cable companies. (Recognizing that there's more to this than a protest against Faux, it's also a cost-cutting measure for many Americans.) But these cable companies need to realize that Faux is hurting them too.
I'm a subscriber to Verizon FIOS so I'll use them as an example. If Verizon understands that they can retain subscribers and in fact get NEW subscribers by dropping Faux, I think they'd do it in a heartbeat. If Verizon does it first, I believe the rest of them will all follow suit. But if I quit Verizon then I have no power to complain and force them to make a change. Staying with them and BITCHING LIKE HELL gives me a voice, and if we all do the same, maybe it will get through to them.
Whether it's Comcast, Verizon, AT&T or whoever does it first - they'll reap a huge benefit by getting former subscribers back on line again. Am I right about this, or is it too late to get any cable subscribers back? Maybe they should just realize that they'll keep losing more subscribers every month until they finally show Faux Noise the door.
Sue every right-wing media organ, PAC, right down to women's freaking knitting circles into bankrupt oblivion that they'll never be able to get out of. Every damn one of them!
No mercy! We're in control, and we're not putting up with their crap one more second. Take their TV Studios! Seize their printing presses! Appropriate every last dime of their contributions!! It's time to stop playing!
