Fox News Exposed By Former Contributor As A Scripted And Rigged Scam

[RandySF]

ormer Fox News contributor Tobin Smith is exposing Fox News as a scam that is designed to manipulate and fool viewers through panel discussions that are rigged and scripted so that conservatives always win.

Smith wrote in a post on Medium:

The outcomes for Fox’s “panel debates” have ALWAYS been carefully fixed by the producers so that the home team (i.e, the conservative panelists like me) ALWAYS won.MORE simply: The staged gladiatorial-like rhetorical fight to the death the Fox viewer loves to watch are ALWAYS fixed by the show producers for the conservative actor to win…always.

Just like pro-wrestling, the panel opinion programs are carefully staged and choreographed by Fox producers so the viewers home team (in WWE language the “Baby Face”) always wins over the “Heel” aka the poor pathetic “libtard.”

The Fox News opinion panel scam works like this. More often than not, in my panel segments I was the protagonist or “designated hit man” aka the one called on by the host (as instructed by the producers in my ear or the ear of the host) to “kill ‘em.” You’d know I was the designated hit man when the panel show hosts tossed the final death blow 15–20 seconds to me when they say “Toby you have the final word.”

But before I delivered the final rhetorical death blow …the producer of the segment had given me my script 24 hours BEFORE the show started. I knew 24–48 hours in ADVANCE of how the designated liberal was going to argue his/her point…and more important how I was going to win.


http://www.politicususa.com/2017/05/28/fox-news-exposed-contributor-scripted-rigged-scam.html

[no_hypocrisy]

1. "Fair and Balanced" my ass!

[Submariner]

26. Let's use these facts against Megan Kelly

when she starts spewing her right wing crap when she starts at NBC. She was famous for saying how "fair & balanced" she was.

[delisen]

2. All theater, all the time nt

[Wellstone ruled]

3. Heard the same story from a Local Fox Station Producer

who worked in the Midwest.

[lpbk2713]

4. Umm ... does he really think we didn't already know that?

BTW Mr Smith ... water is wet.

[exboyfil]

7. He has insider credentials

I am wondering about his agenda. Is it bragging? Is it foundation for a tell all book?

I haven't watched cable news in at least six years. Even then it was only in passing. The article was eye opening to me to better understand what is happening.

[melman]

9. Sure we already know it's rigged

But it's interesting to read exactly how they choreograph it. I think so anyway.

[Egnever]

10. This is for the Rubes not you

[Mariana]

32. The Rubes won't believe it. nt.

[Egnever]

33. So it shouldn't be said?

It's another brick in the wall.

[gristy]

31. I think this would be news to many. It is to me.

That the final "last word" was scripted by Fox and that script had been delivered from Fox to the person 24 hours in advance.

[Duppers]

39. Really??

Wow! No shock here.



I'd like to send this to my dumbassed, winger brother but it wouldn't matter. Then he'd do nothing but get more angry with me for shoving facts at him. Seriously, he does. Most of these idiots are all alike.

[Chasstev365]

5. Al Frankin said it years ago:

Fox is the Harlem Globetrotters and any opposition is the Washington Generals: you know the outcome before the game even begins.

[Different Drummer]

6. The difference between Fox News and pro wrestling is that...

in pro wrestling, "the heel" often wins.

[shadowmayor]

19. Another Difference

Nobody thinks that rasslin' is real. Even the staunchest fans know that TV wrestling is theater. However, way too many fux noise viewers don't really know that what they're watching is scripted and fake. The Archie Bunkers of our country love the fair and balanced approach promoted by fox and the endless supply of leggy young ladies. And somehow, they can't wrap their heads around the idea that the whole production is just that - a production. And sadly, a shit-ton of the "news" our corporate media feeds us is crap too.

[Different Drummer]

24. You're exactly right. n/t

[BigmanPigman]

8. After I read your first paragraph I said to myself, "That sounds like wrestling".

Then I read on and laughed out loud as I visualized it.

[Mike Nelson]

11. I'm shocked...

...shocked.

[Dream Girl]

12. Boycott advertisers. Put a stake through their rotten, stinking heart

They have done incalculable damage to this country.

[Ligyron]

34. That approach works.

We should be doing more of it.

[stevenleser]

13. Long suspected

I know Tobin and have been on with him multiple times in the the 2009-2011 timeframe.

Let me just say that I long suspected much of what he wrote, and to the best of my ability took various countermeasures that my wife and I (she is pretty high up in media) would discuss before each appearance.

[Barack_America]

22. Did you ever receive a script?

Seems you would be the best person on here to inform us with regards to this story and FOX News practices in general.

Apologies, I posted below, but didn't see you had already responded to the thread.

[stevenleser]

25. All news outlets request talking points from you before appearances

That's standard, CNN, MSNBC, FNC, RT, Newsmax, Blaze, etc., they all do that

The points are supposed to show you know what you are talking about on the subject and also give the host some sort of clue where you are going so the conversation can flow better.

The points are not supposed to be used to rig the debate. If the host is moderating a debate between you and another person, they are not supposed to give your talking points to the other person and then gang up on you. Incidentally Megyn Kelly would come into the green room and engage with you to see how far past the talking points you can engage. She was pretty unique in doing that.

That being said, I have long suspected in various instances that people had read my points and. not just at one network. The simple solution to that problem that I have employed is to make a list of my top six talking points in order and provide the networks points 2, 5, and 6 and not the best parts of point 2 and then lead with points 1 and 3. That's in addition to various other measures that I won't discuss in public.

And no, I never received a script from there. Of course if what Tobin alleges is true, I wouldn't have been the one getting the script.

[Barack_America]

28. Thanks for that.

Very interesting to hear how this all works. I'm still not sure I fully understand the difference between a guest and a contributor.

So, the way you did things, I would imagine that you caught the FOX contributor off-guard, particularly if they were scripted to respond to what you were "supposed" to say?

How did that go over?

[stevenleser]

29. A contributor is a network employee and paid. Guests are independent and not paid.

Contributor is the lowest level of on screen network employee. They (and any other network employees) need permission before they can appear at a network other than the one where they are an employee. I can and do appear anywhere at anytime.

The reality is, you aren't held to your talking points. The only time anyone will say anything regarding your talking points is if you screw up by freezing or say a killer phrase like "Oh none of that matters anyway" which no one can feed off in any direction. I did that once. And the executive producer promptly and angrily came to me after the segment and said "I thought you were going to say X, Y, Z". That happened exactly once out of 200+ appearances.

Generally, some networks tend to try to throw you off by presenting a topic in a different way than you expected so your talking points may not be 100% applicable anyway. You aren't supposed to be robotically regurgitating your points you are supposed to be engaging on the subject.

Another important thing to note is that if your talking points are terrible, your appearance will be cancelled, so you cant just send in crap.

[mwooldri]

35. Strangely, a good example of this is when things go wrong.

2006: Guy Kewney, an expert on computer technology was in one area, waiting for an interview on TV about the Apple Corps vs Apple Computer court case. Guy Goma was in another area, waiting for an interview for a job.

The wrong Guy ended up on TV.

Not really a political thing, but I think this shows that on serious news networks the producers do their work (usually) before putting someone in front of the camera.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Goma

[mr_lebowski]

14. Tobin, you're breaking Kayfabe, man ... you're now black-listed from wrasslin' for life ...

[Chimichurri]

15. Outfoxed the documentary exposed Fox in 2004

https://m.

For those who were too young to remember

[kairos12]

16. Rigged, just like Reich Wing gerrymandered districts.

[TEB]

17. My trump supporting neighbor

I text him the article and added read this fake news.

[NastyRiffraff]

18. Fox News is a news outlet like

trashy porn movies are Shakespeare.

[Barack_America]

20. I wonder if our resident "FOX News contributor" would like to weigh in?

[malaise]

21. Hehehehehhee

giggle

[stevenleser]

23. There is a contributor here? Which one?

I thought I was the only one who appeared there. Of course I'm just a guest.

[FakeNoose]

27. I hope this gets posted where the conservatives can see it

Darn few of them here though. We already know what a crock-of-shit Faux News is.

Thanks for posting though!

[oberliner]

30. Do you think CNN does something similar with their panels?

They have the most ridiculous people representing the Trump position and they are pretty much always made to look like the fools that they are but they much smarter non-Trump people on the panel.

[stevenleser]

38. When you know what to look for, it's not hard to spot when it is or isn't happening.

If the guests and contributors on one side of the ideological aisle never say anything that seems to surprise the host, or the guests/contributors on the "other side" that's the giveaway. Of course surprise can be feigned, so the additional tell is if the folks on one side of the aisle always seem to have a witty take-down of the points made by folks on the other side, there is no question that this is what is happening.

[sakabatou]

36. This just in, electricity can produce magnetism

[C Moon]

37. Seriously? Who would have guessed?