In wake of misleading Palin footage, Fox News institutes new "zero tolerance for on-screen errors" policy. What was their policy before?

Fox is puny to the point of irrelevancy with respect to the rest of the news market

We keep having this argument, and you keep losing it. Fox News is hardly irrelevent, when they have more viewers than EVERY OTHER NEWS STATION COMBINED!!!

Here are the latest numbers that have been compiled:

P2+ Total Day
FNC – 1,350,000 viewers
CNN – 459,000 viewers
MSNBC –326,000 viewers
CNBC – 188,000 viewers
HLN –308,000 viewers

P2+ Prime Time
FNC – 2,694,000 viewers
CNN – 714,000 viewers
MSNBC –674,000 viewers
CNBC – a scratch w/98,000 viewers
HLN –581,000 viewers

I have to assume that you have a calculator. If you do, then please check the math and don't make this outrageously stupid claim again.

Oh - I think most of those viewers are probably either a) viewing for pure shock value and entertainment, b) watching just to see what stupidity Lonesome Rhodes or the Manatee, or Bill O the Clown come up with next or c) are bars and hotels that just don't change the channel on their TV.

After all, if you compare the Cable News ratings to the Evening News ratings:

Total viewers: ABC: 7,530,000 / NBC: 7,170,000 / CBS: 5,930,000
(as of July - I couldn't find a more recent number that I didn't have to pay Nielsen for).

So you can see - EVERY major network has from 2x to almost 3x Faux News' viewership. Every Day. Every evening.

I assume you have a calculator and can check my math too.

As a follow up:

They had an onscreen error, now they have taken steps to see that it doesn't happen again. What's your point?

Let's see - I don't recall the major news networks (CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC) ever making an error (let alone 2) of that magnitude - if they show old footage they always put "File" or "File Footage" or some such on it (as opposed to "Happening Right Now").

Yes, they make mistakes too - but usually it's in terms of names, places or other miscellaneous errata and not in terms of something blatantly misleading. They also rarely need to be publicly called out on it to admit their mistakes - and when they DO get publicly called out, somebody loses their job (remember Dan Rather?)

How many times have they put a D next to a Republicans name? Have they lived up to those numerous "mistakes". FOX lies.

Fox is nothing more than a @!$%#ty tabloid. They know it. I know it. You know it. They don't need to be a reputable news source, they make more than enough money as a tabloid. The only thing they need to do is maintain the illusion of being reputable so that the poor bastards they've sucked in don't wise up and change the channel.

If you take Fox News seriously, you're an idiot. It doesn't matter if you think MSNBC or CNN are biased, you're still an idiot.

If you take Fox News seriously, you're an idiot. It doesn't matter if you think MSNBC or CNN are biased, you're still an idiot.

If you DO NOT take Fox News seriously, then you're an idiot. If you take MSNBC and CNN to be truthful and unbiased, then you're an idiot.

The American People are aware that lies lead to the election of Obama. They feel that they were the victims of a "con man" and that Liberal News Stations (MSNBC and CNN) sold them a "bill-of-goods". The American People are angry and they turn to the only honest source of News in the world...Fox News.

I am afraid that your dream of a Socialist Utopia has been fully exposed and brought to an end...thanks to one brave and honest News Station. They will only continue to grow in popularity, and there is not a damn thing you can do about it.

Thank God for Fox News, and God Bless America!

...and the American People are also aware that outright fraud put Bush into office in the first place - more to the point - Can you name ONE honest piece of news that came out of Fox News first? I mean an HONEST piece of work.

Not the 193% pie chart for the 2012 election....
Not the Communist Rockafeller Center bit...
Not the "turn on the water in California" bit...
Not the "Death Panels" bit...
Not the... oh hell, you get the point.

If you think they're the only Brave and Honest news station, then you really have a slanted view of what Fair and Balanced really means. The Brave thing would have been for them to oppose invading Iraq when Bush did, or to denounce torture (period). After all - standing up to your enemies is one thing, but standing up to your friends is another.

However, there they were waving their flags and shouting at the rain with the rest of the Hawks.

I'm not even talking about genuine Policy and Platform differences which they CERTAINLY can have - e.g. Big Government vs. Laissez-Faire Government, or even Abortion-Rights vs. Anti-Abortion Rights - or even the whole Gay Marriage debate.

Hell - if they could just use some COMMON DECENCY in their reporting I think most people would be able to watch (and even agree) with their conservative agenda (let's not kid ourselves about Fox's agenda).

But you can't sit back and crow about how criminal/unpatriotic/unamerican/treasonous one party is while extolling the virtues of the other party exclusively and expect people not to think of you as laughingstock News Channel (and yes, I've seen both CNN and MSNBC rip into the Democrats on more than one occassion - and not in the friendly "sorry we gotta do this" kind of way).

So, my cerebrally challenged ovine friend - I say, Thank God for anything OTHER than Fox News!

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. -G.Santayana

If you DO NOT take Fox News seriously, then you're an idiot. If you take MSNBC and CNN to be truthful and unbiased, then you're an idiot.

The American People are aware that lies lead to the election of Obama. They feel that they were the victims of a "con man" and that Liberal News Stations (MSNBC and CNN) sold them a "bill-of-goods". The American People are angry and they turn to the only honest source of News in the world...Fox News.

I am afraid that your dream of a Socialist Utopia has been fully exposed and brought to an end...thanks to one brave and honest News Station. They will only continue to grow in popularity, and there is not a damn thing you can do about it.

Thank God for Fox News, and God Bless America!

Case and point. Fox News has no need to disguise their rather obvious agenda when they have viewers like this. Media Matters, Crooks and Liars, and all the others can highlight as many examples of incompetence, bias and slander as they like, it does not matter. The only thing Fox News needs to do is constantly reassure its audience that Fox is the only shining beacon of journalistic integrity in the terrifying storm that is the liberally biased media.

Can you name ONE honest piece of news that came out of Fox News first? I mean an HONEST piece of work.

I don't have time to do any extra research during my holiday, but I can think of a couple of BIGGIES right off hand:

1) The whole Van Jones fiasco, in which he was exposed as a racist Communist and was forced to resign. This also exposed the "typical" character of the people that Obama surrounds himself with.

2) The ACORN Scandal, in which the Community Organizing group (of which Obama is CLOSELY aligned) actually turned out to be more than willing to assist in criminal enterprise...including the exploitation of children for use as sex slaves. As a result of Fox's breaking of the story, ACORN lost it's federal funding and will be subject to further investigations.

These two triumphs, of Fox News journalism, display the highest form of integrity by flying in the face of what the White House considers to be "acceptable" journalism. By refusing to tow the party line, Fox remains the only source for truth and unbiased reporting on the planet. As I have already demonstrated, this is the reason for their ENORMOUS popularity in a nation that is fed up with Liberal lies and half-truths.

1) The whole Van Jones fiasco, in which he was exposed as a racist Communist and was forced to resign. This also exposed the "typical" character of the people that Obama surrounds himself with.

I'm a little confused here. I don't recall anyone providing evidence that Van Jones was a racist. I remember Glenn Beck saying that President Obama "is a racist who has a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture." I also remember a group by the name of Color of Change that, in response to Glenn's ludicrous and defamatory remarks, convinced nearly all of his sponsors to drop his show. I believe that cost him and the Fox network millions of dollars. In an extraordinary coincidence, Van Jones, the newly appointed Special Adviser for Green Jobs who founded Color of Change in 2005, began to suffer heavy criticism from Fox News and in particular Glenn Beck a few weeks later.

In regards to the accusations of being a communist, so what if he was? The guy joined a Marxist group in college. And? Communism does not a bad person make.

2) The ACORN Scandal, in which the Community Organizing group (of which Obama is CLOSELY aligned) actually turned out to be more than willing to assist in criminal enterprise...including the exploitation of children for use as sex slaves. As a result of Fox's breaking of the story, ACORN lost it's federal funding and will be subject to further investigations.

Oh please. This "scandal" was brought to light by two college kids who traveled across the country as a "pimp and prostitute" to find examples of corruption. Most of their tapes have never and will never see the light of day, because in most of these interviews the ACORN employees called the police and told the kids to piss off. Yet the few tapes that have been shown are supposed to be indicative of how the organization operates?

The subsequent vote to defund ACORN was nothing more than a knee-jerk reaction from lifelong politicians who want to keep their job.

Fox News picked up the story and turned it into an excuse to attack the Obama Administration. Do you ever wonder how much money these two kids were paid by Fox for their "journalism?" I'm guessing enough to cover their tuition several times over.

By refusing to tow the party line, Fox remains the only source for truth and unbiased reporting on the planet. As I have already demonstrated, this is the reason for their ENORMOUS popularity in a nation that is fed up with Liberal lies and half-truths.

Are you @!$%#ing @!$%#ting me? First of all, America is not a planet. Even if it were, there are many news organizations in the USA with a hell of a lot more credibility than Fox News--BBC America, PBS and NPR to name a few.

What is their "enormous" popularity supposed to mean? American Idol is "enormously" popular, but I could really give a @!$%# what Simon Cowell thinks.

-Dave in Oregon- wrote:

What is their "enormous" popularity supposed to mean? American Idol is "enormously" popular, but I could really give a @!$%# what Simon Cowell thinks.

Indeed, Applebees and McDonalds are popular too, but it doesn't mean the product isn't crap.

Should be interesting to see what happens when the lawsuit filed on behalf of ACORN hits the courts. After all, it's blatantly a bill of attainder, which is specifically forbidden by the Constitution. I'd expect we'll see the law overturned, and quite possibly a hefty wad of damages to ACORN.

Indeed, Applebees and McDonalds are popular too, but it doesn't mean the product isn't crap.

Should have picked two different popular examples - these two's products ARE crap....generally...

That was my point.

Sorry Dave. Whether you liked those two news stories, or not, the fact IS that they were broken by Fox News, and many MANY people consider them to be important stories. You asked me for examples and I gave them to you.

You have lost this one.

This just in:

Sean Hannity feasts upon the succulent flesh of newborns in order to absorb their life-force and obtain immortality.

Whether or not you like that news story, the fact IS that I just broke it and many MANY people consider it to be important.

I'm so glad we've decided to turn reality into a popularity contest.

You asked me for examples and I gave them to you.

I didn't ask you for examples. Regardless, one of those examples was one man's thinly veiled personal vendetta (using false information) against a low-ranking government official and the other wasn't even broken by Fox News. This is the extent of Fox's journalism. I whole-heartily agree with you.

You have lost this one.

I accept your concession.

the terrifying storm that is the liberally biased media.

Thank you for that frank and courageous admission, Dave. I know that was hard for you.