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FOX News, local affiliates or the big boys

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by Yawn, May 1, 2008.

  1. Yawn

    Yawn New Member

    Does anyone think they prey on the paranoid among us? How many news pieces does your local station have on what could poison you, what could get your kids, etc., in a sensationalist, it's a 90 percent chance it could happen to you approach? Maybe it's just me, but they seem to thrive on those types of news pieces.
     
  2. Inky_Wretch

    Inky_Wretch Well-Known Member

    Ah, must be Sweeps.
     
  3. Yawn

    Yawn New Member

    Shit no. The local affiliate does that all the time. They take an internet predator situation on the West Coast and get some cop to tell them it could very well be your neighbor that's hitting on your kid at night.
     
  4. Yawn

    Yawn New Member

    Or...how safe is your food? They take a national clip of something unfortunate that happened in Bumfuck and act like it's common at the local WalMart store.
     
  5. Small Town Guy

    Small Town Guy Well-Known Member

    Is a roving killer cult targeting your college-aged son for drowning? Tune in at 10!

    The Fox News in NYC might be the best, though. In their introduction every night, they actually have a deep-voiced, scary announcer saying, "Do you know where your children are?"

    They're probably being poisoned or stalked online.
     
  6. Yawn

    Yawn New Member

    Right now, FOXNews has Cavuto talking to some muscle dude with a shirt that says "No Chubbies" debating the New Jersey proposal to put a sin tax on fast food. The thought being if we can just make food more expensive, people will eat less and therefore be a decent weight. The guy's best line: "People who are malnourished live longer than fat people."
     
  7. CentralIllinoisan

    CentralIllinoisan Active Member

    Is this a trap?
     
  8. Hustle

    Hustle Guest

    In fairness to them, they've been doing it for years - ever since I can remember. Before Fox affiliates sprang up all over, we used to get the NYC affiliate at our place in Pa. I remember they did the same thing when I was a little kid, back before net predators and such.

    I remember Bill Mazer answering nightly trivia questions before the sportscast...
     
  9. schiezainc

    schiezainc Well-Known Member

    Well, you have to think about it from a ratings perspective.

    Is the average American going to tune into a news broadcast that says: "Tonight at 11! Sandy Smith has been a volunteer at a local soup kitchen for 12 years! Hear her story!" or would they be more likely to want to see the one leading with "Tonight at 11! Experts predict that a common household item --THAT YOU ALREADY USE--will not only someday murder you and your family, but also allow a group of sex predators into your financial information".

    It's all because John Q. Average american doesn't realize how stupid and contrived these things are. It's like when the tabloids lead with a huge story about some celebrity nearly killing himself/herself because of depression and their main source of information is "according to a friend" and based on the education of some random doctor from the Southwest San Diego Institute of Design.
     
  10. DanOregon

    DanOregon Well-Known Member

    Frankly, this type of fear card "Watch our news or your kid might die", makes me think of the same techniques used by those who beat their wives. Like TV viewers who may want to watch another station, they don't because if they left, they or someone they love, might get hurt.

    As for the big boys at Fox News, I wonder who they think they're kidding when they tout Karl Rove, Dick Morris, Frank Lunz and Newt Gingrich as "analysts" and don't give a Dem anywhere near the amount of unchallenged airtime these guys get. (Morris is a GOP guy with an ax to grind) Is Bob Beckel their top Democratic contributor? Ferraro? Estrich? Or is that the best they can do due to the Dem boycott? None of the other nets give operatives that much unchallenged airtime.
     
  11. schiezainc

    schiezainc Well-Known Member

    How dare you. Fox News has been nothing if not a bastion for integrity.

    For example, I was watching the O'Reily factor the other night and it went something like this.....

    [Segment 1]

    Bill O'Reilly: "I'd like to welcome my next guest, [Random Republican person]"
    Guest: "Thanks Bill."
    BR: "So, what would you like to talk about."
    Guest: "I think George Bush should be appointed dictator for life and Christian values should be forced on American children in every level of education. Oh, and let's bring back seperate schoolin' for those damn minorities. Oh, and I hate Mexicans."
    BR: "Please, kind sir, elaborate. I'm giving you the full hour. Say whatever you want. I'll just be here in this corner praying to the one-true God."

    [Segment 2]
    Bill O'Reilly: "I'd like to welcome my next guest, [Random Democrat]"
    Guest: "Thanks Bill."
    BR: "Don't fucking thank me, you commie piece of shit. What the hell do you want?"
    Guest: "Excuse me?"
    BR: "Your people are ruining this great country. And now I suppose your on this show to talk about some other hippie thing to further ruin life for hard working Americans!"
    Guest: "Actually, I just wanted to say that I love this country and I believe that 1+1=2."
    BR: "You're an idiot. I hate you and hope you die."
    Guest: "But Bill."
    BR: "None of that 'but Bill" crap. Next guest."
     
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