After watching CNN and Fox News' coverage on the same day, the differences between them are abundantly clear - but the similarities are evident as well, in an almost eerie sort of way. While the two news networks are diametrically opposed in terms of their ideological lean, the fact that they both have their own agenda that they are vigorously working toward is obvious. Both try to act as if they are the voice of the "middle-ground", although Fox News' claim to be "fair and balanced" is absurd.
Personally, I was suprised that the two networks put so much emphasis on the theatrical side of their news delivery. By this I mean that neither were trying to give "just the news," but instead were playing to the audiences heart strings by serving up stories intended to stir emotion from their viewers. CNN covered a fire in Philadelphia, not-so-subtly reminding the audience that this could happen in any home or apartment building "even near you." Directly after this, with the appearance that they did not even consider adding some sort of segway, they discussed how one can get the most flavor out of their raviola a vodka. They transitioned from this into a heartfelt tale about how a boy from Michigan worked with his school to raise money for disabled children, finally ending this circus of the bizarre news with a tragic tale about a home-invasion, where some maniac broke into a woman's house and assaulted her. Needless to say, CNN is not concerned with any sort of theme, it seemed as if they were throwing anything they could out there to get some sort of emotional response.
Fox News - the only word I could use to describe this is "ridiculous". CNN, of course, is ridiculous in its own right, but Fox has no shame. Fox will make outlandish claims about public figures or skew stories to the point that its not even the same story anymore, and they do so with a confident gusto that only Fox could pull off. A few times in the half hour I watched this Twilight Zone-esque version of something someone actually calls "news", I couldn't help but bust out laughing at some of the thing's the pundits and anchors suggested. Fox started off by reminding the audience that America was in a recession, and even had someone they referred to as an expert (expert of what I don't know) say that it is even worse than the Great Depression. They furthered this point by claiming that Obama might be in league with the corrupt businessmen who helped cause this, and that the President stands to gain if the country's economy collapses. It is not what they say that is so hilarious, but the way they say it. Fox airs these completely absurd statements with a self-righteous swagger, as if they couldn't be more sure that Obama is "out to get us." And we wonder why there is so much partisan bickering in this country...
Unfortunately, I was not lucky enough to see CNN and Fox cover the same story, so I didn't get a taste of this sort of direct comparison. However, the personality of the two networks is so strong that I could most likely make a pretty accurate guess about how each of the networks would have covered one another's stories. I can't say which one I like better - I suppose I'd prefer CNN if I wanted to watch a random slew of stories, each more random than the last. On the other hand, when I feel like watching someone say something that is pure speculation as if it was fact, and do so with a straight face that only eight years of home schooling can provide, I would switch over to the more "fair and balanced" of the two networks.
If I learned anything from watching these two embarassments to our freedoms, it is that there is no objective news anymore. Of course, I would love to see objective news over partisan news, but such a thing does not exist in this day and age. Today, it is a theatre of the absurd, with each network vying to get the best ratings by any means possible. If this means outright lying about public figures or airing the most insane stories and spinning them in every direction imaginable, then "so be it" is the network approach.
But really, would we even watch objective news if it was on? Compared to the rollercoaster-like style of today's news networks, such a program would probably lose its viewers to Bill O' Reilly in a matter of minutes, to watch his old song and dance.
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