American Media,,,, Especially FOX!!

First of all, most Americans consider Fox News to be a joke. Between the mangled grammar, uniformed anchors and biased stories, we don't give it much credence. We've come up with dozens of nick names for it, the most popular being Faux News and F*** The News. Since that's what they do. We aren't all mindless drones who just accept what the news tells us. There are those that do, but it certainly isn't the majority of us. Second, media brainwashing and political propaganda has been around in most countries since the invention of the media. This isn't anything new. It's a long standing tradition that almost every government has utilized at least once. It's not going to stop anytime soon, either. But with the internet and the free international exchange of ideas, its harder for it to work. Our own news isn't the only information we have access to.

I'll cut you some slack because you don't live in the states..but I think you should know that most of the news doesn't say ANYTHING good about the President. I don't know where you get this idea that we all love Bush..he has only a 30something percent approval rating. Again, I understand because you don't live here, but not since Reagan have I seen so many bands writing political music, which, by the way has become trendy..or so many t-shirts depicting Bush as the devil or Hitler. I don't think any American's "buy" into any of this good publicity, either. ^.^ Hope I've broadened a horizon or whatever. God bless!!

Since you are European I guess I'll overlook you blanket characterization of our media. ALL we hear is negative things about Bush. Nothing has been positive in the last 4 years of his Presidency, according to the media. I don't care if you have satellite and get Fox News, you sure aren't seeing all the news outlets and you're not even watching all of FOX News, because they sure can stick it to him when he does something wrong. And Rupert Murdoch owns FOX News, no way is he a conservative. FOX News just doesn't put a liberal slant on things. They feel free to give negative comments when they are due, but that's how it is. Bill O'Reilly is Catholic and if you think he is bias, maybe it is because he is acting on his Catholic beliefs. Our media is not like the media in Egypt, or Saudi Arabia where their media is government control. Most of the U.S. doesn't even like Bush, so where you are getting your information, is, gasp! very bias in itself.

Most Americans get their news from tv and it's very hard to convince them that there are more thorough and less biased sources. Fox News is pretty much of a joke among Americans who've kept themselves informed about what's really going on, but it's still very popular and considered a legitimate news source. It's been caught with its pants down several times, with smears and distortion of the facts, but believers will always remain believers. Very few Americans approve of Bush and the Iraq war any more, but it certainly took them long enough to start waking up.

Rather then brainwashing i think it is hiding the things out and now showing the things which should have been shown...see...Every leader does something which may offend some way or another to some people. No leader can make happy all the people together and there is bound to have some critics and contradictory statements. But then all the things should be shown which really happened and hence it should not be hidden.

I think you are right dude. It really is about times our pals the Yanks got a hold on reality and woke up a little. I don't necessarily think it's right to blame your president when it's the American people who voted him in hehe. You made your beds, and you gotta sleep in em now dude. But I do appreciate that the media control our worlds. They really ought to be answerable to a lot of problems in our societies. Great discussion pal :)

Your second sentence made me laugh. To think that all Americans are brainwashed into supporting Bush is absolutely ridiculous. It is quite the opposite. If you were in America you would better be able to tell. Fox news may be biased to the right, but that seems perfectly fair to me since all the other stations are biased to the left.

First off- I don't know anyone who watches Fox News.. I get my information from CNN & MSNBC. You think we don't see bad? Let me guess.. Are you watching our stations with our news? I see bad everyday. Americans are brainwashed? Thats true gibberish. I for one am not brainwashed. I voted Bush in- I'm not pro-Bush or anti-bush.. Sure he has made some very bad decisions but he's also made some good ones too. Most Americans do not want to continue on with this war.. But we do support our soldiers. Always until each one is home! I wonder why US Americans feel the need to protect so many people (non-Americans) when they are being gassed, raped, murdered by their own people. Maybe we should stay out of it.. I guess if we did that - then I would call us brainwashed. Try watching CNN or MSNBC for news-- I wouldn't recommend FOX.. I then guarantee you will see people anti-Bush

We do get both sides of the story. Most of us did not vote for bush..BOTH times!! However, I believe he strong-armed his way into office...much like Saddam did, and since he is there, he is "taking over".. It was much to his benefit that the republicans were the controlling voters in the senate and congress... but we rallied and got that reversed... now democrats are the controlling vote and bush is getting much more opposition and much less support... Bottome line though is this... This is his last year in office... he can not be re-elected again which he knows. He is only staying in Iraq to get his greedy paws on the oil (allegedly protecting our interest) but his only interest is padding his own pocket... he has sent boat loads of money to fund iraq... did you hear about the some 12 billion that just mysteriously "disappeared"? he is lobbying now to get some 72 billion more over there.. he will not only bankrupt this country, he is also going to have everyone mad at us.. then when he gets out of office he and his family will go live in privacy...always "protected" by the US. He will never have to pay taxes, or live on our Social Security or Medicare system...these are systems he is taking money from to fund Iraq with.... so while "the rest of us" gets poorer and poorer he will live the life of a rich person... never knowing what it is like ot struggle... there are those that think he's just a good ol boy... but that man is evil... and America will pay the price for that for many years to come.... And Mr. Bush will be lucky if he does not end up a "target" himself.. but the oil companies love him..cause he is padding their pockets too... It is sick what he is doing...his own father disagrees with what he is doing.. but he doesn't care.. he has his own agenda.... He says you are with me or against me... sounds just like the other terrorists that we have dealt with in the past... I will be so glad to see him go....

this is the most ridiculous thing ive ever heard!!! you must not get out much. who ever said that "americans buy all this without questioning the war" needs to pull their head out. have you not heard of all the people here who are UPSET about the war and want the troops pulled out?? we arent all supporting it!!! of course some of us are, but it doesnt meant we are brainwashed! and sooooo what if someone gets bent out of shape when Bush is put down by others, if someone supports him, then of course they will stand up for him. same with other presidents and leaders. you should really get your facts straight before you just go assuming things about people you obviously know nothing about. if you want to talk about someone being brainwashed, take a look at North Korea.

I think all media brainwashes you into believing that what they are saying is true when it is only based on speculation sometimes. I thin people need to be aware also that it is only someones interpretation of what happened and not the truth. The media has a big responsinbility and I think they really take advantage of this by putting the news in a form that they think will make us keep watching rather than setting out the truth about what happened.

As a member of the working press for some 30-plus years, let me set a few things in perspective. By and large, your view of Fox pretty much accurate, but the huge bulk of broadcast media is brutally anti-Bush and was equally pro-Clinton during the previous administration. The statement that "millions of Americans buy all this without questioning the war" is simply wrong. Despite any efforts by Fox to sway American opinion toward Bush, it is not working because the war in Iraq is unwinnable no matter how much force is used. The better option is to move out of the Sunni Triangle and let the two sides of the Iraqi civil war destroy each other. They certainly do not need our help. Better to help the Kurds get their new nation, Kurdistan, established to the north (currently the most stable part of the country as the Kurds are staunch American allies). To the south, let the Brits keep the oil ports open by staying to the coast and letting any idiots who want to kill each other in the interior go ahead and do so, withg our blessings. Just guard Basra and the oil fields (which have yet to see serious damage) and keep the pipelines operating. We can't do everything, but nwe can do some things, to keep the region from going up in smoke.

All Americans are not pro-Bush. Media is media is media. We have so many news channels nowdays that we can watch pro Bush news or against Bush news. Media coverage is to make money. They take some of the news and make it into something that will make people want to watch it. My husband is in the police force and interviewed by the media frequently. They take a 2-3 hr. interview and make it into a 2-5 minute clip. The newspapers and tv are there to make money and anyone who believes that 100 % of the truth gets out is just fooling themselves. Don't worry about us Americans. lol. We're not all that bad. Yes, some are so into their political party that they are unable to see the people behind them. Some will fight for their country and not really understand what their saying. In a perfect world, we would all have the truth complete, but everyone can see the same situation but explain it differently.

I totally agree with you.that is the same reason they are stealing tax payers money in iraq with private and ghost companies.NUFF RESPECT.

Brainwashed! You maybe have no idea how brainwashed society as a whole is. We get brainwashed from the beginning of birth. We only start to see the truth of this world when we do wake up from this dream. People walking around asleep. I say we should question everything. Our beliefs are injected into us from people of good intention but are asleep themselves. This world is so crazy and backwards. But when we do finally awaken we just laugh at it all. People are ignorant. And fully awake people know that nothing can really happen to anyone. The belief that it can is one example of brainwashing.

well its not working on me i gues it works on those people that believe everything they hear and see on tv .war is war its terrible and it needs to stop

I agree with you on some points, and disagree on some others. Fox is one of the most notoriously biased sites, when dealing with coverage regarding politics. At this point I think we expect some bias in every media source, but Fox tends to be especially bad for it, no doubt about it. However, we have to give Americans enough credit to know that they change the channel every now and then. ;) There are other news sources that give a bigger picture. Yes, there are still plenty of americans that support the president and his decisions regarding this war. But, there are plenty of them who don't. I'm just afraid that by the time the other side realizes what's going on, it will already be too late.

We only hear the good things on fox because you only hear about the bad things on other stations. Second of all, television is taking a look at the world through a set of two dimensional eyes. News on TV isn't news at all, the only reliable source of news we have left is in the papers. TV is too commercialized to consider it factual, and every person on EVERY news station that they interview is only trying to get their opinion across for the 10 seconds they have on air, and nothing is discussed, only argued, and thus we learn absolutely nothing about anything.

I would be really mad if someone from another country came in and tried to tell me that they knew more about Bush than I do, too. I don't blame the Texans for getting mad at your friends. Do you think we don't know that there are a lot of people that don't agree with him? Even those of us who do support him, know that not everyone does. And to support Bush doesn't mean that we are brainwashed by the media. Any leader has flaws. They are people, too. Are your leaders flawless? No. I think that a lot of our anti-Bush people are the ones that need to wake up and see the bigger picture, too. Should we have gone to war in Iraq, maybe not. Should we help to stablize them now that we have created a bigger mess? Most definitely. We need to take responsibility for our actions. Pulling out now will not help the Iraqi people. Whether or not it was a good idea to start with is not the issue we are facing now. We now have to either stay and clean up the mess we started or pull out and leave it worse than it was when we entered. Neither is a good choice. But in my opinion, cleaning up after ourselves is the better option. And I do understand that we are not going to be able to right their country. But there are parts of their country that are genuinely happy to have help in setting up their government. I think they deserve our help. But hey, what do I know? After all I am a brainwashed Bush supporter who only watches Fox news, right?

Perhaps you have a point but personally I'm getting really fed up with the rampant anti-Americanism in the press in Europe and here in the UK. The BBC's motto seems to be: America bad; suicice bombers good. For all of its flaws, America remains the one nation the West needs to look to in order to defend our values in the face of a totalitarian threat emanating from the Arabian peninsula. Who else is going to stand up and be counted? France? Not likely..