In today’s Washington Post, Paul Farhi talks about the Fox News Channel morning show “Fox and Friends.” [Oh, Steve Doocy – you used to be so cool. What happened to you?]
I don’t watch this show and never have, and I stay away from FNC like the plague. But I still could have predicted that this show would be a wee bit slanted:
You want nuance and ambiguity? Go watch CNN. You want subtlety? Well, there’s always NPR or Matt ‘n’ Katie and Diane ‘n’ Charlie. But if you’re after take-no-prisoners opinions and a lusty confidence in the American military effort, the early-morning “Fox & Friends” is your eye-opener.
There’s no mistaking where Hill, Kilmeade and Doocy stand on the war. They’re unabashedly behind it, and don’t mind telling their growing audience exactly that. Rejecting even the pretense of journalistic detachment, they refer to American and British forces as “we,” “us” and “our” so often that it almost seems as if “Fox & Friends” is itself on the front lines. During yesterday’s show, Hill wore a pin with the insignia of the 3rd Infantry Division in addition to an American flag pin.
They also offer a not-too-subtle daily commentary on those who question the coalition’s progress and its conduct in the war. On Wednesday, Hill weighed in as tape of a female protester being arrested played across the screen: “What’s up with her hair?” she asked.
Explains Doocy in an interview: “Our show generally reflects the mood of America. Right now there’s a wave of patriotism in the country. Our show is about patriotism.”
Adopting any other tone would be downright un-American, Hill says in an interview. “I understand people had different opinions before the war, and before the war I readily supported that, if they could explain why. But a lot of these protesters now are International Workers Party members and socialists. . . . If you don’t support the decision to go to war, once that decision has been made, you’re not being patriotic.”
I’m so very tired of people swinging around the word “patriotic” when they obviously have no clue what it means. They all seem to think that the definition of “patriotism” is “to follow blindly what your leaders tell you and never think for yourself or question.”
And then “Fox & Friends” paused for a network promotion: “Real Journalism. Fair and Balanced.”
