People who don’t look in on the cable news networks in the USA may think that all they do is provide news, and news based programming. Some may even think that these networks are the same kind of benign TV that they would get from ITV, BBC or Channel 4. Or at least no worse than Sky News (“first for breaking wind”). Those folks will not have encountered Fox News Channel (fair and balanced my arse).
To say that Fox News takes a right leaning stance on anything its hosts define as political is the greatest of understatements. The channel’s assault on anything it defines as “liberal” is incessant, and it extends to attacking any part of the media – including the film industry. In fact, the Fox attack on supposedly “liberal” Hollywood extends even to going after the Muppets.
Yes, you saw that correctly: Fox News has been going after the Muppets. Here is Fox Business host Eric Bolling (and appropriately opinionated guests) accusing the latest Muppet film of “brainwashing” children. This “indoctrination” is held to have been going on for “decades”, and is then associated with the Occupy movement. All concerned affect a serious tone and a straight face.
So there had to be a response, and back came the Muppets at a London press conference. Miss Piggy dissed Fox and suggested that it was not really about news. There was loud and sustained laughter. One might think that this would cause someone at Fox to consider getting a life, but that would be to assume that Fox News and its hosts are in synch with reality.
And so it came to pass that Fox’ top rating host Bill O’Reilly was wheeled out to issue a warning to Kermit The Frog and his pals: Bill-O forced a smile to appear and told his viewers “Well, we still like the Muppets, but they’d better watch it”.
Only in the USA. And only on Fox.
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