Hi DEADn,
There are many personalities, contributors, analysts and pundits on Fox News. Their political leanings swing from the Left to the Right. The most popular pundits (e.g., Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, etc...) are considered "Conservative" in terms of the political spectrum (although O'Reilly is more of a Libertarian with both Conservative and Liberal views depending on the issues). Others, like Shephard Smith and Juan Williams, swing to the Left.
Is Fox News "biased?"
Obviously, all secular news outlets are biased because they are made up of individuals with sociopolitical opinions. My dad often points to Fox News as something of a "balance" to the Liberal slant of "mainstream" news sources. While most network, cable, internet and print news sources skew to the Left, Fox News and talk radio often balance them out simply out of the sheer volume of viewers/listeners.
However, there was a study conducted by the Joan Shorenstein Center on Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University a few years ago that actually concluded that Fox News is less biased than other mainstream news sources. Other studies, such as those conducted at the University of Chicago and UCLA arrived at similar conclusions. The Harvard study actually found that Fox News was somewhat MORE "Liberal" than CNN (just a bit more left although both were "center-left"). MSNBC, on the other hand, along with its network counterpart, were well outside of any semblance of "center" politics.
As for "unbiased" journalism: I don't know if it actually exists. Even in college, you find professors who present "fact" with the intrinsic biases of the professors themselves. Most importantly, the bias is not typically in the presentations of "conclusions." Rather, it is most typically seen in the stories that are chosen (or those that are neglected).
I think that the wisest thing to do is to simply not believe anything that we are told. This is scriptural (I Thessalonians 5:21).
We can be "skeptics" to this world. This works well in the Church. However, we should always remember that there is a difference between simply not entirely trusting the words of others versus developing a personal attitude of cynicism. It is also important that we don't get caught up in chasing the wind of "alternative news" via outside sources that are even more opinionated or given to conspiracy.
Still, a healthy skepticism worked well for me in college and grad school. Professors often attempt (via subtle means) to influence and even indoctrinate students. News media pundits are similar. I always found it ironic that the professors that I had who seemed to hate "evangelicals" for trying to "force their views upon" or "convert" others were actually guilty of the same thing -- trying to convert, indoctrinate or force views upon others.
I don't know what to think of this report. I read an article that stated that Sean Hannity was staying on that network and was happy with the impending changes. In addition, I have read articles that described Meghan Kelly as a Conservative. The few times that I watched the news with Mrs. Kelly (she came on in the mornings here in California), I really couldn't tell anything about her political, social, moral or religious views.
Again: I would urge that we don't place our faith in ANY man -- regardless or who they work for or even if their views seem to line up with our own.
_________________
Christopher
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