Outfoxed Directed by Robert Greenwald,

Outfoxed

Directed by Robert Greenwald, "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism" is a piece of video material that suggests a flaw in the journalistic system created by Fox News. There are two things that struck me as an audience immediately when watching the footage. The first is the relatively low level of technology and budget that has been used in creating the material. The clip consists of talking footage, intermingled with selected clips from Fox News. These clips are sculpted in such a way as to create a sense of relative bias in the piece, which is the second notable thing about the film. There is a clear bias against the way in which Fox News uses journalism. The suggestion is that Fox News uses journalism selectively to create a propaganda-like platform for the benefit of certain political viewpoints.

Despite the fact of the bias, I never felt that the film created a deliberate or hysterical claim that Fox News created bias with its brand of journalism. Instead, there is a distinct sense of rationality behind the claims. While one cannot overlooked that all the interviewees are former employees with at least a sense of disgruntlement against the Fox News Network or media professionals who were never positive about the Network. Still, rationality prevails in the points that are made. For most of the claims made in the film, footage is provided to back it up.

Additionally, negative claims are made about both the on-air personalities at Fox News, as well as the general tactics the Network uses to slant reports in favor of its political position. Bill O'Reilly is a specific example of the former, where he is portrayed as hypocritical and malicious in his reporting tactics.

One of the underhanded tactics the network uses to slant the news is the way in which network-approved opinions are inserted into its reports. Newscasters use the preface "some people say…" when slipping these into their reports. Despite the clear bias, the film provides enough valid information to back up the claims it makes.

Currently, Rupert Murdoch's empire includes nine satellite networks, 100 cable channels, 175 newspapers, etc. It reaches some 4.7 billion people, more than half of the world's population. Despite claims to the effect that the network was to "restore objectivity," this has clearly not been the case. However, when one considers Fox against the rest of the media world, there is little that could be called 'objective.' Even reality shows and talk shows bias their assertions and views according to a certain favored viewpoints, whether these are socially popular at any given time or not. Indeed, this is the core principle of the media -- to influence the public view according to the viewpoint it favors.