This expresses well a lot of what I feel about the way Fox “News†uses actual news to springboard right back into building and perpetuating a constant narrative.
"News" in the normal sense is a means for Fox’s personalities, not an end in itself. It provides occasions for the ongoing development of its political narrative — the war on American values, the out-of-touchness of Democrats — much as current events give preachers material for sermons. This is why Fox’s emphasis goes to its star interpreters — Glenn Beck, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, the "Fox and Friends" crew — more than to expanding bureaus around the country or the world, investing in scientific, economic, or international expertise, or generally trying harder to place primary observers wherever it can.**
Why NPR Matters (Long) – James Fallows – National – The Atlantic
I often imagine that when something obviously very important happens in the world, the Fox News strategists say “Darn, we have to work on covering something we can’t NOT cover, instead of doing our REAL job, which is to continue to hammer home the narrative we want. “
while of course the selection of stories and analysts is subjective and can show a bias, in a serious news organization the bias is something to be worked against rather than embraced.
