Amid stifling July heat and intense political warfare, a new campaign weapon was unveiled this summer: the partisan documentary. Michael Moore's scathing attack on President Bush, his family, and his administration in "Fahrenheit 9/11," was at the epicenter of this political flood of films.
While his work tackled the actual news being told, however, it never approached the media bias telling that news. "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism," continues the leftist fervor begun by Moore, this time looking to expose the leading cable news station, Fox News.
"Outfoxed," with a microscopic budget of $300,000, was originally released on DVD and video in the middle of July, to be shown at over 2,800 homes as part of an effort by one of its main sponsors, Moveon.org. It caused such an impact that in early August, it began to show on five screens nationwide. A month and a half later, "Outfoxed" has expanded once more to 10 screens and in doing so, has made it to Boston.
"Outfoxed" chronicles the Fox News Company; from its sale to ultra conservative Australian Rupert Murdock in 1985, to its fairly recent rise to the top of the ratings charts. Although definitely released as an attack on the conservative movement in general, the film never explicitly condemns either the Bush Administration or conservatives. Rather, "Outfoxed" takes issue with Fox's claim to be "fair and balanced."
Instead, according to director Robert Greenwald, Fox is nothing more than a right-wing propaganda mouthpiece masquerading as actual news. Greenwald, seeking to prove his point, interviews former employees, esteemed media members, journalism experts, and uses footage from Fox News itself to convince the audience of the station's conservative bias.
Greenwald claims appear to cut. It's indisputable that many reporters and executives have close ties to the Republican Party, many to the Bush family in particular. The channel's chairman, Roger Ailes, was an advisor to both Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.
Firebrand anchor Bill O'Reilly serves as perhaps Greenwald's greatest asset in his assault on the network. In an especially ugly scene, O'Reilly almost comes to blows with a young guest whose father died in the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center yet disagrees with the country's decision to invade Afghanistan. Flustered and enraged, O'Reilly bellows at the kid to "shut up!" and demands that his microphone be cut.
Internal memos, provided by former employees, paint an equally disturbing picture. Reporters are given specific instructions about what to report and how to report it. One former anchor recalls being chastised for not glorifying former President Ronald Reagan's birthday sufficiently.
Debating programs pit handsome well-spoken conservatives like Sean Hannity against nerdy liberals like Alan Colmes. The film goes on to expose numerous other holes in Fox's method of journalism.
Most disturbing, however, are the viewer survey graphs the film presents. According to "Outfoxed," 48 percent of viewers who claim to watch Fox News regularly believe that a close pre-Sept. 11 tie existed between the Iraqi government and the al Qaeda terrorist group, a Bush administration claim that has since been disproved.
In addition, almost two-thirds of Fox viewers are still under the impression that the United States found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, compared to around 15 percent of those who watch standard evening news.
Greenwald has found his directorial calling with "Outfoxed" and "Uncovered: The War on Iraq," a harsh criticism of the evidence (or lack thereof) to invade Iraq. It's surely a departure from the disastrous 1980 Olivia Newton John vehicle "Xanadu", with these two releases Greenwald has vaulted himself into the niche liberal filmmaking pantheon, next to Michael Moore, and, well, Michael Moore.
Lacking in the film, however, are any earth shattering revelations. Fox's conservative slant has never been much of a secret. Their deceptive tactics, while certainly distressing, are far from shocking. Greenwald's apparent final message, that the media must be better policed to be kept truly fair, rings slightly hollow for a film released during stagnant political rancor. One can't help feeling disappointed, especially by the vaguer implications of the film.
Why has Greenwald has set his sights on Fox and left the other networks untouched? Why didn't he go further in his attack? Is "Outfoxed" striving to convict the conservatives by association, implying that they have made the playing field of public relations unequal, forcing the Democrats to battle without the advantage of a wildly popular propaganda network?
Many have argued that the avalanche of liberal leaning films this summer was a direct response to the conservative reporting of Fox News and other conservative franchises. Influential liberal group MoveOn.org and the conservative Swift Boat Veterans for Truth showcase other ways in which interested parties can contribute to the ongoing debate.
Fox's stream of biased information has had an effect on the perceptions of the general public. The extent of this effect, however, is unfortunately immeasurable. Who knows whether the Democrats would be more popular were they to have their own "Fox News," regurgitating party platforms, as Greenwald suggests they do.
"Outfoxed" is by no means a great film. It is, however, a liberally slanted, active instruction in the dangers of politically biased reporting, liberal and conservative.
