Letter to the editor: Propaganda machine

By Sandy Wylie, Tulsa - 11/1/2009


Charles Krauthammer has blessed us with a stout defense of Fox News (“There is no ‘Fox’ in the henhouse,” Oct. 24). He designates the other major news outlets as “a sea of liberal media.” He also identifies other members of the evil liberal empire as “the foundations” and “the universities.” All of the universities? Really?

When the Democratic National Convention was going on, I tuned in to Fox to see how its staff was covering it. I watched for 45 minutes with pad and pen in hand. My idea was to keep track of how many comments were made by the anchors and guest commentators that could be construed as positive or negative.

It turned out I didn’t need the pad. Not one comment about any Democrat or the proceedings was positive. The coverage wasn’t just negative, it was laced with hate. You would have thought that they were covering a meeting of the Taliban.

I was trapped in an auto repair waiting room that always has Fox News on. I listened to a guest commentator tear into Nancy Pelosi for 45 minutes. Then the anchor took over and dished out another 15 minutes of abuse. Sixty solid minutes of Pelosi-bashing!

Fox News is not a news channel. It’s the leader of the right-wing propaganda machine. It goes beyond words. Observe the tone of voices, the sneers, the body language, the facial contortions. That’s not how rational people who are trying to get at the truth behave.







Letters to the editor are encouraged. Each letter must be signed and include an address and a telephone number where the writer can be reached during business hours. Addresses and phone numbers will not be published. Letters should be a maximum of 250 words to be considered for publication and may be edited for length, style and grammar. Letters should be addressed to Letters to the Editor, Tulsa World, Box 1770, Tulsa, Okla., 74102, or send e-mail to letters@tulsaworld.com.



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Tulsa World Reader Comments
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richard waddell, Bartlesville (11/1/2009 8:42:31 AM)
Good letter from Sandy Wylie (Propaganda machine). Too bad I can't find it online.

Faith, (11/1/2009 9:32:13 AM)
If people like opinions and not news then Fox is the place that clouds issues and gives us plenty of drama. Myself I like news that isn't made up and manufactured so that I can form my own opinions but I don't get it from one news organization either and I pay attention to what these Senators say and what they do. I tune in once in a while just to hear what they are saying but I stopped listening a long time ago.

Faith, (11/1/2009 9:35:32 AM)
Glad you just noticed that the dolloar bill has been shrinking. It has been shrinking for a long long time.

Faith, (11/1/2009 9:38:00 AM)
John Merrit good letter, I agree.

Ron B, (11/1/2009 10:17:23 AM)
Hussein is upset at Fox because they broke the story about ACORN. He is closely tied to them, so finding fault with ACORN could seriously damage his Messiah image. Those of you who do not like Fox news should stop watching it. You who think CNN, ABC, MSNBC, CBS, NBC, etc are unbiased need to pull you head out and realize that all news outlets have a slant. Get over it.

Que, Terlton (11/1/2009 10:30:56 AM)
Good letter from Sandy Wylie. Someone on this site told me Krauthammer works for Fox news. If that's true, it would explain a lot.

hummingbird, Tulsa (11/1/2009 10:55:52 AM)
Ron B I just need to turn you off rather than responding. ; )

Faith, (11/1/2009 1:13:59 PM)
If people had of listened to Kramer, they would have lost everything. Even Jon Stewart pointed out his misleading info. Acorn, do your homework, both ACORN has worked for both parties in the past, Google acorn, Charlie Crist and McCain. A few bad employees are in every business. That is why they are in jail now or fired depending on the crime. Fox news doesn't report real news they report opinions and manufacture stories changing the facts. That isn’t real news. They think it helps their ratings to have drama and entertainment. I sure didn't hear much about the KBR and Coburn vote in OK from the Republicans.

Grand Old Partier, Owasso (11/1/2009 7:34:26 PM)
Faithbedazzled, it is you who have not done your homework. ACORN is a confusing network of leftwing unions and community organizers that do 95% of their work for the Democrats, much of it illegally with taxpayer funds. The corruption runs deep and even more will be exposed over the coming months.

Ron B, (11/1/2009 7:45:17 PM)
Hummingbird seems to be at a loss for words. There are news outlets which, to me, are very biased. My solution to that is to not watch them. Freedom of the press is very basic to our system of government, and should be. The idea that ACORN works equally for both parties is absurd. Grand Old Partier has it right; the rest of you need to copy off of him.

wardog, Miami (11/2/2009 9:19:20 AM)
Mr. Merritt has it RIGHT. Oh yes by all means lets change the subject of all the wrongs to ACORN. This all the Republican can even try to build a case on, a handfull of workers who got caught and fired. ACORN was started to help the poor and continues to do so. All of this build up of these small stories by Republicans has again done harm to the poor. But they could care less. All the illigal things done by Bush and Company that go a pass (not for long) and they has ACORN. I did my homework Grand old Partier sorry. ACORN has got $53 million since 1994, we can't have that can we but we can give a pass to Bush and Paulson giving the banks 800 million last Oct. all of their horrors against this country and Republican going for anything they can and doing more harm is their way of getting back. See how you change subjects instead of the real problems?. You all are R.Limbaugh clones, your arrogance is sickening. Did you even read Merritt's letter, or simply over look it because its all true and use the only thing you've got ACORN? I think you should do some homework on your own party for a change. If you don't think both side have crooks, get your head out!

OkeyDokey, Anytown USA (11/2/2009 12:44:22 PM)
FYI....Had it not been for a few million under age 40 voters, who knew nothing about history like the stock market crash of 1929, or, the Works Progress Administration or the Great Depression, ACORN and $700 MILLION dollars from God only knows where (Saudia Arabia ?)plus 95% of the African American votes, BO would not be president now !! I am not a racist folks...but...while I do think he is very intelligent and I admire his ability to stay cool, to maintain his composure, under stress and with so many irons in the fire at once, I am worried about all the freedoms, rights and liberties being taken away from us everyday. Too much being done too fast. And, mever once have we seen BO sit down in front of the cameras and just tell us "like it is". Sure, we needed reform with a lot of things, not just health care, but, the auto companies were about to go under anyway because of the unions and their desire to manufacture the big gas guzzlers that few could afford rather than smaller, economical vehicles like they have done over in Europ[e for years now ! The Big Three, have been making natural gas powered cars in Europe for a long time now while we Americans have had to endure outrageous prices set by OPEC for oil to operate our low mileage automobiles. Why can't BO just sit down, by a fireside, or even out in the rose garden, and, lay it on the line, tell us the truth, that perhaps he is doing all he is doing because it was needed. And, tell us in layman's language that even the most common less educated American can understand. This crap about just jumping in there and appointing a bunch of friends from Chicago to key positions and making life changing decisions with a snap of the fingers and without regard for the wishes of the masses, is baloney ! A few people, representating a lot of people, with their "Tea Parties" need to be listened to by BO. But, he did not even know they had protested !Nah,,,ain't gonna happen. He'd rather use his bully pulpit to endorse abortions,gay rights and union support. And, he said he was going to "clean house" ?? Then why are Barny Frank and Chris Dodd, the dudes who started the housing collapse and untimately the financial crisis, and who "got caught with their hand's in the cookie jar" still up there on the six o'clock news every evening ?? And, how is it that queen Nancy is allowed to spend millions of your tax dollars jetting back and forth to San Francisco on a government plane ? And, is Harry Reid's $8 BILLION dollar "bullet train" from La to Vegas, included in the Health Care "Reform" bill ?? I am not a democrat. not a republican, if anything I am a "patriotic independent thinker" who is simply sick and tired of all the dishonesty, greed and corruption on Wall Street and in Washington, DC, irregardless of whom our president might be !! While BO was campaigning I DID judge him according to the "content of his character", not this color. It was time for a person of color to be president. But, this is NOT THE TIME to subject 330 million Americans to socialist lifestyles. Looks like Communism is NOT dead ! It just moved from Russia to America ! Again, thank God for freedom of the press, freedom of speech and last but not least the right to bear arms. I said it....you decide" !!

dustyoutlaw, Tulsa (11/3/2009 8:20:45 AM)
Fox is not a news network. It's a right wing editorial station. Which I would have no problem with if they stuck to something remotely resembling facts. But they don't.

Corvetteguy, Tulsa (11/3/2009 8:31:51 AM)
I wonder why Fox News channel has more viewers than all the other cable news channels, combined? And that's in all prime time slots, and thruout the day. Is it just that there are 10 million people who are wrong? Funny how some people are always correct, and the masses are always wrong. Funny,... isn't it? Or has President George W. Bush somehow twisted the ratings numbers also? Lord knows he caused every worldwide plague known to mankind. What?....don't believe it?...just ask the left-wingers.

Oldfatdude, Shàngdu (11/3/2009 8:32:46 AM)
I still can't stomach Fox "news" but I've been trying to listen to KFAQ on the way to and from work lately. Two problems; 1. Seems like over 50% of the airtime is devoted to commercials. All about the buck. 2. The mis-information and hate spewing from the speakers is starting to rot the paper and melt the vinyl. I paid too much for my sound system to see it destroyed so I can't try to listen to KFAQ any longer.

dustyoutlaw, Tulsa (11/3/2009 8:49:29 AM)
Never mind that all the other networks split the rational viewer ratings. Fox is the only extremist right American Taliban network and as such draws all the American Taliban viewers. Out of 300 million people, 10 million nutcases sounds about right.

born okay the 1st time, tulsa (11/3/2009 11:10:19 AM)
IMO 60 min of Pelosi abuse is not nearly enough.

Phillip J Forewood, Tulsa (11/3/2009 12:35:44 PM)
OkeyDokey, you must be refering to the 700 Billion Bush and Cheney passed off to their banker freinds with no stipulations and no regulations, just a parting gift so the system would not crash until Obama was in office, "a gift from the greats." The freedoms you are concerned we are losing are those the governments ability to wiretap at will, record video and audio of anyone they deem suspisous. Maybee the right to a fair and speedy trial, or the right not to be confined and tortured without any specific reason. Could it be your right to privacy and illegal search and seazure.All were cool under the Patriot Act. No I suspect you are worried about Obama coming for your guns, and your ability to carry them to "teaparty" scream fests. Or your right to go on hating with your head stuck firmly in the fox new sand.Those that chose to scream the loudest instead of reasoning were present 2000 yrs ago in the back of a crowd yelling crusify.



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