Fox News still bias toward Obama, but to a lesser degree

Obama's Cabinet Picks Heavy on Washington Experience

Perusing this week's news articles from various media outlets, I noticed something particularly interesting, yet unsurprising; Fox News has practically ceased criticizing now President-elect Barack Obama. Key word: practically.

Despite clear indications that the network's avoided its usual agenda-setting (because of Obama's overwhelming victory), bias is still evident. Take the lead of the article Obama's Cabinet Picks Heavy on Washington Experience for example:

"For months on the campaign trail, Barack Obama promised to bring change to Washington. But now that he's president-elect, his first potential Cabinet picks indicate that he may bring more years of Washington experience to his administration than Bill Clinton or George W. Bush did."

Obama promised change. He didn't promise inexperienced Cabinet members. Suggesting that picking experienced Cabinet members is somehow contradictory to a policy of change is either stupid or biased. Something tells me it's the latter.

Who the experienced individuals are is the subject of interest, or at least it should be. Obama picking individuals who served or held views consistent with the Bush Administration would be cause for criticism. But this is not the case.

In fact, he seems to be keen on veterans of the Clinton Administration, naming Rahm Emanuel as his White House Chief of Staff. Emanuel was a leading strategist in the efforts to institute universal health care during Clinton's presidency.

To be fair, the lead is the only blatant bias in the article. Fox did include several quotes from Russell Riley, a presidential historian at the University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs. These include the following:

"[Clinton administration veterans] participated in a presidency that is viewed to have its accomplishments and was viewed as well run."

"The argument that Obama people would make ... it's possible to rely on people who know how the levers are pulled, but move it in a different direction than the last eight years."

Celebrity sensation: U2 singer Bono 'Busted' by Facebook

Busted: Facebook Pictures Show Married U2 Singer Bono's Rendezvous With Sexy Teens

Earlier in the week, Fox news posted an article online concerning the activities of U2 singer Bono during his vacation in St Tropez. Bono was "caught" with two 19-year old females, American fashion student Andrea Feick and her friend Hannah Emerson. Caught doing what you might ask? Apparently, nothing.

Pictures of Bono with his arms around two bikini wearing teenagers were posted on Facebook and accompanied by "diary details." Given the first word in the headline of the article, "Busted," any reader would assume that these details were somehow incriminating. Yet the details only revealed that Bono, his friend Simon Carmody (former member of Irish band Golden Horde), and the two teenagers drank at a beach bar, strolled along the beach, and partied on U2 guitarist The Edge's yacht. So how exactly was he busted? It is safe to assume that that the front man for a rock band as big as U2 would be partying during his vacation. And it's not wrong for him to hang out with fans while doing so, even if they are young attractive females. In fact, it's good PR.

To be fair, Fox did include a critical piece of information:
"Feick said their relationship had never crossed the line beyond friendship. 'For somebody who's much older than I am ... no thank you,' she said"

Despite Feicks' comment, Fox still decided to place Bono in a bad light, as if his actions were morally reprehensible. The network sensationalized the story with words like "busted" and "sexy teens." The end of the article contains the following statement, "Bono, Carmody and the girls partied into the night on the yacht," followed by "Bono's 26-year marriage to wife Ali is famously strong."

The inclusion of the last sentence says it all: News Corp (who owns Fox) is persuading people into believing that Bono's marriage is not as strong as people thought. Celebrity coverage in the main stream media is superfluous as it is. Do we really need to distort information to make it into a news story?

Fox News praises McCain, bashes Biden and Obama

VP candidate Biden calls paying higher taxes a patriotic act. McCain supporter Gov. Tom Pawlenty reacts.

The "We Report. You Decide" Fox News slogan suggests the network alone provides us with adequate information to base intelligent decisions on. Question: How can we make such decisions when its news reports present only one side of an issue, the Republican side?

Thursday night, Fox News aired a report in response to VP Joe Biden's comments on ABC's Good Morning America. While discussing presidential candidate Barack Obama’s economic plan, under which those making more than $250,000 a year would pay more taxes, Biden said "It's time to be patriotic...its time to help America get out of the rut."

Following the segment from Good Morning America, Shepard Smith mentioned that McCain called the tax plan “dumb,” before interviewing Republican Minnesota Governor Tom Pawlenty, a McCain supporter. Pawlenty criticized Biden, stating that his comments resulted from “misguided and unclear thinking” and that the tax plan would “stifle and suffocate the economy.” He then went on to explain McCain’s economic plans like the creation of a Mortgage and Financial Institutions trust.

Pawlenty’s response to Biden’s interview and criticism of Obama’s economic plan isn’t the problem here. The absence of a Democratic dignitary to provide an alternative viewpoint is. The positive comments about McCain’s plans were plenty, yet we heard nothing about Obama’s plans or Biden’s interview but harsh criticism. This report is not “fair and balanced,” as Fox would lead you to believe. It’s bias.