The Story of Fox News vs. CNN and MSNBC: Unraveling the Controversy and Perception of It.
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Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC are three of the leading news agencies in the United States, while yet each of them occupies a unique status in the spectrum of politics and public perception. Fox News, for instance, is perceived more unfavorably than CNN and MSNBC by those who sympathize with the left or are centrists. Although all major news networks are criticized, Fox News takes criticism to a different level. Even though audiences may cast aspersions at CNN and MSNBC, too, there's something peculiarly polarizing about Fox News. It might be because of its editorial slant, the nature of the programming it puts out, or a huge influence it has on political discourse.
In this paper, we'll discuss some of the reasons why many see Fox News as more problematic than its peers. The list runs long and includes reputation for reports made strong and indicative of misinformation, its role in escalating polarization, and its handling of key events like the 2020 U.S. elections.
- Strong Perceptual Political Bias
One of the main reasons people believe Fox News is worse than CNN or MSNBC is the perception that Fox News holds a more pronounced political bias in favor of conservative, right-wing philosophies. Of course, any news outlet carries some level of bias; however, Fox News is especially accused of being not only biased but well beyond simply biased and instead serves as an arm of the Republican Party rather than a journalistic enterprise.
- Editorial Bias and Opinion Content
While CNN and MSNBC may tend toward more left-leaning audiences, critics argue that Fox News uses patent and obvious partisan bias in its editorial approach. As but one example, opinion content-which includes opinion programs-account for much of the network's prime-time offerings, which are viewed during evening weekday hours when a lineup of opinion-friendly personalities dominate, including, before his resignation from the network, Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, each of whom, daily, espouse hard-right talking points. These hosts, like these news reporters, offer straightforward analysis based on right-wing politics. They report news so that often it benefits the Republican Party and generally lambastes Democratic leaders and initiatives.
What critics argue is that this ideological slant is not a good thing because many viewers can't distinguish between the news and the opinion segments coming from Fox. Of course, Fox has its straight-news anchors such as Bret Baier, but opinion programming is what most gravitates its audience. More partisan and ideologically based, the opinion programming by Fox evokes the caveat that the slant of reality coming from Fox could be perceived as unbiased news by its audience.
By contrast, while CNN and MSNBC also run opinion shows, such as Rachel Maddow's on MSNBC or Anderson Cooper's on CNN, these networks otherwise tend to draw a sharper distinction between reporting the news and offering opinion commentary. One sees Fox News, more than its competitors, blurring the lines between reporting the news and editorializing, which creates a version of the news that's more ideologically driven-and critics believe more misleading-than many other cable networks.
Claims of Misinformation
Another highly critical reason why some consider Fox News to be worse than CNN and MSNBC is through the perceived role that it plays in the spreading of misinformation and conspiracy theories, particularly on politically charged topics .
- Promoting Misinformation and Conspiracy Theories
Fox News has long been dogged by accusations of the spreading of false or misleading information. Media outlets of course are prone to error, but critics argue that Fox News continually propagated misleading narratives on a variety of subjects: immigration, climate change, and election integrity, to name a few.
Coverage of the 2020 Election and Its Aftermath
Perhaps no single event made this more evident than was the case during and following the 2020 U.S. presidential election. After Donald Trump lost the election to Joe Biden, Fox News repeatedly offered a platform for scores of guests and pundits who falsely advanced claims of massive voter fraud that "stole" the election. Shows featuring figures such as Sean Hannity and Maria Bartiromo dedicated many hours to unproven claims even after courts had largely dismissed lawsuits contesting the election outcome.
Fox News also is part of the broader misinformation ecosystem that fed those events-and has been sued, for example, by Dominion Voting Systems, which accused the network of defamation for airing false allegations about voting machine rigging.
While CNN and MSNBC were not free from charges of bias in this regard while reporting on the election, often they did not publicize nor give life to conspiracy theories of frauds in the elections. Often, they were debunking the myths. This gap in coverage highlights one reason some view Fox News as more dangerous than the opposition: perceived in active complicity in spreading the falsehoods that ultimately caused critical consequences for Democratic processes to unfold in this country.
COVID-19 Misinformation
It has also been under fire for the coverage it gave on the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in its early stages. Anchors, for instance, like Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham, built their platforms when diluting the importance of the virus and questioning the need for mask mandates and lockdowns. The network was accused of creating confusion over public health guidelines and damaging people's confidence in health experts such as Dr. Anthony Fauci.
While certainly not exempt from criticism, neither CNN nor MSNBC committed the types of offenses that CNN and MSNBC blamed on Fox News. Indeed, both stations were accused of fear-mongering at times, as will be seen in Chapter 6. But the reporting of the outbreak by CNN and MSNBC generally was much closer to professional guidance and the prevailing scientific opinion. This difference in approach has led some critics to argue that Fox News treated the pandemic in an irresponsible way and even dangerous to public health.
Consequences on Dividing American Politics
Yet another reason why some individuals seem to perceive Fox News as negative in comparison with CNN or MSNBC is because it reinforces US political polarization. Of course, each cable news network plays its part in heightening ideological echo chambers. Yet, for reasons that will shortly become clear, Fox News appears to be one of the significant leaders in such partisan divisions.
Appeal to a Specific Ideological Audience
Fox News has done quite well in building up a highly loyal audience, especially among older, conservative Americans. It is not surprising that they trust the network; naturally, it has become one's central news provider, but of course, again through compromise. Critics hold that Fox News opted to plant its viewers in such a kind of closed environment that removes all other perspectives, views, leaving them vulnerable to confirmation bias.
This isolation is exacerbated by Fox News's penchant for scapegoating its political adversaries. Democratic leaders and policies often are portrayed unfavorably, and the network often focuses on perceived Democratic Party failures or scandals. The network's emphasis on culture war issues—immigration, gun rights, and "cancel culture"—has been criticized for whipping up fear and resentment among its viewers, increasing the wedge between conservatives and liberals.
While CNN and MSNBC also target ideologically specific audiences, to be sure, but tend otherwise to be regarded as even less extreme in their framing of political matters, CNN specifically seeks a more neutral or middle-ground position but is often faulted for being liberal. MSNBC, though visibly to the left of center in its own, has more of a policy discussion and interviews with experts, but it does not carry that great deal of rhetoric that Fox News makes so popular adversarial, combative talk.
Impact on National Discourse
But the polarizing effect of Fox News goes far beyond its viewership. As a leader among cable news outlets in the United States, Fox News plays a significant role in how national political discourse is framed. Its reporting tends to set the agenda for much of the conservative media, and its talking points often get picked up by right-wing politicians and pundits.
Fox News' influence on political discourse is especially powerful on election cycles. The network can then shape a candidate and issues in ways that may stamp the wrong impression into the voter's mind and make partisanship seem even more dug in. This sort of reporting has been assailed as "tribalizing" American politics-to the point where compromise and dialogue are made nearly impossible.
Responsibility for Fox News's Ethical Standards
Apart from criticisms regarding bias and misinformation, the other controversy confronting Fox News relates to its ethics-mostly concerning the conduct of anchors/hosts that go on air and general business culture of the network.
Sexual Harassment Scandals
Among the most notable ones to confront Fox News were successive sexual harassment scandals involving big-name personalities in the network. In 2016, former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson filed a lawsuit against then Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes for sexual harassment. Consequently, he resigned and opened the floodgates for more women within the network who came forward to file more allegations of sexual harassment. Ultimately, the scandal implicated other top figures at the network, including former host Bill O'Reilly, who was eventually forced out of the network after it became apparent that he had settled multiple sexual harassment lawsuits.
Sexual harassment scandals at major media outlets have an age-old history-but their scope at Fox News and that they occurred with some of the network's best-known personalities taint the Fox brand. Critics say that it tells women and all employees of the network being held hostage by this that Fox doesn't value women, and powerful men don't have accountability to the law, which goes beyond giving a bad reputation.
Conclusion
Although CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News are all in positions where their influence is substantial, Fox News is in a class by itself concerning the level of polarization it inspires when compared with any of its peers. Its long list of political party biases and the role that Fox News has played in the spread of misinformation, to say nothing of the rest, has led many to conclude that Fox News is worse than its contemporaries at CNN and MSNBC. On the other hand, although Fox News has the widest and most faithful audience, it has become the most criticized for being a part of democracy's erosion of public trust, piling greater and unnecessary divisions across the nation, and far from representing or living up to the principles of a major news organization.
In the end, perception of Fox News as problematic largely depends on a person's political point of view.