I am currently reading, It Was All A Lie; How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump, by Stuart Stevens who spent his career as a Republican strategist. I’m sure I will have lots to say once I finish, given what I’ve read in the first quarter of the book. But, for now, a few words on another subject.
As everyone knows, Kamala Harris has been named as Joe Biden’s running mate. Regardless of your politics, this is an historic pick. While Sarah Palin and Geraldine Ferraro preceded Kamala Harris as female Vice-Presidential picks, Harris is the first woman of color and Southeast Asian descent to assume that mantle. It really is a truly historic choice. Why then, did Fox News immediately go on full on attack against Harris?
If anyone ever had any doubts that Fox News is anything more than a propaganda arm for the White House, this kind of conduct should dispel those thoughts. A legitimate news organization would spend at least some time discussing the historic nature of the pick and the evolution of race in American politics. (And people like Tucker Carlson would at least learn how to correctly pronounce her name.) But rather than trying to provide ‘news’ in an objective and factual manner, the talking heads at Fox went immediately into full on attack mode.
This is particularly disturbing because something like almost 25% of people get their ‘news’ from Fox News, which by-the-way does not use the word ‘news’ in their disclosure statement – they use ‘entertainment’. So, I got to thinking, I wonder how many journalistic awards Fox News has garnered over the years. One would think if you are a ‘news’ organization, you would strive for excellence in your field and hope to be recognized for your work.
Actors are recognized with Oscars, Emmys or Tony awards. Writers are recognized with Pulitzers. Scientists, economists, writers and others are recognized with Nobel Prizes. In virtually every field, excellence is recognized and rewarded. Journalism is no different. News organization and journalists s are recognized for excellence with Emmys or the George F. Peabody Award “perhaps the most prestigious honor in electronic media and given by the University of Georgia.”
I found a listing of media and journalism awards for the various media:
The Peabody Awards
PBS 119 CBS 16 ABC 12 NPR 12 CNN 8 NBC 7
Fox News 0
Emmy Awards
PBS 88 CBS 73 NBC 40 ABC 36 CNN 17 HBO 17 CNBC 11 MSNBC 10
Fox News 0
Alfred I. DuPont Award
PBS has 44 NPR 17 CBS 13 ABC 13 NBC 7 CNN 6 MSNBC 2 Court TV 2 National Geographic 1 CNBC 1 Current TV 1
Fox News 0
Gerald Loeb Award
CBS 4 NBC 4 Bloomberg 4 CNBC 3 ABC 2 CNN 1
Fox News 0
Edward R. Murrow Award
CBS 25 NPR 11 ABC 11 NBC 10 AP 7 ESPN 4 CNN 3
Fox News 0
Fox News was founded in 1997 and last year, they received their very first Emmy nomination for an interview that Chris Wallace did with Vladimir Putin. One Emmy nomination and ZERO journalism or media awards in the last 23 years. Hmm. And this is the organization that almost 25 percent of the people turn to for ‘news.’
Trump and his supporters will certainly try to make the argument that out of all of the media outlets that have been recognized for journalistic excellence, Fox News has been excluded because of some widespread conspiracy. They will further claim that all of the other media outlets are ‘fake’ and only Fox News is giving people the ‘true’ story. The data don’t support those claims – but then again, when did Trump and his supporters ever let facts and data get in the way of whatever fantasy they wish to believe in ‘Trumpland’?
https://www.quora.com/Has-Fox-News-ever-won-any-prestigious-awards-for-journalism