Murdoch Meltdown

[tw]

From The Economist of 9 July 2011:

Fox was setup by Roger Ailes, a former media adviser to three Republican presidents, specifically to appeal to conservative viewers. Its star hosts, such as Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity, offer distinctively right-wing opinion and commentary though the channel insists that its news reporting is unbiased. Fox is famous for being opinionated rather than for being profitable. ....

How profitable? Fox News is estimated to profit $0.8 billion dollars on revenues of $1.5 billion. That is obscenely profitable. Says how opinionated their reporting is. Promoting opinions rather than facts has always been that profitable because so many only want to hear their political agenda. Not a reality that might challenge them to think. To ask and answer damning questions.

These are the people who make advertising so much fun. They can be so easily manipulated. They were told to smoke cigarettes for increased health. Then got angry when the Surgeon General define it as a lie. Angry at the Surgeon General. Not at the liars who first told them what to think.

Same attitude is why so many knew Saddam had WMDs when facts and numbers said otherwise. Saddam only had WMDs because so many only believe the first thing they are told. Profits by manipulating these 'most easily deceived' people can be massive - as Dannon Yogurt has recently proven.