FOX NEWS UNDER ATTACK – AT 9:10 A.M. ET:  Part of the fallout from Arizona is a new round of attacks on Fox News.

Fox News is, by far, the most popular of the cable news systems.  Even so, it's viewership is tiny in a nation of 310 million people.  In its most watched hours, Fox may be seen by maybe one percent of the American population. 

And yet, journalists are obsessed with Fox and its presumed influence.  In the aftermath of Arizona, a seemingly endless stream of critics point the collective finger at Fox, sometimes by name, sometimes by implication, as having helped create the "atmosphere" that made the shootings possible.

I've watched Fox News from the start.  I like some things, and dislike others.  The straight news shows on Fox, often hosted by Shep Smith (a liberal, by the way) are as good as the straight news shows of any outlet I can think of, and often better.  Fox has fine reporters.  And, if a mistake is made, it's corrected quickly.  Fox news shows include points of view often slighted by other networks, especially conservative views.  But the news reports are balanced.

The commentary shows, by Sean Hannity in particular, tilt to the right, although it's hard to find much bias in Greta Van Susteren's 10 p.m. program.  Glenn Beck clearly tilts to the right, but it's commentary.

I've probably seen more interviews with liberals on Fox than on any other network, but Fox never gets the credit for including them. 

Many in journalism hate Fox because it's so successful, and success breeds resentment and envy, rarely admiration.  Many hate it because it does permit conservative views a full airing.  In the mentality of some journalists, that's just not acceptable.  These critics are in journalism "to make a difference."  The difference they make is entirely on the left.  They had it pounded into their heads in the fourth-rate colleges they attended that the left is the only acceptable narrative, the only acceptable "truth."  The god of the modern left, Herbert Marcuse, said in the 1960s that the truth is what supported progressive causes.  In other words, if it helps a "progressive" cause, it's the truth. 

In all my years of watching Fox, I've heard very few things that are over any reasonable line.  Whenever commentary is permitted, you're going to find a few bad moments.  But there are no more, or fewer, at Fox than there are anywhere else.  The smears against the network are false and inflammatory.

Some Democrats want members of their party to refuse to appear on Fox.  That is adolescent and amateurish.  I don't know of any Democrat who's ever claimed he's been ill-treated in a Fox interview.  Indeed, Bill O'Reilly will interview President Obama before the Super Bowl game. 

The demonization of Fox brings discredit to those who attempt it.  I'm relieved that the attacks do not appear to be stopping Fox's meteoric growth.

January 10, 2011