FOX News doctors AP reports to mimic White House terminology

[madhat]

"Since April 2002, FOX News has consistently doctored Associated Press articles featured on the FOX News website concerning terrorist attacks in the Middle East to conform to Bush administration terminology. Without any editorial notation disclosing that words in the AP articles have been changed, FOX News replaces the terms "suicide bomber" and "suicide bombing" with "homicide bomber" and "homicide bombing" to describe attackers who kill themselves and others with explosives. In at least one case, FOX News actually altered an AP quote from Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) to fit this naming convention, and then revised it to restore the quote without noting either the original alteration or its correction."

From our good friends at Media Matters!

http://mediamatters.org/items/200502230006

[physioex]

1. Media Matters is doing a great job...

Keep up the good work guys.

On Edt: Not sure this is LBN, may belong in the media forum.

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

2. why isn't there an outcry on this?

I am getting very disappointed and frustrated with the media and the American people. Day in, day out we hear of fake reporters, tweaked reports, bought reporters and other scandals that, in my opinion, warrant serious investigations.

Yet, the media are silent and the people go on, content to hear about Paris Hilton's sidekick being hacked.

I can only imagine if this crap had gone on in the Clinton days: the uproar, the congressional investigations, the impeachment!

Wake up people!

[Supersedeas]

3. FOX: we plaguarize, alter, and modify, you try to catch us if you can

[Up2Late]

7. My favorite is: Fox News- We Distort, You Abide

:evilgrin:

[phish420]

31. Blort the Blort...smort the smort...n/t

:-)

[Up2Late]

4. Question: would this Criminal behavior be considered a Felony?

It IS definitely a Crime, but to what extent? :shrug:

[Lerkfish]

8. hate to tell you, actually, all newspapers edit AP material

AP provides feeds of data, usually in various successive "takes" throughout the day, which papers can take and edit to space, and to their own particular style.

Its not a crime, actually, its reasonably fair use of AP material. Now, is it ethical? That's a different question, and at least in the example of the original post, its an arguable semantic difference that either side could say is or isn't appropriate.

[proudbluestater]

12. I've seen some outlets make up their own headlines, but never

alter the content of the articles. Why else would each article written be copyrighted? I don't believe it's legal, but AP and all the corporate media are in bed together anyway.

[Up2Late]

13. Dammit

DAMN YOU "FAIR USE!"!!!! :silly:

[girl gone mad]

15. Surely it can't be legal to alter quotes?

Can it?

[Clark2008]

16. It's not illegal, but it's not ethical either.

All newspapers alter AP material - as long as the words used are the same or paraphrased. Many local papers use AP stuff as a catalyst for a local story. For example, if there is a nationwide outbreak of some weird strain of the flu, the local reporter will go out and interview local doctors and add his/her own reports to the AP story, thus you get "From Staff and Wire Reports."
Now, changing a person's quote is smarmy, but it's not illegal (and shouldn't be. If an honest reporter makes an honest mistake and misquotes someone, he/she shouldn't go to jail for that. Heavens! Reporters are only human! I made misquotes, not meaning to, of course, and always ran a correction!)

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

17. Which is what makes AP so dangerous.

A single source of info. <Although I know that it is highly unlikely that a solitary news source could be compromised> /S

[Clark2008]

18. It's not the single source of news, but it's the major one.

Scripps-Howard, UPI, Gannett and Knight-Ridder all have news feeds. They're just not as predominate as AP.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

19. Scripps-Howard, UPI, Gannett and Knight-Ridder

are just backstops. But we basically agree.

[Up2Late]

30. Reuters is the Best Wire service

And the least biased.

They even have their own News Web site that is great.

<http://www.reuters.com/> B-)

[Selatius]

39. Don't trust reuters too much

They were passing on propaganda and biased accounts spewed by the corporate media down in Venezuela during the turmoil there. It's dependable most of the time, but it's not dependable all the time.

[Just Me]

23. With the intention to deceive? I don't think so.

I mean, seriously, people,...just how far does the line have to be pushed before the behavior is called what it is: DECEPTIVE!!!

DAMN!!!

[Lerkfish]

34. you have proof of malicious intent? good. prosecute.

good luck with that.

I don't think anyone is arguing that fauxnews intentionally deceives through semantics, but the question was 1. whether edited AP feeds is uncommon (its not) and 2. whether edited it for style or semantics is illegal (its not).

altering of quotes is different matter, but even then, you have to have proof of malice.

[ClintonTyree]

14. Why not include FAUX News in the GAO investigation..............

into bush administration propaganda? There HAS to a link between the two either in writing or in computer files. Sure, Murdoch is an over the wall neo-con himself, but he isn't being a direct propaganda arm of the bush administration for NOTHING. There's always a quid pro quo between slime balls like these, and I, along with millions of other people, would like to know what that is.

INVESTIGATE FAUX NEWS!

[Tigress DEM]

21. I have a dream of 1000+ protesters in front of FAUX news...

Big dumpster on a public street near FAUX - permit in hand, old monitors and tv's with FAUX NEWS in big letters being thrown away, a gospel choir in the background, chanting and such. Sigh.

Where am I going to find 1000 people?

[Just Me]

25. I'm in your dream. Let's just make it real.

Never give up. Could be your dream is our future!!!

Seriously!!!

We're no longer recalcitrant against "government" but rather the corporate media that is controlling our government.

"Hardball" dictates that we focus our dissent where it now belongs: obvious corporate tyrannies (Fox, Clear Channel, GE-controlled outlets, Wash Times, NY Post, etc.).

It's time to HIT HARD the real "controllers"!!! :bounce:

YES?

[Tigress DEM]

26. Yes! 999 protesters to go, 999 protesters to go.... you write one

down, pass the post around....

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[Tigress DEM]

27. So Just Me, you in MN? or are we working together seperately?

[TheModernTerrorist]

32. I'm in

yeah, I'm in as well... and I'll go wherever I am needed.

[Mr_Spock]

38. I don't know why that place isn't overrun and ransacked by citizens

They are the death-cult propaganda machine for this country. Dangerous people inciting a civil war - that's illegal and if the Bushies won't fix it, then it's OUR responsibility as Americans to suppress tyranny...

[AP]

5. "Old Europe/New Europe" is the one that bugs the shit out of me.

NPR and all the MSM use it every chance they get.

And if you need me to explain why this is propaganda, I will tell you. However, I hope it's obvious.

[The_Casual_Observer]

6. This, as well as fox, is hardly news,

[BOSSHOG]

9. Hello Madhat

Where in MS are you? I'm in Pearl River County; close enough to New Orleans to maintain my sanity.

[madhat]

11. I'm in Jackson

In Fondren -- a little outpost of semi-liberalism. Hi!

[proudbluestater]

10. Apparently this is A-OK with the AP, too. Glad they were allowed

to be in there telling us who we voted for. I feel the system is secure and trustworthy now.

[ucmike]

20. ethics aside...that's the dumbest phrase in use today.

[Democrat Dragon]

22. So this is how bad it is

Not only is Fucked News bias, but they practice Orwellian censorship.

[ElectroPrincess]

24. I remember when Ari first floated that "homicide bomber" term ...

balloon, it didn't fly then and it won't fly now.

FOX is the Bush Administration's PR service. If the Corporate Media go along with this terminology coup, then there's little hope that ANYONE can stop the Republican Noise Machine. :(

[solinvictus]

28. "We Decide, you concur"

That's the way they want it to be.

[NVMojo]

29. plagerists!!!

[moggie]

33. WTF is a "homicide bomber"?

Given that all of these guys are trying to kill, the term is a little pointless, isn't it? Just what's wrong with "suicide bomber", anyway?

[tofubo]

35. newbie fumble click

[tofubo]

36. Fox News: We Report. You Decide. What We Decide. To Report.

[Mr_Spock]

37. Faux right-wing Nazi propaganda machine - we hate America

These fucking Nazi propagandists can burn in hell for all I care.