FOXNews has done it again.

That John Loftus has not been fired is criminal. That he has the gall to a) say "mistakes happen" and suggest that the best information is good enough when you're playing with people's lives in this manner is offensive.

If I were FOXNews right now, I'd be saving up to buy this family a new home and pay for the police overtime having a car stationed in front of their house 24 hours a day is going to cost.

This is not allowing a story about some alleged infidelity by a politician go with only two corroborating sources instead of three. This is publishing directions to a house you claim is a den of terrorism and not even bothering to find out if the guy still lives there. But even if he did still live there, this is the most reckless, dangerous and useless kind of journalism there is. It makes papparazi look good.

I try to stay out of the political battles on this board, and this is not a slight against any news organization or how they handle their business...I just love that this Loftus character says he was just trying to help police by broadcasting the address of these "known" terrorists.

Ever try calling 9-1-1, ass****!

[ August 25, 2005, 02:03 PM: Message edited by: shep71 ]

Ah, when morons try to make names for themselves......

The L.A. Times reported this, so I doubt much of its authenticity.

Ah yes, when reality intrudes, MIB denies.

Didn't the Faux idiot admit he did this and come up with a pathetic excuse? I guess if the "judge" didn't TIVO it, it doesn't exist.

And is anyone surprised about this Faux charlatan? Loftus, like so many at that station, is taking a page from the Stasi, just like the rest of his zombie crowd.

[ August 26, 2005, 06:12 AM: Message edited by: fantomas ]

That station lacks such credibility I wouldn't believe a word they say even if their tongues came notarized. It's sad their pathetic attempt at news can possibly cost someone their life. I wonder if they have ever heard of the term slander? What can one expect from a blowhard mouthpiece of right-wing nutjobs? Fairness? Ha-ha-ha.

sooooo.. even if FauxNews and the reporter in question admitted the mistake.. since the LA Times reporte it, then it can not be true.... despite the culprits' admission.

hmmmmm... very interesting.... domo arigato Mr.Roboto....

The L.A. Times is also reporting about a war going on in Iraq, must not be true.

Of course MIB could enlist and go find out for himself. Oh wait, chickenhawks only cheer from the sidelines, never mind.

I believe MIB is trying to use my own words against me. It seems that attaching a link to a independently verifiable story is the same thing as saying "something happened at some time in some state and that proves my point." See the thread about the Winter/Christmas Break for the details.

Fox is to news about the same as the 700 Club is to religion.

Both scary and dangerous.

Maybe Fox news can cause some riots where people die... Then they might give newsweek a run for their money!

Let's just be honest. Fox fans just love to be spoon-fed propoganda that supports their skewed view of the world.

My conservative friends are too smart for that crap!

Here's my favorite example:

One day they had this punk on one of the Fox shows who has a website (who doesn't?) where he advocates disrespecting military personnel who have served in Iraq. They then try to connect this completely obscure nut to patriotic liberals in America, knowing that this is just what their gullible viewers eagerly want to believe. My question to Fox, why bring this guy on at all except to try and make that connection? He has no following, speaks for no one, and they had to dig pretty hard to find him. But then their loyal viewers can remain ignorant and feel that everything they already believe has been validated.

And they call that news.

OMG, I was raised in La Habra, where nothing ever happens.
It is worth adding that the reported "terrorist" is in fact an Islamic scholar who, according to law enforcement, has never been suspected of any terrorist activity or ties to any known or suspected terrorist organization. But he's dark skinned, has an accent, practices Islam; enough for Faux News.
And as others have mentioned, if a citizen has reason to believe someone has committed/is committing a crime, the PROPER thing to do is to report it to authorities. Not get up a vigilante mob.

I'm not prepared to take FOXNews word on this, but all the other news organizations have not challenged Loftus' assertion that although Halim has never been convicted, indicted or even officially accused of a crime, the FBI is "investigating" him and whatever ties he may have to extremist Islamist organizations. As I said, even if he were living in that house, it would have been a reckless thing to do and likely would have interfered with any legitimate FBI investigation, but there is at least some indication that Halim may be involved with terrorists.

FROM ELECTRONIC MEDIA ONLINE:

"Fox News Channel coverage Sunday of Hurricane Katrina set a high-water ratings mark for the year for the channel. According to data from Nielsen Media Research, Fox's total-day average of 2.34 million viewers was the highest of 2005. In prime time Sunday, Fox's audience averaged 4.07 million viewers, second this year only to the 4.9 million who tuned in to Fox's State of the Union coverage in February.

Fox's total-day performance was up 247 percent over the comparable day in 2004. Its performance among the core news audience of 25- to 54-year-old viewers was Fox's best for total day and prime time this year.

For both total day and prime time, in total viewers and the 25-to-54 demo, Fox outperformed CNN and MSNBC combined.

CNN averaged 1.09 million viewers for total day and 2.28 million in prime time, while MSNBC averaged 497,000 and 1.02 million, respectively."

If the LA Times said I were gay, I'd want proof.

LXN

I loved this Fox News headline today. It was a story about a missing girl I believe and the caption included that she was "pretty" (i.e. something like police question man about missing pretty girl).

Wish I knew what having pretty has anything to do with it.

Apparently no one would care if an ugly girl went missing.

Wonder what Fox is speculating about the fact that the USA citizen is the only one not seen in videos of four hostages in Iraq. Ironic that even the LATimes refers to him as an american hostage despite the fact that he is the only one from the US.

Perhaps the hostage-takers assume he is a spy and might send messages if videotape is made. At least he would be alive in that case.

------------------------------------------------

Another interesting incident reminded me of Fox News the other day when speedskater Joey Cheek mentioned "CNN and that other news station that begins with an F" while being interviewed on NPR. It seems that Fox-bashing has become so acceptable that a national icon dares to dis them on national radio. I also thought the fact he said it in a way that sounded "so gay" (to me at least) shows how unperturbed he is about the who gay issue too. Kudos to him, and to those tight-spandexed cheeks.