Why You Should Care About Fox News

The Obama White House is in a fierce battle with Fox News, especially some of the right-wing commentators like Glen Beck. Why should you care? Because this White House is starting to trample all over the 1st Amendment.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Think about this for a moment: The Obama White House is restricting the access of one of the biggest news organizations in the country. Is Fox News tilted to the right? Absolutely. Are some of their commentators over the top? Depends upon your political leanings, but many are certainly anti-Obama.

So if you're a liberal, you're probably thinking that Fox News is getting exactly what they deserve. You're wrong. Whether you like the commentators on Fox or not, they have the right to say whatever they want, even if are an 'arm of the Republican Party.' They are a legitimate news organization; even the New York Times is lining up behind Fox. Why? Because anytime journalists feel that freedom of the press is being threatened, they group together like a bunch of threatened animals.

And as the Times piece above says, there are many very good reporters who work for Fox News who produce good broadcast news stories. So let's take a step back in history. Part of the problem in this discussion is a misunderstanding about objectivity in journalism, which is a complete myth, and a modern one at that. Anytime editing is involved, bias is too. This is not a good or bad thing; it's just a fact of existence. That's why diversifying your news sources is a good thing if you want to approximate the truth. I read the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

And if you go back before WWII, almost every newspaper in the country was known as liberal or conservative. We now have a much better line between opinion and news. That line hardly existed 100 years ago.

Glen Beck and his ilk and no worse than Frank Rich and his kind, and they are following centuries old tradition of promoting an agenda, the truth be damned. It is clear that the Obama administration does not want dissent in the press, someone actively bashing the liberal agenda. But we need that. And while the White House excluding Fox News may not be unconstitutional, it certainly violates the spirit of the freedom of the press. And it is another step that will inflame the right further against Obama, and turn off moderates who want a diversity of voice.

The past two administrations have been filled with arrogance and hubris. I am tired of White House figures ignoring the Constitution or basic human rights. For those of you that think there are no similarities between the W and Obama administrations, think again. They don't want you to think for yourself, and they will go to great lengths to make sure you don't.