Fox Moves Forward by looking back.

A few reviews of this Fox Move Forward spot say that it mocks the MSNBC campaign. Catharine P. Taylor is more restrained than me –  this ain’t even close. The MSNBC Lean Forward ads are a series of individual stories told simply, while Fox’s spot is pure shite. It’s a blatant rip-off barely good enough for your Live! Late-breaking! local cable news outlet, and it highlights the unoriginal and slanted coverage that is their hallmark.

As much as Lean Forward downplays its own collection of brash, obnoxious commentators, Fox leaves a few things out of their own. They’ve always lived by the idea that they alone offer a fair and balanced alternative to what they perceive is a slanted mainstream media. Except, this concept only works if, as they do, you ignore their role as part of that same media, one every bit as slanted as the organizations they single out.

Positioning themselves as the David to the industry’s Goliaths falls flat when you consider their huge audience, ratings and stable of personalities. It’s an inconvenient truce they need to maintain with the rest of the networks though since every hero needs a nemesis. But isn’t this issue of objectivity moot though? After all, what news outlet can legitimately lay claim to being unbiased?

Sure, they’re moving forward. Just like the Exxon Valdez of journalism. Incompetence causing untold damage lasting years, all the while leaking a substance extremely difficult to remove once you come into contact with it.