One way to redeem your faith in the Indian media is to read the American press, or better still, watch it in action. It is amazing how vicious and personal they get against each other. The Indian media is way, way behind them when it comes to dirty warfare. Ted Turner's comments post 9/11 are big stories on Fox, dissected and debated to death. Says Fox, "CNN founder Ted Turner objected to displays of the American flag by journalists—saying they should have a more neutral posture. And now Turner says that he was not sure which side he was on in the War on Terror, following the 9/11 terror attacks". Turner's exact words were: "Our president said it very clearly. He said, 'either you're with us, or you're against us.' And I had a problem with that because I really hadn't made my mind up yet."
But Turner is not to be left behind. At the National Press Club, he was asked, "What do you see as the future vision for CNN now that Fox is gaining in marketshare?" Turner leaned into the microphone and produced a loud sputtering sound, as he blew air through his lips with his tongue sticking out. In early 2005, Mr Turner had compared Fox's popularity in the US to the time when Hitler "got the most votes when he was elected to run Germany prior to WW-II."
When Fox and CNN fight, can MSNBC be out of it? Apparently riled by Chris Wallace's newsmaking interview with Bill Clinton on Fox, in which Clinton lost his temper, MSNBC decided to forego substantive discussion of serious news to focus on the fact that Clinton's sock had slipped and part of his leg had been showing during the interview.
Fox's The O'Reilly Factor is the No. 1 show on cable TV news ratings and MSNBC's Olbermann Show is rated No. 3. In one of his shows, Olbermann whipped out a mask of O'Reilly and gave a Nazi salute. Olbermann has named O'Reilly as his 'worst person in the world' at least 15 times.
