I know, I know, pretty much every other diary here is essentially making this point, but I feel like this is my Jump The Shark moment with Fox News.
To refresh, I'm referring to the already discussed quite a few times quote by Megyn Kelly about Santa and Jesus.
And by the way, for all you kids watching at home, Santa just is white. But this person is maybe just arguing that we should also have a black Santa. But, you know, Santa is what he is, and just so you know, we’re just debating this because someone wrote about it, kids…Just because it makes you feel uncomfortable doesn’t mean it has to change. You know, I mean, Jesus was a white man too. He was a historical figure; that’s a verifiable fact—as is Santa, I want you kids watching to know that.
I know I am
not the only one who has felt
this way about Fox News and
written about it
here, but as best I can describe it, this is why I feel like this is different from, shall we say, business-as-usual at Fox News.
Usually, Fox News will go to great lengths to clothe the emperor, in plausibility, provocative suggestion, ambiguity, and façades. And to most of us who know pretty basic critical analysis, Fox News's deceit is clear as day. However, to the average Fox News viewer, their news coverage is indistinguishable from more reputable organizations.
However, what Megyn Kelly did here is, even for who I imagine are the most ideologically-pure viewers, basically drop all the veils behind which Fox News cowers. She's not saying, "Santa and Jesus is white." What she's really saying is, "We'll tell you whatever it is you want to hear."
If you want Santa and Jesus to be purple, then we'll tell you he's purple. We'll find people with fancy credentials that say he's purple, we'll show you some polls that say people think Santa and Jesus are purple, we'll photoshop as many purple Santas and Jesii as we can, and why not, we'll even blame it on Obama.
Except this time, they didn't do any of that. It was just Megyn Kelly blurting out some empty platitudes. Even for Fox News, that's pretty careless.
Fox News is no longer about just advancing a far-right agenda, though that is still part of it.
And they are not just about maintaining their ratings and viewers, though that is also part of it. Maybe that is what they used to be about, but Megyn Kelly let slip what it has now become about. What Fox News is now doing comes at the expense of drawing in viewers, especially the fresh young impressionable viewers whom they want to indoctrinate with their agenda.
Fox News is here to tell you what, Fox News viewers, what you want to hear. What we think you want to hear. We know you're mostly old. That's all we have left. So you are not as receptive to differing viewpoints, things you didn't grow up with, and well, receptive of anything other than what you want to hear.
But, even if you are a Fox News viewer, you still don't like knowing you've been lied to. Most of you still want to believe you are receiving news from an apolitical, trustworthy news source. So we have to keep the appearances up. We're lying to you, but we're doing our damnedest to hide it. Ignorance is bliss, right?
But see, Megyn Kelly blew it. She let the façade slip, even for just a moment. Because even if you are the kind of person who believes Santa Claus is white, Jesus is white, even if you want people to tell you that they are white, you want to hear it coming from someone authoritative on the matter, who has done research or studies or consulted experts or the Bible or something. You don't want the spokesperson you've been listening to for so long that the only reason she's telling you what you want to hear is simply that.
So, Fox News, you may still be far-right and deceitful, but only the shallowest and bitterest and intractable will live with this for very long.
You've finally jumped the shark.