Don't read this diary expecting to find anything outside the ordinary. I was just browsing Fox News and got to writing about it.
I don't read their site very often. I'm used to Washington Post, Alertnet, Daily Kos, Future Majority and I have a bunch of RSS feeds. But the site I'm most familiar with is Alertnet, which is really worth checking out if you haven't. Reading that one all the time makes it especially painful to look at the things on Fox News.
One thing was, you have to hunt around to find stories about Iraq. They’re kept out of sight.
Check it...
http://www.foxnews.com/...
The front page doesn’t have anything. The top of the page has 3 headlines, "Radio Daze: Dem and GOP senators spar over talk radio," "Cops: Jessie’s not the mother" and "Let’s talk about sex". To find a story about Iraq, you have to scroll down past the other main headlines (nope – no Iraq there!), under the celebrities, then an advertisement box, and then into the sections. The first {U.S.} section has nothing, but the World section has one! headline, packed in with the others:
American Gunships Kill 17 Al Qaeda Fighters in Iraq
The only news about Iraq on the front page of Foxnews.com is an indicator we're winning.
Brig. Gen. Mick Bednarek, assistant commander for operations with the 25th Infantry Division, estimated that several hundred low-level Al Qaeda fighters remain.
"They're clearly in hiding, no question about it. But they're a hardline group of fighters who have no intention of leaving, and they want to kill as many coalition and Iraqi security forces as they possibly can," Bednarek told The Associated Press and another news agency on Friday.
This is also the only story about Iraq in the World News section, except for a related story right next to it that says, "18 in Suspected Roadside Bomb Network Detained in Baghdad".
The Surge must be going well.
But there’s also 'special section' about Iraq... surely that must be brilliantly reporting things like I dunno, the casualties, Sunni/Shia violence, suicide bombings, weak central government, terrorists infiltrating police units, shitty treatment for veterans, shady contractors and everything else. You know, since their readers are the ones who still support the policy, they're the people the Republican Senators can still count on for support.
The first thing you see is a map. It identifies Iraq's cities and the countries it borders. Next to it is a caption, "Iraq shares borders with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, Syria, Turkey and Iran." Not to be an asshole, but doesn't that kindaaaaaaa implyyyyyyy that Fox News dot com readers CAN’T EVEN READ A FUCKING MAP??
...
Now, to give the site some credit, a lot of the headlines are the same stuff you see on other MSM websites... summaries of violence with casualty figures and whatnot. But the first story, which by their crappy format is easiest to read, is the same one from the front page:
American Gunships Kill 17 Al Qaeda Fighters in Iraq
Another thing I noticed was the easiest way to navigate their site is to use the right column, where they have the "Most Read, Top Emailed and Top Videos."
Let’s see how many of those Iraq stories made it to the lists.
For the "Most Read" column:
Teen Girl's Legs Severed Above Ankle While on Amusement Park Ride
Inhofe Says Boxer, Hillary Clinton Discussed Reining in Conservative Talk Radio Three Years Ago
Nine Parks Shut Down Tower Rides After Girl's Feet Severed in Kentucky
2 Daughters Found Drowned in Bathtub, Man Hanging in New Jersey House
Police: Abandoned Baby Isn't That of Missing Pregnant Mom Jessie Davis
40-Year-Old Former Teacher Marries 16-Year-Old Student
'Law & Order' Video Game Pulled After Mother Spots Slain Toddler's Image
Embattled Duke Rape Case Prosecutor Mike Nifong Could Get Jail Time
Wisconsin House of Horrors: Scene of Scams, Sex and Murder
Pop Tarts: Slim Simpson: How Did Jessica Pass Off the Pounds?
Ohio Boy, 15, Charged With Cop Killing
Autopsies Set for Naked Couple That Fell 50 Feet From Rooftop to Their Deaths
U.S. Team on Iwo Jima to Search for Remains of Flag Raising Photographer
Study: Oldest Siblings Generally Score Highest on IQ Tests
New Technology Lets User Control Electronics With Brain
Pentagon Cyber Attack Forces 1,500 PCs Off Line
Iraq count: 0
Top Emailed:
Study: Oldest Siblings Generally Score Highest on IQ Tests
Autopsies Set for Naked Couple That Fell 50 Feet From Rooftop to Their Deaths
First Treatment Approved for Fibromyalgia
40-Year-Old Former Teacher Marries 16-Year-Old Student
Teen Girl's Legs Severed Above Ankle While on Amusement Park Ride
New Technology Lets User Control Electronics With Brain
Inhofe Says Boxer, Hillary Clinton Discussed Reining in Conservative Talk Radio Three Years Ago
Nine Parks Shut Down Tower Rides After Girl's Feet Severed in Kentucky
Idaho Canine Drives Owner's Car Into River
Possible 'Mile-Wide UFO' Spotted by British Airline Pilot
Iraq count: 0
Top Videos:
Teacher Sex Tapes
Dodging bees during Arizona rescue
Bikinis on a Plane
Live Site Stream
Search for Jessie
Faking It!
Talking Points: 6/21
Racial Coverup?
Iraq count: 0
Also, check out their featured review of Sicko:
Moore’s "Sicko" Attempt at Heart Surgery
Seriously, go read it, or get the jist.
It sure sounds like a shitty movie. I wouldn’t want to see thaaaat. And if I went, I wouldn’t believe a god damn word of it.
...
This is the refuge of the 26%.