Paper: The Fox News phenomenon

Independent

Fox nonetheless remains the number one cable news station. In a few short years, it has almost entirely rewritten the rules of American television news coverage, influencing its ideological nemeses as much as its bedfellows with its penchant for presenting politics as a form of gladiatorial sport – all sound, fury and popular entertainment, in which fact and reasoned analysis are ditched in favour of outrage, anger and patriotic pride.

Sometimes the spin is so dizzying it is almost funny. Back in February, Neil Cavuto's daytime show asked the question: "All-out civil war in Iraq: could it be a good thing?" Then, four days later, the same show framed the issue an entirely different way. "'Civil war' in Iraq: made up by the media?"

The Fox News formula may be good for ratings, but its effect on the public has been little short of toxic. A University of Maryland poll taken six months after the Iraq invasion demonstrated that Fox News viewers were more ignorant about world affairs than any other category of news consumers, but also had a stronger belief than anyone else in how well informed they were.