Getting News Right

The article by James Endrst about the Fox News Channel was the most ludicrous piece I’ve read in a long time (“Fox News Makes Noise; Will Ratings Follow?,” Aug. 25).

Any network that employs Matt Drudge, Fred Barnes, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Brit Hume, Tony Snow, Jim Pinkerton and several other conservatives who are known to be hostile to Democrats in general and Bill Clinton in particular cannot possibly be fair and objective enough to be taken seriously.

Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes are in charge of this operation and everybody is well-aware of their right-wing biases. Suppose Steven Spielberg and Alec Baldwin set up their own cable channel? Would Republicans believe that they could present political information in a fair and balanced manner? Get serious!

Who does Fox think they’re kidding with the slogan “We report. You decide”? A much more appropriate slogan would be “We decide. You concur. Or else!”

MATT ROBERTS

La Mirada

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It is amazing that the myth of a liberal media bias would merit an article in The Times, no less one focusing on the views of a partisan hustler like MSNBC’s Roger Ailes.

Flipping channels one afternoon during the immediate fallout over President Clinton’s testimony, I had the wondrous experience of viewing simultaneous Buchanans--Bay and Pat on CNN and MSNBC, respectively. What is left of the supposedly liberal press on TV is George Stephanopoulos cowering in the corner. But balance is not the problem. Totally absent from TV news is anything approaching an intelligent discussion, an exchange of views that does not rely on predictable ideological position papers, harangues and news fraternity food fights.

PAUL ZELEVANSKY

Beverly Hills