O'Reilly Whines: Canadian Kids Hate America

FOXNews.com - The O'Reilly Factor - Talking Points - Hating America

Should I feel bad that FOX "News" isn't permitted to be aired in Canada? Does this mean that I, as a Canadian am not getting the "full picture"? According to Bill O'Reilly it does:

As you may know, the FOX News Channel is not allowed in Canada, but CNN is. Fair and balanced? You decide.

The USA takes a relentless pounding from many Canadian news organizations and from the liberal government. So, what can we expect from the kids? They're not getting a full picture. And neither is most of the world.

I'm not sure of the reasoning behind why FOX "News" isn't allowed in Canada, but I wouldn't whine about it if I were Bill. If it were available, two things would happen. One, a portion of our population would watch and would have their views altered somewhat by the new "fair and balanced" viewpoint presented. They would become "more American" in their views. Bill would be presumeably be happy about this. But a simultaneous effect would most certainly counteract this effect: those of us who are well-informed would see the absurdity of FOX's coverage and would become even more opposed to such right-wing controlled media, and more polarized against the viewpoint they represent.

Like most of his viewers, Bill O'Reilly shows that he really has no clue how they are perceived beyond their borders. It is LAUGHABLE that he would suggest that it is us (i.e. Canadians, French, or even worse, ACK! French-Canadians!!) that are failing to get the "full picture". LAUGHABLE. (Remember, we laugh to prevent ourselves from crying.)

Airing FOX News in Canada would be like showing pro wrestling in the faculty lounge at MIT. Some Canadians might watch it, but a large proportion would find it far too jarring, editorialized, sensational and slanted. FOX relies on a segment of the population that watches very little else, reads narrowly or not at all, and is bored by traditional news media. Canadians are by many measures, far too informed to become part of this demographic. I would hope that Bill O'Reilly would know this, but he's probably too arrogant to figure this out.

It is both tragic and funny that an American pundit can suggest that an entire nation is failing to get the "full picture" because it is deprived of a second-rate news company/propaganda machine. The only solace one can take from such arguments is that perhaps, PERHAPS, if American pundits can complain about propaganda and brainwashing in other places, the thought might enter the mind of the masses that THEY TOO are getting massaged by the media.