Movie review - "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism" (2004) ***

Fox News deserves a shell-acking for the atrocities its committed in the name of journalism (how many "noose tightens on Osama" headlines scrolled past during the post Sept 11 period?) but the filmmakers here let their passion get away with themselves and they resort to Fox news like tactics themselves - distorting evidence, having second rate people on as experts, using scary music. The most effective moments are the testimony from some people who worked there, and simply letting the images and stories speak for themselves (such as when Bill O'Reilly gets stuck into a man whose father died on Sept 11). A little more effort at objectivity - saying maybe one or two good things about Fox news, say -and a little less posturing would have made the digs more effective. As it is supporters of this ghastly news network can simply point to the more hyper arguments, shrug and say "well they have an agenda" and ignore the more substantial criticisms.