Fair and Balanced
Encyclopedia : F : FA : FAI : Fair and Balanced
"Fair and Balanced" is a trademarked slogan used by the American news broadcaster Fox News Channel. It asserts objectivity of the network, implying a liberal bias in some competing news sources. The slogan was originally used in conjunction with the phrase "Real Journalism."
Fox News defended the slogan in the wake of criticism. Hazen, Don (July 18, 2004). [Fox News: Unfair and Unbalanced.] Alternet Critics claim that the network does not practice what it preaches and that the network has its own conservative bias. Ackerman, Seth (2001) [The Most Biased Name in News Fox News Channel's extraordinary right-wing tilt.] FAIR.
Author and comedian Al Franken used the slogan in the subtitle for his book Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. In the book, he accuses Fox News Channel of bias. Fox immediately sued, claiming that it had a trademark on the phrase. de Moraes, Lisa (August 12, 2003). [Three Little Words: Fox News Sues.] Washington Post Fox News dropped the lawsuit after Judge Denny Chin refused their request for an injunction (see Fox v. Franken).
In December 2003, Fox News found itself on the other end of a legal battle concerning the slogan, when Alternet filed a cancellation petition with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to have Fox's trademark rescinded as "notoriously misdescriptive." Legal proceedings relating to Alternet's petition continued throughout 2004. Alternet included the documentary film Outfoxed as supporting evidence in its case. Coyle, Jake (July 19, 2004 ). Advocacy Groups Challenge Fox News Slogan. Associated Press Alternet lost its attempt to have the trademark rescinded. Hirschkorn, Phil (August 22, 2003). [Fox News loses attempt to block satirist's book.] CNN
References
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.