Fair and Balanced, My Ass!: An Unbridled Look at the Bizarre Reality of Fox News

by Joseph Minton Amann and Tom Breuer

Book Overview

Fair and Balanced, My Ass is a wide-ranging, irreverent, and humorous look at America's number-one cable news network. It examines Fox's phony patriotism and piety, its dishonest crusades, its well-defined agenda, and ratings-driven techniques. The authors deliver a hearty slap down to the jewels in the Murdoch crown, including Bill O'Reilly, Hannity and Colmes, Fox and Friends, and more.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1568583478
• ISBN13: 9781568583471
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: Bold Type Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Better yet....

While not as snarky as their last book (or their web site), this book is actually better. As a slightly snarky history of FOXNoise, this work covers all the bases of the crazyness that is FOXNews and the NewsCorp parent company. As irreverant as the cover blurb says it is, the use of documented quotes to show the obvious bias and agenda of FOXNoise makes this book a must read for anyone who wants the other side of the right-wing spin machine.

Excellent review of FOX Noise

Even though I don't agree with all the personal beliefs of the authors toward social issues such as homosexuality, I think this book is an excellent review of the propaganda machine that is called Fox News. The authors show us clearly the countless examples of Fox anchors and hosts spewing their poison onto the American people. Fox is a biased and hate-filled network that is aiming at brain-washing the American people, and it has partially succeeded. It is now the American people's job to fight for justice and fairness, and stand in the way of anyone who tries to spread hate and fear like Fox does.

Hilarious and insightful

This book is riotously funny and at the same time dead-on in its skewering of the Faux News Channel. It should be required reading for college journalism classes --- they might actually learn something! I dare any Fox Noise Channel fan to read this book (at their own pace) and not laugh at the absurd antics of its star performers: O'Reilly, Hannity, the albino...lol

The funniest book I've ever read on a serious subject!

Legitimate criticism has been expressed toward the American media for years. Spiro Agnew--remember him?--made a deal out of what he alleged were "liberal biases" of the media and the "right wing" has run with that ever since (even though Agnew long since laughed that his earlier accusations were made up!) Since Rupert Murdoch purchased half the media in this country, they've began to resemble Tass or Pravda, extremely ideological channels spewing what turns out to be bad propaganda. That I think is a major threat to what purports to be a democracy. Anyway, the worst example of this phenomenon is the network which is the subject of this hilarious text. One of the leading cable "news" networks, according to a poll or two, is Fox (or Faux) News. One of Fox's lead spokescreatures, bill o'lielly, was the subject of the first book by the authors of this gem, that one called "Sweet Jesus, I Hate Bill O'Rielly." That text really broke me up so I couldn't wait for another expose of what claims to be "news." They didn't let me down. After an overall comment of the network, the authors first dug into their old nemesis o'lielly. Then they break into others, including one of the poorest excuses for anything in history, Sean Hannity. Their description of John Gibson, roughly when God asked if he wanted skin pigment, Gibson thought He meant a brain and said, "I don't need any." I'm afraid to give too much away, but they also cover the "B team," including the illiterate Bo Dietl whose language wouldn't have passed a "Mickey Mouse Club" screen test. Then there's our old friend Ann Coulter. The book is loaded with direct quotes. So the authors aren't, unfortunately, making anything up (except for a few places where they admit doing so. And that's something Fox News seldom if ever admits, though they do it so frequently.) Robert Greenwald did a fine film entitled "Outfoxed," available from [...], which I've recommended to many. He and Alexandria Kitty released a fine book of the same title, a great supplement to the film. But those were pretty serious compared to the witty comments and observations of Amman and Breuer. Oh, the issues of sexuality--hetero and homo--covered in the book stimulate many a thought and loads of chuckles. (It's always funny on how those who claim to be such prudes are often the most sexually obsessed among us. I won't say more, but that may encourage you to read the book.) Yeah, this does have a little of "preaching to the choir" about it. The language, while funny, would be particularly offensive--or would be an excuse of those who defend the Faux network to dislike the book. And the authors' metaphors are the best and funniest. It's true, it is a "laugh out loud" book, even on a Washington DC Metro train where I may have been surrounded by Fox junkies! Get it, read it, and learn what Faux is really about. I'm proud to be a native of the same state in which the books authors reside!

Didn't want to set it down.....

I read this book at a furious pace. It is laugh-out-loud funny, and laughing out loud while reading is not something I typically do. But what I enjoyed most was the clever and logical arguments that the authors used to systematically take down the notion of the "fair and balanced" network. Some of the language is certainly crude, but for anyone not offended by such humor, I highly recommend this very smart book.