Australia's gift to the USA

I should, when I lament the deplorably misinformed American public, remember the role of Australia’s own Rupert Murdoch. He is the man who built a small city newspaper into a multi national giant, News Ltd, using the ‘lowest common denominator’ approach to journalism.
You can get a good scary picture of this Australian who has so much influence on US policy here.
Who is Rupert Murdoch? “He publishes 175 newspapers, including the New York Post and The Times of London. In the U.S., he owns the Twentieth Century Fox Studio, Fox Network, and 35 TV stations that reach more than 40% of the country...His cable channels include fast-growing Fox News, and 19 regional sports channels.” Center for American Progress
I was reminded of the fact when I stumbled on a recent report on Media Matters for America, Fox falsely labeled former Rep. Hayes as Democrat; ignored party reversal.
Unlike MMFA I wasn’t unduly concerned that Hayes had been misrepresented as a Democrat or even that former Rep. George Nethercutt (Republican) wasn’t given any party affiliation at all.
The attack should be focusing first and foremost of greedy and corrupt individuals. Party politics merely muddies the waters.

Given that the discussion was ‘whether the Democratic Party had the right "formula for success" in 2006’, it might have been fitting to include a Democrat in the group.
But endless discussion about party strategies does nothing to advance far more relevant policy issues. But let's not get too high flying. The Fox demographic wouldn't know 'hay from a horsses hoof' and that's the way Rupert likes it. 'Just nudge them in the right direction...'

What I did find offensive was that Fox News' Hannity & Colmes co-host Sean Hannity made more a fundamental, foxy mockery of journalistic ethics in several other ways:

First he chose two former reps who are both currently active lobbyists. ‘Republican’ lobbyists being expected to give a fair analysis of Democrat strategies is just a little hard to swallow. But then Fox viewers don’t seem to have much trouble swallowing anything.
But given that most honest people would claim to be piano players in brothels before admitting to being a lobbyist, you really have to wonder about this fine pair.

Second, Hannity led the interviewees to the extent that they were virtually superfluous.
“Thank you, guys, for being with us. You know, Jimmy, I look at the Democratic Party today. They got -- now this is all about Abramoff, even though a lot of Democrats took money either from him directly or related to the groups he was representing…”
Obviously Hannity didn't trust his 'lobbyist's' either, and was quick to make the points he might otherwise have relied on them to make. Can't say I blame him entirely, but the lack of journalistic ethics should be abhorred.

Good old Fox, good old Rupert! We should have been required to label Murdoch with an ‘ethical health’ warning - ingesting Murdoch infotainment may be injurious to your sanity - before we let him lose on the wider world. Too late now for that I guess, still take heed and hide your babies, Rupert is on the march.