Posted 2:33 PM by Scoobie Davis

An Evening with Paul Greenwald
Last night at Vidiots Video in Santa Monica, Robert Greenwald appeared to discuss his groundbreaking film Outfoxed and do a Q & A. I bought the Unprecedented DVD after the talk.

Just a few of the many things Greenwald discussed that were worthy of comment:

1. Greenwald emphasized that Fox News is not so much a conservative operation as it is a partisan pro-Bush/pro-Republican operation. Greenwald noted that since Bush raised deficits and engaged in wasteful spending, fiscal conservatives have been given short shrift on Fox News.

2. Greenwald mentioned that since Outfoxed was released, the Fox News daily memos are more nuanced and less obviously pro-Bush-administration.

3. Greenwald toldthe audience that one of the most important aspects of the film was not just the way it addressed Fox News' obvious biases but also the way in which CNN and MSNBC were aping Fox News.

4. Greenwald emphasized the importance of monitoring the hard right's media apparatus. He told people to go to OutFoxed's links page and check out the links to media monitoring sites, namely Alternet, Media Matters for America, News Hounds, and the Center for America Progress. I asked Greenwald what he thought of Fox News' treatment of the dubious claims of the Swift Boat Veterans for Bush. Greenwald responded that since Outfoxed came out, he hasn't been personally monitoring it (God knows Greenwald deserves a respite from that sewer). He correctly informed the audience that Media Matters has been doing an excellent job of reporting on John O'Neil and the Swift Vets' smear campaign (e.g., here's a recent Media Matters article on how the right's media is supporting false claims by John O'Neil).

5. Greenwald told the audience member to check out the alternative media such as Air America Radio.

6. Greenwald recommended an Harper's article by Naomi Klein. I couldn't find it on their web site.
UPDATE: The article is "Baghdad Year Zero: Pillaging Iraq in pursuit of a neocon utopia" in the September 2004 issue.

UPDATE: I had the following in my notes, but I forgot to mention it: Greenwald spoke about how Fox News endured a big hit with advertisers. That's great news.