Backseat Blonde - Shame on FOX

August 4, 2005

Shame on FOX
By Allison Wagda

Apparently, FoxSports.com has decided to completely
discard the concept of unbiased reporting.

And not only have they broken down the proverbial
Chinese wall between news and promotion, they did it for
one of their own News Corp. media siblings, the Speed
Channel.

I was doing my typical Web surfing this evening after work, turning to my favorite
pastime (racing) to help me unwind from the daily grind. And through some link or
another I ended up at the NASCAR page on FoxSports.com. I glanced at the
headlines to see if anything might be of interest…Drive for Five…Why NASCAR
Rules…Indy Trumps Chase…hmmm okay. Perhaps.

Then I looked into the box labeled ‘News” in the upper right-hand corner, and the
lead headline leapt out at me: Will Ferrell to film movie on NASCAR Nation set.

I can’t claim to be a massive Will Ferrell fan, but why would anyone film a movie on
the set of NASCAR’s own techno-illogical version of Entertainment Tonight?

Curious anyways, I read the story. And with each passing sentence, I started to
wonder if it was a news story or a press release. It was not about some movie, it was
pure propaganda around the show. ALL about the show and how cool it is. Oh, with a
little mention about the movie at the end. Did I mention that when I clicked on the link,
the headline mysteriously changed to “SPEED Channel's NASCAR Nation enjoys
celebrity status”? Interesting.

I haven’t been privy to ratings information about NASCAR Nation, but perhaps you
might find a reporter who really likes the show (on another planet?). It takes all kinds,
I suppose.

But for some reason, there was no byline to this news article. It was simply attributed
to “Speed Channel.” The same Speed Channel that generates advertising revenue
by airing NASCAR Nation. The same Speed Channel owned by Rupert Murdoch’s
News Corp, the same News Corp which oh-so-conveniently owns FOX.

Yet no where in the story was there a caveat alerting readers to the cozy relationship
so they could choose if the information imparted was balanced or not. Nor was the
“story” located in a spot on the site where readers might understand it was just
content.

I’ll admit, it is a fine line between sports entertainment writing and sports journalism.
NASCAR.com falls on the entertainment side, and it is enjoyable for fans. You won’t
see investigative pieces on that site critical of NASCAR, but at least most people are
likely to understand the site is sanctioned by NASCAR.

And on Speed Channel’s Web site, there are certainly legitimate journalists offering
fans a real, honest look into the sport, among them some of my favorite reporters.

But this particular story had no place being tagged as news. It was a shameless
plug by FOX intended to get you, the unsuspecting reader, to watch the Speed
Channel show. It’s a dangerous precedent and one that I could not let passed
unnoticed.

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