View source for Outfoxed

{{short description|2004 documentary film}}
{{distinguish|text=Out-Foxed, a 1948 Droopy cartoon}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Outfoxed
| image = outfoxed_poster.jpg
| director= [[Robert Greenwald]]
| distributor = [[MoveOn.org]] <br />[[Brave New Films]]
| released = {{Film date|2004|07|13}}
| runtime = 78 minutes
| budget = [[United States dollar|US$]]200,000
}}

'''''Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism''''' is a [[2004 in film|2004]] [[documentary film]] by [[filmmaker]] [[Robert Greenwald]] about [[Fox News Channel]]'s and its owner's, [[Rupert Murdoch]], promotion of [[Conservatism|conservative]] views.<ref name=nicksflick>{{cite web  | last =Blackwelder | first =Rob | title = OutFoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism | work=NicksFlickPicks | date = 6 October 2004 | url = http://www.nicksflickpicks.com/outfoxed.html }}</ref> The film says this [[media bias|bias]] belies the channel's motto of being [[Fair and balanced|"Fair and Balanced"]].<ref name=paloalto>{{cite web  | last =Hanley | first =Tyler | title = Outfoxed | work= Palo Alto Weekly | date =10 September 2004 | url = http://www.paloaltoonline.com/movies/reviews/Outfoxed?review_id=1274 }}</ref><ref name= movieviews>{{cite web  | last =Cracknell | first =Ryan | title = Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism | work= Movie Views| date =1 September 2004 | url = http://movieviews.ca/outfoxed-rupert-murdochs-war-on-journalism }}</ref>

The documentary had a limited theatrical release,<ref name=lat>{{cite web  |last=Turan |first=Kenneth |title=A network gets 'Outfoxed' through its own ideas, deeds  |work=Los Angeles Times |date=6 August 2004 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-aug-06-et-outfoxed6-story.html }}</ref> was distributed in [[DVD]] format by the [[political action committee]] [[MoveOn.org]], and was sold online through Internet retailers such as [[Amazon.com]].<ref name="DVDsales"/> MoveOn.org had helped promote the DVD release by taking out a full-page advertisement in ''[[The New York Times]]''.<ref name="DVDsales">{{cite news|first=Jason|last=Deans|title=Fox News documentary tops Amazon sales chart|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/jul/21/film.usnews|work=The Guardian|date=2004-07-21|access-date=2007-03-29 | location=London}}</ref>

Following the release of ''Outfoxed'', Greenwald and Brave New Films produced a related series of anti-Fox [[viral videos]], collectively entitled ''[[Fox Attacks]]''.<ref name=nicksflick/> In an interview, Greenwald stated his goal in making the film: "What we set out to do was to show that, in fact, the entire Fox News was not a news organization. The goal was not just to change that narrative but to change the impact that Fox News often had on legitimate journalists."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nymag.com/news/frank-rich/robert-greenwald-outfoxed-2014-2/|title=Director Robert Greenwald on 'Outfoxed' -- New York Magazine|work=NYMag.com|date=24 January 2014 }}</ref> Fox News criticized the film, saying that it constituted "illegal copyright infringement" for using clips of its shows and said that the film misrepresented the employment of four people identified as former Fox News employees.<ref name="foxr1" />

==Synopsis==
The film examines the global growth of Murdoch's media enterprise in the context of [[concentration of media ownership]] considerations, and evaluates the effect of having one person in control of a large media [[Conglomerate (company)|conglomerate]] on [[freedom of the press]].<ref name= movieviews/>

Some of ''Outfoxed''{{'}}s coverage includes:
* Review of Fox News's coverage during the lead-up to, and the aftermath of, the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]].<ref name=bostonglobe >{{cite web  | last =Burr | first =Ty | title = This Fox hunt is direct and effective | work= Boston Globe | date = 17 September 2004 | url = https://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2004/09/17/this_fox_hunt_is_direct_and_effective/ }}</ref>
* Interviews with former Fox News journalists, discussing incidents where Fox News allegedly pressured journalists to slant their reports towards support for the Republican Party.<ref name=bostonglobe/>
* Instances where Fox News commentators such as [[Bill O'Reilly (commentator)|Bill O'Reilly]] intimidate guests with whom they disagree, such as author and activist Jeremy Glick.<ref name= qnetwork>{{cite web  | last = Kendrick| first =James | title = Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism | work=Q Network | date =22 August 2004 | url = http://www.qnetwork.com/index.php?page=review&id=1333}}</ref>
* Studies which claim more airtime and coverage is consistently given to [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] politicians, particularly those in the [[George W. Bush administration]], than to [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]].<ref name=bostonglobe/>
* Examination of whether Fox News' premature result-calling of the [[2000 United States presidential election|2000 presidential election]] contributed to [[George W. Bush]] officially being elected.<ref name= qnetwork/>
* Scrutiny of Fox News management, including Murdoch and president [[Roger Ailes]], both [[conservative]]s, in allegedly controlling the network's content, and editorial control from Murdoch on down allegedly ensuring which stories and issues are covered and the strongly conservative perspective of such coverage.<ref name=nicksflick/>

Former Fox News journalists appear in the film critiquing the methods and perceived integrity of their former employer.<ref name= qnetwork/> Jon Du Pre, a former reporter for Fox News's West Coast bureau, said that he had been suspended by Fox News management because his live shots from the [[Ronald Reagan Presidential Library]] on [[Ronald Reagan]]'s birthday — which Du Pre described was like a "holy day" to Fox News's hierarchy — were not "celebratory enough."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.mindjack.com/film/outfoxed.html | author=Jesse Walker | author-link=Jesse Walker | title=Outfoxed DVD Review | work=Mindjack | date=2004-08-16 | access-date=2007-11-27}}</ref> A former Fox News military contributor, [[Larry C. Johnson]], said that he was in high demand to give on-air analysis on the "[[War on Terrorism]]", until he called into question on ''[[Hannity & Colmes]]'' whether or not the United States could fight two wars (in [[Afghanistan]] and [[Iraq]]) simultaneously, an incident after which Johnson says he was ignored as a potential Fox News contributor.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.rambles.net/outfoxed_murdoch04.html | title=Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism | author=Miles O'Dometer | website=Rambles.net | date=2004-11-27 | access-date=2007-11-27}}</ref>

==Participants==
* [[Eric Alterman]]
* [[David Brock]]
* [[Richard A. Clarke]]
* [[Jeff Cohen (media critic)|Jeff Cohen]]
* [[Walter Cronkite]]
* [[Al Franken]]
* [[John Nichols (journalist)| John Nichols]]
* [[Bernie Sanders]]

==Reception==
''Outfoxed'' received positive reviews from critics. On [[Rotten Tomatoes]] the film has a score of 85% based on reviews from 60 critics.<ref>{{cite web | title = Outfoxed  | website= [[Rotten Tomatoes]] | url = https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/outfoxed/ | access-date = 16 November 2018 }}</ref>

[[Variety.com|Variety]] reviewer David Rooney wrote that the film "provides stimulating evidence of how thoroughly news can be skewed, political agendas served and a climate of fear created by a news net selling itself as an objective information service." He compares it favorably to [[Michael Moore]]'s documentary ''[[Fahrenheit 9/11]]'', adding that without the "media spotlight" that surrounded Moore's film, ''Outfoxed'' "appears unlikely to reach beyond a [[Liberalism|liberal]] audience with an already vehement aversion to Fox News' partisan coverage."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117924372.html|title=Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism|work= Variety.com|access-date=2007-01-23 | first=David | last=Rooney | date=2004-07-12}}</ref>

[[Howard Kurtz]] of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' praised Greenwald's uncovering of "...a handful of memos from a top Fox executive", which he argued suggested network bias over the [[war in Iraq]] and the investigation of the [[September 11 attacks]]. Kurtz was critical of how Greenwald's allegations relied on "orders, or attitudes, of an unnamed 'they'...", and was critical of the filmmaker for making "...no effort at fairness or balance himself."<ref name="Kurtz">{{cite news |first=Howard |last=Kurtz |author-link=Howard Kurtz |title=Tilting at the Right, Leaning to the Left: Robert Greenwald's 'Outfoxed' Has Its Own Slant on Balance |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41604-2004Jul10.html |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=2004-07-11  |access-date= 2007-07-20}}</ref>

In the ''[[New York Post]]'', a newspaper owned by Rupert Murdoch's [[News Corporation (1980–2013)|News Corporation]], Megan Lehmann called the film a "narrowly focused, unapologetically partisan documentary" that "is so one-sided, it undermines its own integrity."<ref name="Lehmann">{{cite news |last=Lehmann |first=Megan |author-link=Megan Lehmann |date=2004-08-06 |title=Fair and Balanced, this Doc's Not |work=[[New York Post]] |url=http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/fair_and_balanced_this_doc_not_EChJjh4XvZXkzW68hoK0PN |access-date=2009-10-11}}</ref>

==Fox News' response==
Fox News called the film "illegal copyright infringement" for its use of clips from Fox News Channel programs.<ref name="foxr1">{{cite news |title=FOX News Channel Statement on 'Outfoxed' |website=Foxnews.com |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/fox-news-channel-statement-on-outfoxed |access-date=2023-12-07 }}</ref>

Fox News also said that the film misrepresented the employment of four people identified as former Fox News employees.<ref name="foxr1" /> Fox News said Alexander Kippen and Frank O'Donnell had actually been employees of [[WTTG]], the Fox owned-and-operated station in Washington, D.C., and not employees of Fox News Channel. It said that Jon Du Pre, identified as a former anchor in the film, had actually been a reporter, and that his contract had not been renewed because he was "a weak field correspondent and could not do live shots."<ref name="foxr1"/> It said that Clara Frenk, identified as a former producer in the film, had actually been a "pool booker" who "expressed no concern about the editorial process" while employed there. Fox also pointed out that Frenk had been a volunteer for [[Bill Clinton]]'s 1992 Presidential campaign.<ref name="Kurtz"/>

Fox News challenged any news organization that thought this was a major story to "put out 100 percent of their editorial directions and internal memos [and] Fox News Channel will publish 100 percent of our editorial directions and internal memos, and let the public decide who is fair."<ref name="foxr1"/>

==See also==
* [[Alternative media (U.S. political right)]]
* [[Fox News controversies]]
* [[List of documentaries]]
* [[Media bias in the United States]]
* [[The medium is the message]]
* [[Politico-media complex]]
* [[Propaganda model]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title | id=0418038 | title=Outfoxed}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes| id=m/outfoxed_rupert_murdochs_war_on_journalism | title=Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism}}
* {{official website|http://www.bravenewfilms.org/outfoxed}}

{{Robert Greenwald}}
{{Brave New Films}}

[[Category:2004 films]]
[[Category:2004 documentary films]]
[[Category:American documentary films]]
[[Category:American independent films]]
[[Category:Documentary films about American politics]]
[[Category:Documentary films about television]]
[[Category:Documentary films about journalism]]
[[Category:Documentary films about mass media owners]]
[[Category:Fox News criticisms and controversies]]
[[Category:Mass media-related controversies in the United States]]
[[Category:Films directed by Robert Greenwald]]
[[Category:Works about Fox News]]
[[Category:2000s American films]]