Fox News...the uber-Conservative news channel is home to such characters as Shepard Smith, Glenn Beck, and the ever-outspoken Bill O'Reilly. I never had much patience for Fox News; they never managed to live up to their motto of "Fair and Balanced". Glenn Beck hosted a "Restore Honor" rally in August on the National Mall. His event sparked some controversy because it was held on the same day as a "Restore Hope" rally - hosted by Rev. Al Sharpton - in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. While I fine it to be an odd coincidence, the rallys' scheduling clash certainly wasn't worth all the hype it received.
According to the Huffington Post, on October 5, 2010, Fox reported in a morning broadcast that "Los Angeles is going to spend $1 billion on jetpacks [for it's police, paramedic, and fire departments] that can fly a person up to 63 miles per hour and soar to heights of 8,000 feet." The Huffington report includes a video of the broadcast. It sounded like an amazing story! The era of jet packs was finally here!!
Or not. While the jet packs are, without a doubt, real, Los Angeles police chief, Charlie Beck, refuted the claim. He states, "We certainly haven't bought any jetpacks...We haven't bought [squad] cars for two years." The New Zealand-based maker of the jet packs in question confirmed that they had not received an order from LAPD.
So where did Fox News get such a glaringly false story? "From...the Weekly World News. For those who haven't noticed the publication in supermarket checkout lines, their logo features Bat Boy and they've broken such exclusives as "Dick Cheney is a Robot," "Satan Captured by GIs in Iraq," and "Hillary Clinton Adopts Alien Baby."
...Really? I know everyone is trying to cut back, but you'd think Fox was smart enough to know that relying on a $3 supermarket tabloid for breaking news simply isn't a good idea. Fox retracted the story and apologized, but the fact remains that this "Fair and Balanced" national news channel took a tabloid story seriously. Fail.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/06/fox-news-lapd-jetpack-video_n_752130.html
According to the Huffington Post, on October 5, 2010, Fox reported in a morning broadcast that "Los Angeles is going to spend $1 billion on jetpacks [for it's police, paramedic, and fire departments] that can fly a person up to 63 miles per hour and soar to heights of 8,000 feet." The Huffington report includes a video of the broadcast. It sounded like an amazing story! The era of jet packs was finally here!!
Or not. While the jet packs are, without a doubt, real, Los Angeles police chief, Charlie Beck, refuted the claim. He states, "We certainly haven't bought any jetpacks...We haven't bought [squad] cars for two years." The New Zealand-based maker of the jet packs in question confirmed that they had not received an order from LAPD.
So where did Fox News get such a glaringly false story? "From...the Weekly World News. For those who haven't noticed the publication in supermarket checkout lines, their logo features Bat Boy and they've broken such exclusives as "Dick Cheney is a Robot," "Satan Captured by GIs in Iraq," and "Hillary Clinton Adopts Alien Baby."
...Really? I know everyone is trying to cut back, but you'd think Fox was smart enough to know that relying on a $3 supermarket tabloid for breaking news simply isn't a good idea. Fox retracted the story and apologized, but the fact remains that this "Fair and Balanced" national news channel took a tabloid story seriously. Fail.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/06/fox-news-lapd-jetpack-video_n_752130.html