Fox News: Unfair and imbalanced?

Critics say so. But a media watchdog says the cable channel's news is more even-handed than other networks

President Obama gave an interview to Fox News correspondent Major Garrett in China on Wednesday, signaling what may be the end of a White House feud with the cable news channel. Obama administration critics have said Fox News isn't a true news outlet but a bullhorn for right-wing opinion. But the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a watchdog with conservative funding, says Fox's evening news is more balanced than CBS, NBC, and ABC. Is Fox's news coverage hopelessly biased, or is it more even-handed than its critics say? (Watch MSNBC's Rachel Maddow lash out at Fox News)

Fox offers balance. The others are Obama shills: It's true that Fox News gives President Obama "his worst press," says Center for Media and Public Affairs director and former Fox News contributor S. Robert Lichter in Forbes, but it's also the most balanced. Sounds contradictory, but it's not. During the campaign, CBS, NBC, and ABC were are all "pro-Obama" and anti-McCain, while Fox News was "was tough on both--and most balanced overall."

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