Robert Greenwald: 'Fox News is an Example of Media Control'
The producer/director of the new documentary film "Outfoxed" says that Fox News Channel's "consistent support" of the Republican party is an issue "critical to democracy."

By Patrick Phillips
I Want Media, 07/12/04

Robert Greenwald is the producer and director of "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism," a new 80-minute cinematic denunciation of News Corp.'s top-rated Fox News Channel, which will have its premiere July 13 at the New School University in New York.

Greenwald, a longtime politically active independent filmmaker, says he was inspired to make the documentary after observing the key role the news media had played in President Bush's "ability to convince us to go to war" with Iraq, and that Fox News Channel "was the leader of that."

"Outfoxed" received financial backing from the activist organizations MoveOn.org and the Center for American Progress.

Greenwald told I Want Media that audiences today have a craving for films that address important current issues, "which for the most part are not being dealt with in-depth by our primary media sources."

I Want Media: What is "Outfoxed" about? Why should Americans want to see it?

Robert Greenwald: "Outfoxed" is about media control, dealing with the fact that five companies now control virtually all of our media. And it's with a focus on Fox News as an example, if you will, of what happens when we have extreme media control. And in this case one particular company, News Corp., and how with its control it's able to influence us. I think Americans should see it because access to information is one of the critical needs of a democracy.

IWM: What is the goal of your film?

Greenwald: To tell a story that we haven't seen told in film before, using [Fox News's] own words, images and sound bites. I used the material that Fox News sends out to the United States every day to make the case that they are a biased network. And the goal is to let people see exactly how Fox News functions and how important media consolidation is as an issue in a democracy.

IWM: Who are the former Fox News employees interviewed in the film? Why are some of their identities hidden?

Greenwald: They are a variety of people who have done all different kinds of jobs -- producers, writers, editors, newscasters, anchors. Three of them are anonymous because they fear that there would be retribution and it would hurt them professionally and not allow them to get jobs. I was turned down [for interviews] by many people who were terrified of [Fox News chief] Roger Ailes particularly and therefore were not willing to come forward and speak out, even though they wanted to.

IWM: Can you share some of the highlights of the film?

Greenwald: There are a couple of things that stand out. One is Bill O'Reilly's bullying interview with Jeremy Glick, a young man whose father was killed in the attack on 9/11. O'Reilly saw fit to have Glick on the show because he had signed an anti-war statement. And then O'Reilly insulted and berated him and told Glick that he, O'Reilly, knew better how Glick's now-dead father would feel.

I got that footage and then interviewed Jeremy Glick from the present, giving us his perspective on what happened, and interviewed Al Franken, who had become involved in helping Glick. And I think together it's quite a riveting demonstration of bullying and lying television.

There are also sections where we utilize memos that employees receive from [Fox News editorial chief] John Moody, in which they're basically told how to interpret the news. There's also a section where we cut together the various footage that Fox News has in which they all are attacking John Kerry for flip-flopping.

IWM: What did you discover that surprised you the most while working on "Outfoxed"?

Greenwald: I thought going into this we would discover what we all knew -- that Fox News is a conservative news network, with an opinion relative to a conservative look at the world. But what I found is more troubling, more upsetting and more critical to democracy: Fox News is a Republican news network. It takes a Republican line, which is different from a conservative line.

There are many well-meaning, thoughtful conservatives who disagree with the Bush administration about the war, about the tax cuts, about the economy, about [ex-White House terrorism advisor] Richard Clarke ... None of that is ever seen on Fox News because they consistently support the political line that the Republican party will take at any given time, which is different from a conservative philosophy or approach.

IWM: How did "Outfoxed" come about? What attracted you to the project?

Greenwald: "Outfoxed" came about because I'd had in partnership with Center for American Progress and MoveOn a successful experience making a movie called "Uncovered," which is about the reasons given for the war with Iraq. That movie, in fact, is being distributed in movie theaters in August.

While working on "Uncovered" it became clearer and clearer to me what an enormous, important part the media had played in the President's ability to convince us to go to war, and how Fox was the leader of that. So I naturally gravitated towards the next film being one that would explore these limited opinions we are receiving from the media and this intimidation at work because of Fox News.

IWM: How will "Outfoxed" be distributed?

Greenwald: "Outfoxed" will be distributed similar to "Uncovered," which will be in screenings around the country initiated by Center for American Progress, with pundits, panels and experts. Simultaneously it will be offered online by MoveOn and others. And there will be house parties. And this will probably be followed by theatrical distribution.

IWM: Isn't your "house party" method of distribution rather unusual? Could it hurt the film's credibility?

Greenwald: I actually think the house parties increase the credibility of the film in the sense that people all over the country open up their houses, come together and then discuss the film in detail. This is very different from watching TV and falling asleep with the clicker in your hand, or taking your date to the latest roller-coaster movie at the neighborhood mall and then going out for beer and pizza afterwards.

This for me truly is the epitome of credibility in democracy -- when people watch a film, study it and then decide what they're going to do or not do after they see the film.

IWM: How much is the DVD of "Outfoxed"? Can anyone buy it? Have you received any orders yet from anyone at Fox News?

Greenwald: The DVD will cost $9.95. Anyone can buy it. And they can go to our Web site, outfoxed.org, to order it.

We have not received any orders from anyone at Fox News that I know of. We've received a few requests, but we haven't received any orders -- although I encourage all of the people who work there to please go online and order a copy. And since they tend to be badly paid by News Corp., if anyone needs any help we'll send them copies. That's said with a smile on my face.

IWM: Are you hoping that "Outfoxed" will ride the coattails of the right-wing bashing "Fahrenheit 9/11"?

Greenwald: No. First of all, I don't consider "Fahrenheit 9/11" as right-wing bashing. I think it's a brilliant piece of filmmaking that explores in-depth some of the most important issues of our time. And I don't think it's a question of riding any coattails. These are different films.

This is a time in our country when there's a large and substantive craving for films that speak to the most important issues of the day, which for the most part are not being dealt with in-depth by our primary media sources. The reason we've seen so many of such best-selling books -- and now a variety of films -- is that they allow us to go in-depth in these subjects, unlike our primary news and television. And the response from the public has been overwhelming.

IWM: New York Times op-ed columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote recently that "with the economic success of 'Fahrenheit 9/11,' look for more documentaries that shriek rather than explain." How does "Outfoxed" explain, rather than shriek?

Greenwald: First of all, I would disagree with the analysis that "Fahrenheit 9/11" shrieks rather than explains. But that's a longer discussion.

I think you have to see "Outfoxed" and make up your mind that it explains rather than shrieks. In "Outfoxed," the story is told primarily by Fox News itself and then with a series of former Fox employees who tell us what went on, and then a series of media pundits. None of these are shriekers.

IWM: Won't some critics dismiss "Outfoxed" as merely liberal media propaganda?

Greenwald: Of course it will be dismissed as liberal media propaganda. Because when you don't want to talk about the substance, you talk about the background of the people who made it. And that's always an easy, cheap trick to say, "Oh, we discount it because it's liberal."

I challenge people to go to the substance and specificity of the film and try to deny what the seven ex-Fox News people are talking about and what the three anonymous Fox people are talking about. And try to deny the images from Fox News itself, and try to deny the memos. Those are all absolute, concrete and nonsubjective. Those things cannot be dismissed as propaganda, as hard as some may try.

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