The Verdict on “Fair and Balanced”…

Digital Spy’s Dave West writes about the Advertising Standards Agency has ruled that FNC can claim that its “Fair and Blanced” tag is kosher in Britain. I can’t believe someone wasted their time challenging this…via OCN)

Two complainants told the ASA the channel was not a “pioneer” because news channels had already existed. One said the ad was misleading because he believed its coverage was not “fair and balanced”.

The channel is perceived to promote right-wing viewpoints and is often accused of lacking balance.

The ASA said: “We noted some people considered that Fox did not provide fair and balanced news coverage. We considered, however, that ‘fair and balanced’ would be seen as News Corporation’s opinion of the service they provided rather than an objective claim.

“We also considered that readers were likely to understand the claim ‘pioneer of fair and balanced news coverage’ as a reference to the channel being the first to provide what the advertisers considered to be ‘fair and balanced’ coverage, rather than a reference to Fox being the first dedicated news channel.”