Riiiiiiiight. That's why Bush lost, because FOX News tried to make him look bad by breaking the rules.
And the Easter Bunny ate my homework.
U.S. television networks refused to play by rules restricting camera angles and reaction shots during the presidential debate and that may have given a boost to John Kerry, analysts said on Friday....You gotta love that before the debate the pundits were bitching about the "rules" being absurdly strict, making this a non-debate, yada yada yada, and now that the "rules" were broken they're whining. Not to mention, Bush did his fair amount of rule-breaking by constantly interrupting, talking to Kerry directly, etc. (Remember when Kerry turned to Bush and said he was happy to continue chucking the rules if Bush wanted to?) Big media has a big hard-on for Bush, and God knows why. It's our job to keep them clean.
"Cutaway" shots showing either Bush or Kerry while they waited their turn to speak were expressly forbidden in a 32-page agreement negotiated by the two campaigns to govern conduct of the event.
But from the start of the 90-minute telecast seen by at least 62.5 million Americans, the networks defied the rules by making ample use of split-screen shots allowing viewers to see the two candidates side by side as one was talking and the other was listening.
Under a rotation system established by the major networks for covering political events, Fox News Channel operated the "pool" cameras that supplied the broadcast feed for all the networks on Thursday.
Fox News executive producer Marty Ryan said the cable network tended to use a split screen when the content debate became especially pointed.
"We weren't looking for somebody taking a drink of water or adjusting their coat," Ryan said. "We looked for occasions when they specifically referred to the other, especially when the criticism in both directions was a little more harsh. That's when you want to see the reaction of the other candidate."
