Good news and bad news for Fox News. The good news is a poll by Public Policy Polling indicates it is the most-trusted name in news, with 34 percent of the total.
The bad news is Fox News is also the least-trusted news outlet in the same poll, at 39 percent. And any pollster will tell you it’s not good when your disapproval level is higher than the approval number.
If Fox wants to raise that trust number, it’d better quit posting stories such as this — Danielle Contray’s “8 Places to Go Before You Have Kids.” The story includes Route 66 among those places:
There are lots of great scenic road trips in the U.S. (California’s Route 1, the Blue Ridge Parkway), but why not go back to the original and travel along Route 66. Well, what’s left of it (see below). Road trips may not scream romance for some, but there won’t be much time after kids to really just enjoy each other’s company — and control what’s coming out of the car speakers. This also means no kids rolling their eyes at every retro diner you want to stop at for a patty melt and a milkshake. And, most importantly, no chorus of “are we there yet??” from the back seat.
Do it: To really, truly do this trip, you start in Santa Monica, California and drive the more than 2,000 miles to Chicago. It goes without saying that there is a lot to see along the way, from the Grand Canyon to the St. Louis Arch. The midpoint is the town of Adrian, Texas, home to the MidPoint Café and its famous pies and kitschy decor. The longest section of the original Route 66 starts northeast of Oklahoma City. Be sure to stop at the Route 66 Museum in OKC before you head out.
A few observations:
— The longest section of original Route 66 remains in Arizona, not Oklahoma.
— Route 66 museums in Oklahoma exist in Clinton, Elk City, and Chandler, but never in Oklahoma City.
— The notion that childless couples would find fun on Route 66 is understandable — it is, after all, a road that appeals to those of legal driving age. But Route 66 has proven fun for kids, too. Countless families have traveled it since 2006, with the release of Disney-Pixar’s Route 66-inspired animated film “Cars.” So it seems curious to assume children would be “rolling their eyes” at diners on the Mother Road, when they may be wide-eyed instead.
— The writer mentions Route 66 and “what’s left of it (see below),” then doesn’t return to explain this reference.
Listen, I can understand any writer can have a bad day. Lord knows I’ve had a few on this site, when I’ve been dead tired or sick.
Regardless, this story is undeniably sloppy. And Fox News, which spends millions of dollars on pundits, could stand to allocate a few more bucks on fact-checkers or editors who could prevent embarrassments such as this with a few Google searches.
Part of building trust is building credibility. And it’s darned hard to bolster credibility with bum facts and half-baked assertions.
I can’t stand this sort of sloppiness, no matter WHERE it comes from. It is inexcusable, especially in this day and age where writers can go online, see who has some knowledge or experience, and shoot them an email or give them a ring (to someone like you, for instance). Saw a story elsewhere—sorry, I can’t remember, but it wasn’t Fox—about “what little is left of Route 66”. Arrrrrrrrrrgh!
Those approval/disapproval ratings may have been more political instead of fact-based. Fox News is obviously the most polarizing of news networks.
I’d believe that, except for the fact Fox gave an awful lot of air time to shills who yakked about “skewed” polls and confident predictions of a Romney victory in November. When you invest that much time being hugely wrong, your credibility is going to take a big hit, no matter what your political leaning is.
FOX “News” needs to check its facts about a HELL OF A LOT MORE than Route 66, honey.
This is exactly what’s WRONG with the road today!!! Keep the stupid personal politics to yourselves and off the road. Route 66 is for EVERYONE, if you want to rip on FOX News, fine, just do it elsewhere. All you’re doing is helping tear the road up with politics, dividing it between the left and the right, when we should be united in the middle with all our efforts to protect and save her. You can review the story because it’s about Route 66, just leave you’re personal opinions about FOX out of it. ALL News outlets sensationalize and get it wrong MOST of the time, and I can’t even remember the last time ANY news was just the news, without a bunch of stupid reporter’s opinions getting in the way and brainwashing the public into buying their stories, papers or cable channels. Quit letting ANY news outlet give you your opinion, seek the news, only the news and then learn to develop your own, without any regard to politics. If you REALLY care about Route 66, you’ll quit choosing sides like the left and right, and choose only Route 66 with a singular effort welcomed by anyone, as long as it’s good for the road. Remember sometimes even bad publicity is good publicity!
Observation – “what’s left”, while yes we’ve come a long way and are thankfully experiencing a resurgence, don’t forget we’re still losing, if not just as much as we’ve gained, almost everyday. We can’t afford political distractions keeping us from being united in our efforts to save all we have left – and yes, before it’s too late!
Technically, Route 66 News is a news outlet. Based on your comment, are you saying this site gets it wrong “most of the time”?
If so, please find 3,000-plus stories on this site that are wrong.
Fox News is well known for their weekly (weakly) retractions. Terrible news outlet and even worse on biased reporting. And they are screwing with the Mother Road!!!
Incorrect news on FOX? What a shock-not!
You’re getting it wrong right now, by choosing politics and leftist opinions about FOX News, instead of the greater good of the road. The exact same could be said of all the shenanigans of CNN and MSNBC, neither of which report much news these days, but rather their own agenda of politics and personal opinions. BBC America reports more NEWS than just about any U.S. source, maybe other than local news outlets that don’t have 24 hours a day to sensationalize stories just to get zombies to veg out in front of a TV or computer on-line all day! I’m not going to go there with you about the Route 66 News, as it usually serves a greater purpose and you work hard at it, this just isn’t one of those times and you’re stooping to the low of politics, which again should be kept completely off the road. Report the news, personal political opinions are neither needed nor wanted. We have enough challenges and obstacles to overcome, without political divisiveness getting in the way too…
I’ll take it, then, that Route 66 News is not wrong “most of the time,” as you indirectly insinuated earlier in your comment.
And, again, I critiqued the facts of the Fox News story. That is irrefutable.
YES – the FOX News story, but NO, not FOX News in and of itself, nor your comments about Romney polls and an election already gone by. That’s nothing more than political mumbo jumbo, has nothing to do with Route 66 and only p’s off the other side of the road, which is a useless and childish endeavor. We all need each other to overcome our challenges and obstacles, both sides coming together to all help and save our beloved road. One side can’t do it alone without the other, it should be Route 66 that unites us, not politics that divide us…
The election and Romney points were in response to a comment, and were factually based as well.
Again, credibility is important. Surely, you know that, RT.
Ron,
Chill. FNC is the leader in cable news. I’m sure they are laughing all the way to the bank. They may have high unfavorable a, but those same people are watching. Their job is to put people in front of the TV. A note toFNC to correct the errors in fact would work much better than a public rebuke.
A FNC & Route 66 Fan
Ah, but a public rebuke also draws more readers. 😉