Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
This film examines how media empires, led by Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, have been running a "race to the bottom" in television news, and provides an in-depth look at Fox News and the dangerous impact on society when a broad swath of media is controlled by one person. Media experts, including Jeff Cohen (FAIR) Bob McChesney (Free Press), Chellie Pingree (Common Cause), Jeff Chester (Center for Digital Democracy) and David Brock (Media Matters) provide context and guidance for the story of Fox News and its effect on society. This documentary also reveals the secrets of Former Fox news producers, reporters, bookers and writers who expose what it's like to work for Fox News. These former Fox employees talk about how they were forced to push a "right-wing" point of view or risk their jobs. Some have even chosen to remain anonymous in order to protect their current livelihoods. As one employee said "There's no sense of integrity as far as having a line that can't be crossed."
Outfoxed is a straightforward polemic documentary that marshals talking heads, internal Fox memos, and clip evidence to argue its case against Murdoch's media empire. The 'plot' is essentially a one-sided prosecutorial brief — effective for its audience but thin as documentary craft, lacking the narrative arc or complexity of stronger nonfiction filmmaking. There's no traditional acting to judge; the interview subjects are credible advocates but not memorable screen presences. Cinematography is workmanlike low-budget digital video, functional but unremarkable. Its novelty lies in its early use of the grassroots distribution model (MoveOn.org) and its pointed expose format, which felt somewhat fresh in 2004 for media-criticism docs, but the filmmaking approach itself is conventional. The ending offers little resolution beyond a call to action, which is par for advocacy docs of this kind.