So Long, Fox News Channel

For many years, I had been a pretty loyal viewer of Fox News Channel. I found it to be fair and balanced as promised, and the only channel that actually offered a different perspective on news stories. It was refreshing to hear my voice represented on television. To put that in context, when watching every other network on broadcast or cable, their bias against Republicans or conservative thought was frustrating. So it was comforting to know that one network had the courage to do something different.

And then Donald Trump became a candidate for president. I am not a fan of his, which is what has created this tension for me, as well as for many other viewers. The frequent coverage of him, at first, was understandable; after all, he is a colorful character who says things in ways other candidates do not. Got it. But as time went on, it became apparent that the coverage was over the top.

Wherever he went there were cameras. His rallies became 'newsworthy' in the minds of the decision makers, his remarks, however inane, were repeated and analyzed. Once Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush dropped out of the race, Fox zeroed in on Trump as the guy they were going to get behind with all their resources. (It has been reported that Trump has gotten 2 billion dollars in free airtime, no doubt most of it from FNC.) This attention was heaped on him by their lineup of hosts: from Fox & Friends in the morning, to The Five, to Greta, to The Oreillyfactor, to Hannity, and more. Before long, it was obvious that Fox was actively promoting Trump while actively denigrating the other candidates. Not only was Ted Cruz given far less exposure, the interviews with him were often contentious. The conversation about him was not flattering.

Not the story, of course, with Donald Trump. One only needs to watch Hannity interviewing Trump (if you want to call it that) to see that Hannity finishes his sentences for him and articulates his positions for him. Sometimes all that is required for Trump is to agree with Hannity and say "yes, that's right." And let's not negate the fact that many Fox personalities are personal friends with Trump, so, standing by their friend is natural for them. Even Megyn Kelly, who was the only one on the network to stand up to Trump and actually challenge him on a few things, is now starting to cave in to the network pressure. She announced recently that she will be doing a one on one interview with Trump, which I guess is supposed to excite the viewers. All that accomplishes, is that she, as the last holdout for drinking the Trump kool-aid, will now fall into the trap set up by the network brass. She too, will now start covering Trump like the others; softball questions and praise. She has already softened in how she talks about him. She comes to his defense when a guest criticizes him, and she now mocks the other candidates like the good little host she's supposed to be. It is truly pathetic to watch someone who once had integrity, just lose it.

I am done with Fox News Channel. It has become unwatchable for non-Trump fans. I stopped watching it a couple of months ago, (with the exception of Kellyfile), when their bias was overwhelmingly obvious. Now, sad to say, the Kellyfile will join the scrap heap of once-watched shows. CNN, for now, has become the cable alternative, but they too, can be frustrating to watch at times. The difference with CNN though, is that I expect to see bias, so the disappointment isn't too great.

I am not alone in this boycott of FNC. But, rest assured we will find a home elsewhere. I have been a fan of TheBlazeTV for a few years now and LevinTV which has just launched, are great alternatives. My voice is represented on those internet networks. And I don't have to tolerate the insanity that has gripped the Fox News Channel, aka the Trump News Channel.

So long Fox. You have outlived your usefulness. You have turned from "We Report, You Decide" to "We Report, We Decide." And that just isn't fair and balanced.