Media outlets that bark but don't bite

Leno brought laughter to his audience. But Obama might not have caused much mirth with his misguided shot at Fox News. After all, Americans tend to take pride in the freedom of the press.

Fox News is widely known to lean towards the Republicans. However, the leader of the free world should have learned to deal with criticism better. But Fox News was not the only target. The White House people also tried to marginalise other critics who have come out to express opposing opinions against the administration's plans - such as the US Chamber of Commerce, for its different stance than the Obama administration on healthcare reform.

Obama's comment may appear to have been a bad tactical move. In fact, the influence of Fox News on TV audiences might not be as strong as Obama suspects, because many people these days tend to consume news from media outlets that they can identify a political affiliation to.

Fox News can be seen as leaning towards the right, while other news outlets such as MSNBC are perceived as being to the left of centre. In addition, audiences don't always watch TV news or talk shows to obtain news information or an unbiased view, but simply to confirm what they already believe. After Obama's attack on Fox News, the network received a number of text messages from viewers who criticised Obama's remark.

Interestingly enough, a similar debate is also going on in Thailand. Thai audiences nowadays tend to watch media channels that confirm their political preferences. This phenomenon can be acceptable as long as audiences have a choice to consume news and information from various media outlets.

The criticism of Obama over his attack on Fox News should tell us something about how governments should deal with the media. The Fox episode shows that Obama might be unnecessarily drawing criticism by overestimating the channel's influence on viewers. His complaint has simply brought unwelcome publicity.

The conclusion from this is a universal rule: Governments should focus their energies on performance and policies that work for and support the greater good. Otherwise, nothing that a news network reports will be able to reverse plunging popularity.