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RESEARCH AMONG viewers in the US this week showed that Fox News was America’s most trusted news channel. Its presenters’ pugilistic approach is coupled with what is widely perceived as a right-wing bias. Its motto, “Fair and Balanced”, is often used as a stick to beat it with, although its continually strong ratings show that it is seldom bruised, writes SHANE HEGARTY

In US television, Fox News is not alone in giving a platform to ideologically driven star names. For example, Keith Olbermann, who presents a left-leaning alternative on MSNBC, regularly uses his own show to go to war with rivals at Fox. His feud with Fox’s Bill O’Reilly is particularly notable, with Olbermann once going so far as to wear an O’Reilly mask and give a Nazi salute.