Fox vs. CNN: We purport, you abide?

It had to happen: the Darth Vader of really loud TV, the pasha of taking smartass talk radio gasbags and putting a camera on them for Murdoch, in other words, spooky Roger Ailes, no longer leaves the daily smackdown of cable rival CNN to on-air minions like Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly. He uses really loud advertising instead to nail his prey.

In quarter-page ads in the Observer today, the Fifth Web calls CNN “deceptive” because the Atlanta web counts “channel surfers” rather than relying on Nielsen’s numbers, which, unsurprisingly, favor Fox. Preaching directly to media buyers and the presumed consumer, Fox goes on to ask:

“Think about it… if CNN’s advertising is misleading, why would you trust their journalism?”

Now, Fishbowl has always loved the way Fox throws around the J-word as if it were a blunt, apply-anywhere-and-it-will-explode weapon, but even the dumbest Observer reader knows that these numbers are as misleading as those early Kerry exit polls. But we have to give points to Ailes for sheer, unashamed go-for-the-shins viciousness.

Advantage: Tie. Fox wins on sheer force, but loses points for advertising in the Observer, where there are fewer red-meat readers than over at the Post.

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