Ranking All 25 The Simpsons Season Finales
13. Fraudcast News
Season: 15
Winner of the Writer's Guild of America's Paul Selvin award (for works about first amendment issues), Fraudcast News from season fifteen was a strong finish to a generally dull season.
Focusing on a tale that outlines the dangers of media conglomeration (keep in mind that most media outlets in America are owned by one of a very few parent companies), the episode sees Mr. Burns buy up every news source in town to improve his image. In protest, Lisa starts her own paper - The Red Dress Press - which starts to take off.
When Burns cannot buy Lisa out he does the next best thing (to him) and goes the smear campaign route, dishing dirt on her obtained from a drugged Homer.
Lisa finally cedes defeat, only to discover that she has inspired the rest of Springfield to start their own papers, ensuring that in the end, she (and free speech) have one.
It's an inspired outing, one that happens to prove that no matter what the season, The Simpsons always has some great episodes to offer.