lex990

if you guys were watching cnn cnbc or fox news i'm sure you saw that the taum sauk dam broke in missouri.... i work at the closest hospital to that and you would not believe how freakin low the media will go to get a story..... so to sum it up


MEDIA BLOWS

Sanjuro

Oooh, I have some friends that work in the media. They would probably agree with you (I do). I'd love to hear the story...

Biznox

FOX does not deserve to call what they do "news"

Their war mongering and not-so-subtle "blending" of news and opinion has debased the entire media and lowered standards across the board. I beleive they are single-handedly responsible for Bush winning both elections. Think about it. Eliminate their influence and replay the events-- do you really think that howdy doody dumbf*ck would have won? It's an instrument of the neo-con hard right designed to brainwash the dumb sheep into following the Republicans straight into hell and it works brilliantly, much to the horror of intelligent and compassionate Americans who really care about this country and what's happened to it.

mattssi

Fox news rules. Fair & Balanced yo

Howard Stern for Pres!

English

Is no one going to chime in and say CNN is WAAAY biased to the left???? (American)CNN is biased to poor people/people with less education, Int'l CNN is much better than domestic CNN imho
FOX>ALL

WeDriveScions

^- Wow...

You overanalyse the whole deal.... It's not about being an "Instrument"... It's ONLY and EXCLUSIVELY about ratings and MONEY!

What Fox News does, is to get high ratings and therefore, make MORE MONEY... if you think otherwise, you are extremely naive...

And in regards to the post above... The reason they are the number one rated channel is because more people watch them than anyone else... not defending them, but stating that a majority of american's watching television news like what they see there... brainwashed or not... it's capitalism... and that's what cable news channels are driven by...

If you had a left-wing channel... it would tank ratings wise.... Air America makes nothing even close to the ratings and profit Fox News station's do... It's just about money... all news is tainted by it... unfortunately... more people like the right-wing perspective than the left-wing...

matt_a

Open your eyes. Do you really call what CNN does, fair and unbiased? Before Fox news came on the scene, the news media was dominated by liberal networks. You want to talk about a network "helping" a candidate? CNN practically changed their logo to a picture of John Kerry. Heck, read any story on CNN and you'll see what I mean. There is an obvious liberal slant to everything they do. And how about CBS with Dan Rather? Can't find any news to suit your liberal stance? No problem, just create it yourself.

oldmanatee

Suuurrrrreeeee, one cable news network can win an election.
You broke the code there Sherlock.... Now, this neo-con has some more sheep to brainwash.....

Some times liberals can be so stupid. But if they weren't, who would we laugh at?

matt_a

Here's my new favorite source for news. Never anything negative! :D

http://www.happynews.com

zach

Even the weatherman is biased, that sonofa_____ said it was gonna rain and snow and it barely sprinkled!

oldmanatee

That's not biased, that just bad guesser.....

NHGrafx

Me being a sociology major, I would love to get into the whole huge debate about American mass media and its hegemonic tendencies, and conservative agenda and all that, but I wont because it would bore most people to tears.

What biznox said is actually very accurate and not far from the truth at all with exception of "I beleive they are single-handedly responsible for Bush winning both elections. Think about it. Eliminate their influence and replay the events-- do you really think that howdy doody dumbf*ck would have won? "

But quite simply, you are not going to get any fair or balanced or un biased news from any of the big 3 networks(ABC, CBS, NBC) or cable news networks. All of these networks are all owned by a small handful of large corporations who are all run by right wing conservatives, with Fox News and its boss Rupert Murdoch being the worst of them all. Fox News is just a machine for the conservative agenda which is blatantly obvious to anyone who pays close attention, and anyone who says Fox News is fair and balanced or un biased is well... an idiot, (no offesne to anyone). But really, none of the news networks are fair or balanced or un biased in reality. All the news channels have a right wing bias, some more than others, and some do it so subtly you wouldn't even notice or they may throw in some left wing or moderate (netither left or right) tid bits here and there to give the illusion that they are balanced or un biased. But as long as our news is controlled by large mega corporations all run by conservatives seeking to control what we see and hear, we will never get fair and un biased news. Public broadcasting used to be great, but even they are now falling victim to the Rupert Murdochs of the world. The government has a big hand in this too with the various bills and laws passed over the years giving these companies greater power to control our news, etc. Just look at clear channel which has taken over the radio industry in this country thanks to the Telecommuncations Act of 1996. Clear channel is not only dominating the radio industry, they are also buying up clubs, concert venues, etc with a clear goal of controlling the majority of those markets and controlling what we hear on the radio. They have even stated that their goal is "total synergy" which is a pretty way of saying complete control over the industry in every aspect. Its not any secret that the DJ's on clear channel stations are only allowed to play what they are told and have no freedom at all in what is played. But thats radio and a whole other ballgame. Newspapers arent safe either considering many of the nations newspapers companies are owned by many of the same big media companies that run the news networks.

There is some good news though, we have the internet where we have access to countless outlets where we can get good news from every point of view possible, and make our own educated decisions on what we want to get out of it without being spoon fed corporate censored news that we get on the big networks from mass media.

Sorry if I bored anyone with this, but I have been very passionate about this subject for quite some time and have been sort of an "advocate" against the mass medias goal of total domination over the news industry and their desire to control what they want us to see and hear.

Biznox

It could be argued that the media in general leans SLIGHTLY to the left, but FOX news is nothing remotely like "fair and balanced" it is more like a grotesque overreaction to the perception of liberal media. They go so so SO far in the opposite direction that it's not even funny. CNN at least, seperates the commentary from the hard news in their reporting. FOX blends it all together, there is no distinction between what is fact and opinion. Everything on the channel is tainted by Rupert Murdoch's political viewpoint.

Ever notice that the so called "liberal media" is made up of the most respected names in news? The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN. Those are the names with credibility and intelligence behind them. Only diehard Republibots and hard right bible thumpers think FOX news is legitimate. The majority of those who watch it watch for the sensationalized packaging and don't recognize that they break all the rules when it comes to backing up what you say with genuine sources ("some people say..." for those of you who have seen Outfoxed)

Regardless of their viewpoint, it's the WAY they deliver the news that is irresponsible and unethical. Any reputable newspaper or channel like CNN has a clear seperation between what is hard news and what is commentary, whereas FOX is just hour after hour of "talk shows" run by right wing idealogues PRESENTED as news. Not the same thing as actual objective news.

I mean... they insist on calling suicide bombers "homicide bombers" instead when the ENTIRE rest of the news world calls them the latter. WHY would you do that? Unless you are trying to push a particular point of view (i.e. the terrorists are animals who have no legitimate greviances with the US/Israel)

The way FOX does this is very subtle so it's missed by most people, thats what makes them so dangerous...

NHGrafx

Exactly

Someone previous said its all about money and ratings and that is correct, but its only part of it. Its just one of many aspects.

WeDriveScions

Despite whether their grievances are merited or not... they TARGET innocent people... making them terrorists and killers... commiting homicide in the act of commiting suicide... I would consider Fox new's description much more acurate of a perspective and less prone to the Bias of "Understanding their reasons for such action"... while never presenting those individuals as animals which you alude to.

Also, Despite whether their grievances are legitamate or not... any individual who purposely attacks innocent people for the sake of attention or terror, DESPITE ANY cause or "Reason" for said action, is the most dangerous and hideous of all humanity... and any individual who thinks that way, will not change their behavior, whatever response is given... even a peaceful one. History has time and time again proven that to be true.


CNN and every other news channel consists of direct bias as well...

But, the whole concept of "Television News" is ironic... as Television as a media, and also newspapers as well are absolutely corrupted by capitalism and the neccesity of ratings and profit... they are parts of corporations, held by share-holders that MUST post profit... so they do what they can to appeal to the greatest amount of people.... CNN, NYT, Washington Post, and on and on...

Fox News does what they do as it generates the most amount of profit... and Cnn and others do what they do, as it appeals to another perspective, which captures the profit from that "group" of people they focus on to capture ratings from...

If you think any media will put direct unbiased news in front of profit... you are extremely naive... They have to defend their credibility to a limit, but in every media, that limit is stretched and spun all over the place.

That is why I love blogs, and that is why I dislike all television "news" across the board... it's meant as entertainment, not news.... as REAL news is mostly stuff people wouldn't want to watch, or read about....

The best news stories are always in the last pages....

And if you think the NYT is unbiased....

Their report on Bush signing the ability to monitor international calls left out the fact that there is an existing precident in both the Clinton administration and all before that, that allow them to monitor calls going into the u.s. from external countries and from the U.S. to external countries without a warrant and is not restricted in any current or previous policy with the NSA. It's existing precedent and OLD NEWS... just spun at the right time...

The only current and exercised restrictions are with calls originating and ending in the US, in which the NSA must pass that to the FBI and which the FBI must get a warrant.

Although I do dissagree with this policy in MANY MANY ways (As I believe it infringes on many liberties), the timing of this report and the information that wast "Left Out" obviously shows an amount of bias...

But, Welcome to the world of profit driven news... That story maid soooo much profit for soooo many people, it's not even funny.... when, in actuality, those who know existing policy and are free from the "Spin"... it's old news that no one cared about till now...

At least it ruffled a few feathers and maybe we'll get some policy enacted to help.... but I'll bet you that the NSA will continue to tap international calls freely, no matter what... as it will be in the name of "national Security" which trumps any rights.... in THEIR opinion... not mine.

Biznox

Never meant to imply that the rest of the media is without fault. I'm simply pointing out that the standards of FOX news are in the toilet when compared to just about anyone else short of the National Enquirer and Weekly World News.

It's a known fact that Murdoch has a twisted right wing agenda. It's a known fact that journalists at FOX are told how to slant stories and what "message" to project---- lots of former employees readily admit this.

There is nothing happening on THAT scale, propaganda-wise, in the other mainstream news organizations. If YOU don't see that then you're not looking carefully enough. For every instance of arguably extremely subtle bias you can cite in the NYT, there are 100 screamingly blatant examples on FOX news.

You cannot put them in the same basket. FOX is it's own sick phenomenon that transcends the usual subtle and occaisional bias so much that it's ridiculous.

surfcity40

you're kidding. that's like saying toyota is the number one import just because more people buy them than other imports...or Coca Cola is bigger than pepsi merely because it sells more. i mean it's gotta be more than that....no?

ok, my bad.

WeDriveScions

^ Not saying that they are the best....

Just that they have higher ratings than any of the other cable news channels and almost more than them all combined... so, there has to be something said for that...

In their type of medium, "Cable News", they have the formula for success... and appeal to the greater number of people, people who chose to watch other "Cable News" channels are in the minority.

In regards to a business model.... they are brilliant.... ethically... well, that's a whole different story, but in that regard they are among friends when it comes to poor ethical behavior for the sake of profit, as every cable news channel is guilty in that regard.

Biznox

My point is that, regardless of their popularity, they are in a class of their own when it comes to being biased and unethical. You cannot compare what they do to other news networks or news outlets at all. They are about as ethical as Al-Jezeera, so don't act as if all news organizations are biased so whats the difference, because there is a HUGE difference.

WeDriveScions

Examples?

That is one of the worst statements I've ever read on Scionlife...

You obviously have not read any transcripted reports from Al-J or seen any of their content...

It's absolutely untolerable to relate the two.... A/J supports and plays overtly anti-american propeganda and inderectly supports terrorism by giving them a venue to advertise and present their insane beliefs...

Demonstrate an instance, other than a generalisation, that any popular american media channel advertises or supports terrorism or hatred against a people, due to their worldview or religion.

I agree fully that popular american news media is overtly unethical, but by drawing such extreme and inflammitory ties, you destroy your credibility....

I see their bias, and understand their reasons for presenting such bias... but, realistically, what are some examples of behavior that even gets them in the same ballpark of A/J?