Bias in the Media

[Artemis]

Has anyone else here read the book [U]Bias[/U]? (I can't remember the author's name. It's sitting in my locker at school.)
Anyway, the book is all about a guy who used to work for CBS. He realized that there's an overwhelming liberal bias in TV and newspaper media. He tried to expose it, and got ostracized. This is b/c it's not some highly organized conspiracy: it's simply b/c most journalists are liberals. They're taught by liberal teachers in college. (Much radio news is conservative bias, but it's not nearly so widespread.)
Anyway, I'll elaborate on this more later. I'm too tired right now.
~Night Goddess~

[Kent]

Ann Culter (sp?)

Thats the author and one fine babe none the less.

I haven't read the book, although I fully share the opinion. (in most cases)

NBC, ABC, CBS, Headline News

All of those channels are extremely liberal and don't really express anything besides a skewed view.

Except for one... fox news.

Fox is hated by all liberals.

I can't say exactly why, but I would guess it's because they express both sides at all times.

Note that I didn't say they are in the middle, rather, they provide both sides through representives of the respective views.

Oh yeah, the other reason they could be hated is because they are a cable news station that actually managed to take the number one spot in the overall ratings. (this spot until recently was always reserved for network news, hence, a liberal corp.)

So yeah, I know what your sayin and totally support you.

There is a bias and indeed, it creates an air of one sidedness in the countries media.

Glad to see you bring it up.

Now my question is...

Where the hell were you and drix d' at 6 months ago when I was the only person on the board who held these views? :D

Thanks for bringing it up though...

till next time.

[Xyandar]

This is kinda off topic but I find it funny how Fox is hated by not only liberals but programs that are played on the station. Look at The Simpsons. They make fun of the Fox Network all the time while I'm watching them on that network lol.

Sorry I had to get that out

[DuoMax]

I haven't really noticed a Liberal bias in the news media, in fact, I've really only seen a Conservative bias. This of course leads me to one conclusion. Since both Liberals and Conservatives see the Media as biased, it's obviously moderate! :P

[DeathBug]

See, Fox News is "Fair and balanced"; it balances out the incredibly liberal policies of CNN. (Ever watched "Crossfire"? You know what I mean.)

In order to get a truley "unbiased" news station, you'd have to split your time between watching CNN and watching Fox.

[Doukeshi]

Using Newspapers as an example:
Bias is held in the media all the time. Sometimes it's actually deliberate, the views being edited by the owner of editor of the newspaper, or certain reporters with those views being deliberately hired for that specific purpose. However, these views or prejudices can also be unknown to the editor or reporters. This is because they would be of a certain denomination or come from a certain area where their upbringing and social lifestyle effects the way they see things. Therefore it is not always the complete fault of the newspaper for their views, it is simply sociological influence.

I?m English so I wouldn?t know much about the Liberal or Conservative view on things but here there are several papers which are quite obviously for or against certain parties. This, I believe is a good thing, for the fact that you are able to choose which paper to read and which to support. I myself don?t read the paper for it?s political content, even though the one I read is Conservative over Labour.

[Dagger]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by DuoMax [/i]
[B]I haven't really noticed a Liberal bias in the news media, in fact, I've really only seen a Conservative bias. This of course leads me to one conclusion. Since both Liberals and Conservatives see the Media as biased, it's obviously moderate! :P [/B][/QUOTE]

I absolutely agree with you. Liberals say that there's a conservative bias, while conservatives say that there's a liberal bias. What gives?

~Dagger~

[Harry]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by DuoMax [/i]
[B]I haven't really noticed a Liberal bias in the news media, in fact, I've really only seen a Conservative bias. This of course leads me to one conclusion. Since both Liberals and Conservatives see the Media as biased, it's obviously moderate! :P [/B][/QUOTE]
There used to be a huge one before Bush was elected. Remember when Brokaw (I think it was him) praised Gore for winning in the first debate and had to apologize for it at the next one.

[quote]See, Fox News is "Fair and balanced"; it balances out the incredibly liberal policies of CNN. (Ever watched "Crossfire"? You know what I mean.)

In order to get a truley "unbiased" news station, you'd have to split your time between watching CNN and watching Fox.[/quote]
Here's how I think of it:
If you watch CNN you see the news through Turner's eyes
If you watch Fox News you see the news through Rupert's eyes

[The Original]

The following has been taken from Al Franken's excellent book, "Lies and the lying lyers who tell them. A fair and balanced look at the right."

"How about the 2000 presidential campaign? Remember in the first debate, Al Gore said he had gone down to a disaster site in Texas with Federal Emergency Management Agency director James Lee Whitt? Actually, it turns out that he had gone to the disaster site with a [I]deputy[/I] of James Lee Whitt. As vice president, Gore had gone to seventeen [I]other[/I] disasters with James Lee Whitt, but not that one. The press jumped all over him. There were scores of stories written about how Gore had [I]lied[/I] about James Lee Whitt. It was as if James Lee Whitt had been the most popluar man in the United States of Maerica and Gore was lying to get some of James Lee Whitt magic to rub off on him.
Contrast that with the media's reaction to this Bush description of his tax cut in the very same debate. Bush saidI also dropped the bottom rate from fifteen percent to ten percent, because, by far, the vast majority of the help goes to the people at the bottom of the economic ladder.
"By far, the vast majority...goes to the people at the bottom." That is what George W. Bush told AMerica. The truth is that [I]the bottom 60 percent got 14.7 percent.[/I] Gee, that's a pretty significant misstatement, don't you think? More important than whether a Texas fire was one of the seventeen disasters you went to with American icon James Lee Whitt. So, what was the reaction of the liberal mainstream press?
Nothing."

"The mainstream media does not have a liberal bias. And for all their other biases mentioned above, the mainstream media - ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, [I]The New York Times,[/I] and [I]The Washington Post[/I]- at least [I]try[/I] to be fair."

Any of that ring a bell? Hmm. Well, I have to go to school now, so I'll post some more quotes when I get back, and I'll be sure to read your conservative rants then. Oh, I'll definately let you know about FOX too. ;) lol.


*BTW Ken* Her name is spelled Ann Coulter. Funny how a liberal picked up that mistake. Lol.

[Kent]

*BTW Ken* Her name is spelled Ann Coulter. Funny how a liberal picked up that mistake. Lol.


Oh thanks... I kinda knew I spelled it wrong though... being that the "(sp?)" was behind the original attempt at spelling the name.

But hey, thanks for pointing it out, otherwise Im not sure if people would have known what I was talking about.

I should also mention what a big deal it is about a liberal picking up on that... geez I dont know what I would have done

Anyway, I can see where this is going, and Im getting out now.

I gave up on discussions about important social/political issues here on the boards. (for many reasons, but most would end up insulting someone, sorry about that.)

Just remember everyone, this is a simple thread about percieved bias in the media, not just another chance to knock on your political opposition.

Although Im glad to see liberals pulling their wieght here on the board.

Gotta keep the place fair and balanced, right? :D:laugh:

[Mitch]

[size=1] Of course the media is biased...having an opinon itself is called bias. And everyone has one..

This is why I don't really watch the news/media crap as it is. [/size]

[James]

[color=#707875]I strongly dislike Ann Coulter. Not only is she blindly conservative (in the extreme), she also throws up some of the most redundant points I've ever seen. She annoys me.

In terms of media bias...I think that generally, most news has more of a leftist tilt. This was particularly apparent during the war in Iraq. CNN in particular can be very silly and obvious with their leftist bias.

In terms of Fox...I don't let them off the hook either. They are the conservative version of CNN -- and thus, they are no better. They have as much or more of a conservative slant as CNN has a liberal one.

Having said that, I tend not to generalize about TV channels too much. Sometimes there are shows that are very even...and sometimes not. Fox is overwhelmingly conservative -- which I often don't mind, because I can see through it. So I take their "reporting" as it is and I disregard their frequent spin.

Same goes for CNN.

So, I personally don't know if I've found any one station that is particularly "in the center". Fox and CNN certainly aren't.

If I had to choose the "most fair", I might choose Sky News Australia. They're pretty good and pretty fair mostly...but depending on the person who is on at the time, that can change.[/color]

[Maully]

[color=green]I agree with James, absolutely about FoX news. As much as they claim fair and balanced, they are as conservative as anyone else is liberal. The trick is to look at everything and sift throught it and learn to think for yourself. This is where a lot of people find trouble, because they are not use to thinking about things and not just eating up what the television says. I, personally, watch CSPAN and watch what the actual politicians say and then decide what I think...but to each his own. Actually, I get all my news off mock news shows like The Daily Show with John Stewart *snickers*. Actually, I do watch that show a lot, and they make absolutely no attemp to hide that John stewart is VERY left-wing. It amuses me.

Any-who, if the FCC has its way, what ever bias the corporate media has is only going to be made worse, what with them allowing corporate conglomerates to own larger shares of local markets...[/color]

[Drix D'Zanth]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by The Original [/i]
[B]The following has been taken from Al Franken's excellent book, "Lies and the lying lyers who tell them. A fair and balanced look at the right."

"How about the 2000 presidential campaign? Remember in the first debate, Al Gore said he had gone down to a disaster site in Texas with Federal Emergency Management Agency director James Lee Whitt? Actually, it turns out that he had gone to the disaster site with a [I]deputy[/I] of James Lee Whitt. As vice president, Gore had gone to seventeen [I]other[/I] disasters with James Lee Whitt, but not that one. The press jumped all over him. There were scores of stories written about how Gore had [I]lied[/I] about James Lee Whitt. It was as if James Lee Whitt had been the most popluar man in the United States of Maerica and Gore was lying to get some of James Lee Whitt magic to rub off on him.
Contrast that with the media's reaction to this Bush description of his tax cut in the very same debate. Bush saidI also dropped the bottom rate from fifteen percent to ten percent, because, by far, the vast majority of the help goes to the people at the bottom of the economic ladder.
"By far, the vast majority...goes to the people at the bottom." That is what George W. Bush told AMerica. The truth is that [I]the bottom 60 percent got 14.7 percent.[/I] Gee, that's a pretty significant misstatement, don't you think? More important than whether a Texas fire was one of the seventeen disasters you went to with American icon James Lee Whitt. So, what was the reaction of the liberal mainstream press?
Nothing."

"The mainstream media does not have a liberal bias. And for all their other biases mentioned above, the mainstream media - ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, [I]The New York Times,[/I] and [I]The Washington Post[/I]- at least [I]try[/I] to be fair."

Any of that ring a bell? Hmm. Well, I have to go to school now, so I'll post some more quotes when I get back, and I'll be sure to read your conservative rants then. Oh, I'll definately let you know about FOX too. ;) lol.


*BTW Ken* Her name is spelled Ann Coulter. Funny how a liberal picked up that mistake. Lol. [/B][/QUOTE]

I have an idea... let's quote Al Franken instead of creating our own opinions. No.. wait... let's quote him. Because when I think "fair and balanced", I think Al Franken....:laugh:

[BabyGirl]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Kent [/i]
[B]Fox is hated by all liberals.[/B][/QUOTE]

[color=deeppink]Fox is hated by most [i]journalists[/i]. But that just supports the statement that 'all journalists are liberals', which I have found to not be entirely true.

I may not be majoring in journalism, but photojournalism is its visual cousin. Not all of my professors have beat us over the head with liberal views, most of them have encouraged documenting what's [i]real[/i] and not putting your own opinion behind it.

Granted, everyone who is a photojournalist is in the business for one reason or another, and a majority of them do it to bring social awareness to the world based on their own opinions. Whether it's a conscious effort to do so or a subconscious one, most everyone in the media -namely journalists and photographers- are going to inject their own opinion into it some way or another.

When I attend an event, I try and shoot a theme, something that will represent and wrap up what the event was about. It puts my own spin on things, and the whole thing may come off differently than how someone standing next to me the whole time shot it. It's the same thing with the news, you can never fully erase personal opinion from the media.

So I tend to veer off onto long, irrelevant tangents, but to wrap it all up [i]not all professors teach their journalism students liberal views[/i]. I don't know who told you that, Artemis, but it's obvious that you don't have your own opinion on that subject...it sounds slightly regurgitated.

However, I do have a question that I'm curious about. What about radio stations such as NPR with their program All Things Considered? Is [i]that[/i] more of a conservative bias? Maybe I was just incredibly wrong when I assumed it held more liberal views than conservative ones. But, hey, that's why I'm asking because I'd like to be informed. I know far less about the Right and Left side of society than most of you, so it helps to hear it from those who DO know what they're talking about...unlike me... :huh:[/color]

[James]

[color=#707875]Jenna, it sounds like your professors are doing the right thing. There are some journalism professors who do teach very leftist viewpoints...and when that happens, it becomes a problem. It's a problem because you're learning a political ideology and not a [i]skill[/i] of journalism.

It depends on the format. If you are reporting news, you cannot inject any opinion into the piece. It's very possible to do this and it's interesting to see the ways in which news itself can be spun.

I've noticed that as far as raw news reporting itself goes...Fox and CNN spin things equally, just in opposite directions.

And that's simply bad journalism, no matter what side of the fence you're on.

But then there are opinion shows and whatnot. Fox in particular is made up mostly of this type of program. I get a different version of CNN to what America gets, though CNN International has many of the same shows. CNN International is just as biased though, unfortunately.[/color]

[DeathBug]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by BabyGirl [/i]
[B][color=deeppink] What about radio stations such as NPR with their program All Things Considered? Is [i]that[/i] more of a conservative bias? Maybe I was just incredibly wrong when I assumed it held more liberal views than conservative ones.:[/color] [/B][/QUOTE]

Actually, NPR is the most liberal scource of media information Iv'e ever heard. Really. It's in no way "Unbiased".

[outlawstar69]

Has anyone here ever watched BBC, any station? Do you notice the difference between their 'world news' and ours? (meaning abc, cbs, etc.) Whenever I watched BBC, I always noticed a difference in how they presented their news. They were usually unbiased, and had a lot more "world" news. They actually talked about things happening elsewhere in the world. How many times on our networks do you hear a forgien president's name, or what they're doing, unless it concerns us? It's been a while since I've seen it, since our local pbs took it off, but watching it you could tell that it was a good news network, if you know what I mean. They are, afterall, the biggest news network in the world. They have branches in most countries, including ours: BBC america, I do beleive. Well, I was just asking. Please post your feedback on my opinions :babble: .

[Guest Crimson Spider]

To prevent giving into these biased opinions in my areas media, I ask myself 1 thing.

"What are they NOT telling me about the situation?" You see, it's like reading a tabloid that is more... forgetting word... reliable in certain ways. The news says stuff about many things, and does't include other facts that may be on it.

[sarcasm]So I'll take my sword and hack off my left foot the day the media becomes unbiased.[/sarcasm]

[The Original]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Kent [/i]
[B]*BTW Ken* Her name is spelled Ann Coulter. Funny how a liberal picked up that mistake. Lol.


Oh thanks... I kinda knew I spelled it wrong though... being that the "(sp?)" was behind the original attempt at spelling the name.

But hey, thanks for pointing it out, otherwise Im not sure if people would have known what I was talking about.

I should also mention what a big deal it is about a liberal picking up on that... geez I dont know what I would have done

Anyway, I can see where this is going, and Im getting out now.

I gave up on discussions about important social/political issues here on the boards. (for many reasons, but most would end up insulting someone, sorry about that.)

Just remember everyone, this is a simple thread about percieved bias in the media, not just another chance to knock on your political opposition.

Although Im glad to see liberals pulling their wieght here on the board.

Gotta keep the place fair and balanced, right? :D:laugh: [/B][/QUOTE]

[QUOTE] [i] Originally posted by Drix D'Zanth [/i]
[B]I have an idea... let's quote Al Franken instead of creating our own opinions. No.. wait... let's quote him. Because when I think "fair and balanced", I think Al Franken....[/B][/QUOTE]


Lol, sorry guys. I sometimes can get a bit wound if I have the chance to battle a conservative. Wait, didn;t I say I wasn't a political buff in Drix's thread about Hillary Clinton?....Crap, guess that negates this, doesn't it? I guess I just like arguing. Lol. And I was bein' a tad sarcastic with the "I'm a a smart liberal" thing Ken. As for using quotes from Al Frankten, sorry 'bout that, but i [i]was[/i] trying to answer the question. The question was, is there a political bias in the media. I was just saying I agreed with Al Frankten's, that there is not a liberal bias. Besides, I see quotes from outside sources on the site all the time? What, I can't use 'em just because I'm a liberal?

Again, sarcastic! Joke! Lol. :laugh:

[Harry]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by outlawstar69 [/i]
[B]Whenever I watched BBC, I always noticed a difference in how they presented their news. They were usually unbiased, and had a lot more "world" news. [/B][/QUOTE]
When you say unbias, you mean "Anti-American" right? Because that's what it is.

[outlawstar69]

Well, just because it is different does not mean it's unamerican. I was trying to make the point that most of the rest of the world knows what is happening in the US, such as the name of our president and so forth, yet we americans (for the most part, sadly) would be hard pressed to do the same. How many Joe Schmoes out there could say who the leader of Norway is? Or many other countries for that manner? Why is it that our news talks about.. well, us? I can't remember a time when i last heard about news from another country that wasn't about some diaster, or whenever it wasn't a country our leaders are visiting. (By the way, not all countries are "anti american". Keep in mind that every country puts a different spin on their "news", including ours.)

[lea]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Harry [/i]
[B]When you say unbias, you mean "Anti-American" right? Because that's what it is. [/B][/QUOTE]
ah, of course! america can do no wrong!!!
america is always right, you know
(notice the sharp sting of sarcasm, for those who cant tell)

[Harry]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by lea2385 [/i]
[B]ah, of course! america can do no wrong!!!
america is always right, you know
(notice the sharp sting of sarcasm, for those who cant tell) [/B][/QUOTE]
No, it's more like "Look at what AMERIKKKA is doing to this children!!!! WElL NOT DIRECTLY DOING BUT THROUGH ISRALeE... WELL THEY WERE ONLY RETALIATIGN TO TERRORISTs!!! BUT EVIL AMERIKKKA!!!!"

[Artemis]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by outlawstar69 [/i]
[B]I was trying to make the point that most of the rest of the world knows what is happening in the US, such as the name of our president and so forth, yet we americans (for the most part, sadly) would be hard pressed to do the same. How many Joe Schmoes out there could say who the leader of Norway is? Or many other countries for that manner?[/B][/QUOTE]
LOL :laugh: Yeah, I went to World Youth Day in Canada two summers ago. It was actually very embarassing talking to people from other countries. A bunch of Canadian guys were rattling off names of our states and their capitals, and most of us couldn't even name their territories, let alone their Prime Minister. I think we have this attitude in the U.S. that were the number 1 country and that everyone else should just look up to us. (Not that I'm unpatriotic. I still get tearied-eyed listenin' to "Proud to Be an American") :bawl:
By the way, the book I was referring to is actually written by the guy from CBS who worked in the liberal situations. He's something Goldberg (can't remember the first name). I've never read Ann Coutler's book. The Goldberg guy happens to be a liberal, and it says something that a liberal can flat our say that MOST TV media is liberal-biased. And, when I mentioned that most journalists learn liberal journalism in college, I didn't mean that it's necessarily done intentionally. It's completely natural for your own views to affect the way you teach. (My government teacher thinks that liberalism is going to bring down America...) As much as possible, I try to stay outside of it, but my background and upbringing make me unavoidably conservative. (Here I am, sittin' in the Mid-West.) From eveything I've heard, Fox News is rather conservative, but it only seems so dramatically conservative b/c most of the other stations are liberal. If you don't believe me, try this little test: Watch Primetime, or 20/20 or something like that. When they review anything related to government, count how many people (in Congress or where ever) that they bother to label as "conservative" or "Republican" almost as though you need to be warned or as though they stray from "status quo". Compare that to the number of times they label people as "liberal" or "Democratic". The reason is that they think of most liberals as "middle of the road" b/c that's what they (the reporters) are.
I'll try to write more on this later (I need to reread the book.) I'm working on articulating my points better. (I'm not always very clear, am I?)
Oh well, time for me to fly the moon across the sky... (giggles) :smooch:
~Night Goddess~