Discussion: Media, The Press, Journalism, Cable News, Media Bias, and Other Media Issues

[Kelly]

Well, if you want good solid news coverage of North Africa and the Middle East.... Al Jazerra is the channel to go to. They did a special report on Sudan that was incredible. Every once in awhile you will see a "Muslim slant" to the coverage, but I honestly can't give a specific example from any of the specials I have seen. I can just feel it here and there...nothing major.

It is far different from the website....

 

[Thundercrack85]

RT is actually worse than Fox News. Which is saying something.

I never cared for the Young Turks. That Cenk Uygur is a blowhard. Not to mention an Armenian genocide denier... which makes the name of the channel rather unsettling.

 

[Lilbaz]

Al Jazeera have a British news station. Yet it is illegal for Fox to have one due to bias. Murdoch has tried for years to get this law changed (that television news have to be balanced and impartial) yet has failed. Thankfully we have enough trouble with the newspapers.

 

[Victarion]

Merry War on Christmas, all.

 

[The Overlord]

I think its stories like this one, where an anchor on Fox News dismiss the CIA torture report because "America is Awesome", where Fox News presents itself as a parody of news, rather then real news:

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/fox-host-cia-torture-america-awesome

 

[floreairfoot]

"Torture"... I feel so bad for them.

 

[BatmanVSuperman]

Fox news is certainly more entertainment than actual news. Like MSNBC, they usually push a narrative through each program and host they have. Hannity would make a story out of anything negative to Obama, and really just seems to go after him. Sometimes the pundits seem to forget that Obama is the President after all. I know some people hate on CNN, but imo they seem to report things less biased than both Fox news and MSNBC. Just my opinion of course

 

[The Overlord]

"Torture"... I feel so bad for them.

Whether you feel bad for them or not is irrelevant. Not mention in a couple of cases, the CIA tortured an innocent man due to a bureaucratic mistake.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalid_El-Masri

http://www.newsweek.com/man-wrongfully-detained-cia-sees-acknowledgement-torture-report-291121


Whether you like it or not, torture is prohibited both by the US constitution and the Geneva convention. The US shouldn't impose rules on others that they don't follow.

If the US government wants torture, why don't they pass an amendment allowing for torture in the constitution and pull out of the Geneva convention? Why don't they be honest with the world and themselves?

Japanese soldiers were prosecuted for water boarding in WWII, why is it okay for Americans do it now?

 

[DA_Champion]

Japanese soldiers were prosecuted for water boarding in WWII, why is it okay for Americans do it now?

A war crime only gets prosecuted if the war criminal loses his war.

It's why the international criminal court is a joke. They went after Slobodan Milosevic but they'll never go after Tony Blair or even Benjamin Netanyahu.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Fox news is certainly more entertainment than actual news. Like MSNBC, they usually push a narrative through each program and host they have. Hannity would make a story out of anything negative to Obama, and really just seems to go after him. Sometimes the pundits seem to forget that Obama is the President after all. I know some people hate on CNN, but imo they seem to report things less biased than both Fox news and MSNBC. Just my opinion of course

Here's how I see it.

CNN is the least evil of the bunch. They actually want to report on the news but unfortunately, they're too focused on things like Twitter and downed airplanes.

MSNBC has bipolar syndrome. During the morning it's like watching NBC News the Cable Channel, but when its primetime line-up comes on they make Fox News look subtle in comparison with the bias. Also, their pundits represent what I hate the most about the American left.

Fox News is exactly what you say, it's more entertainment than news and I hate it for dumbing down America's conservatives. But at least their consistent with their bias, unlike MSNBC, by being biased all of the time, as opposed to half of the time.

 

[hippie_hunter]

No love on the list for The Young Turks?

Even though this was posted in October, I must say that the Young Turks is absolutely terrible.

 

[SV Fan]

MSNBC......when its primetime line-up comes on they make Fox News look subtle in comparison with the bias. Also, their pundits represent what I hate the most about the American left.

Fox News is exactly what you say, it's more entertainment than news and I hate it for dumbing down America's conservatives. But at least their consistent with their bias, unlike MSNBC, by being biased all of the time, as opposed to half of the time.

This is the way I view it when it comes to prime time lineups, I think MSNBC doesn't manufacture it's news as much as FOX(ie they don't have stories geared towards birthers, or blaming Obama for gas prices, etc) that being said they spend way more time finding any little thing on Republican back benchers(or the clown car conservatives) like Bachmann, Gohmert, King, etc to tell their narrative. For Fox News it's basically attack the unholy trinity of Obama, Reid and to a lesser extent Pelosi, for MSNBC it's find any little piece of dirt you can dig up about any Republican

I do think on a whole(or at least starting around 4pm) MSNBC spends way more time trashing republicans then FOX trashes Democrats

On the Subject of FOX news is anybody else disappointed with their lack of coverage for the War on Christmas this year? It was always good for a few chuckles but I think O'Rielly officially declared it won.

 

[hippie_hunter]

This is the way I view it when it comes to prime time lineups, I think MSNBC doesn't manufacture it's news as much as FOX(ie they don't have stories geared towards birthers, or blaming Obama for gas prices, etc) that being said they spend way more time finding any little thing on Republican back benchers(or the clown car conservatives) like Bachmann, Gohmert, King, etc to tell their narrative. For Fox News it's basically attack the unholy trinity of Obama, Reid and to a lesser extent Pelosi, for MSNBC it's find any little piece of dirt you can dig up about any Republican

I do think on a whole(or at least starting around 4pm) MSNBC spends way more time trashing republicans then FOX trashes Democrats

Yeah, I'd say that's a fair assumption.

On the Subject of FOX news is anybody else disappointed with their lack of coverage for the War on Christmas this year? It was always good for a few chuckles but I think O'Rielly officially declared it won.

I think he did win it IMO. Nowadays I barely see anyone say Happy Holidays. It's almost all Merry Christmas once again. I think most people have shifted to the feeling that whether it's Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukkah or whatever, it feels more heartfelt and genuine to say the holiday that you celebrate as opposed to saying the generic Happy Holidays.

And we're not seeing many complaints about things like Nativities and Christmas Trees because frankly no one gives a ****, and evangelical atheists are *****.

 

[SV Fan]

I think he did win it IMO. Nowadays I barely see anyone say Happy Holidays. It's almost all Merry Christmas once again. I think most people have shifted to the feeling that whether it's Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukkah or whatever, it feels more heartfelt and genuine to say the holiday that you celebrate as opposed to saying the generic Happy Holidays.

And we're not seeing many complaints about things like Nativities and Christmas Trees because frankly no one gives a ****, and evangelical atheists are *****.

Let's be honest here the whole War on Christmas was a pile of poop, they would find one or 2 little stories happening in the country and declare it a war basically on Christianity(because all the viewers of the show are old and christian and need something to be fearful about). Fox did this for so many years it became a joke basically(to the point I think the left enjoyed the Fox coverage more then the right, just to see how absurdly ridiculous Fox would get)

In terms of Christmas, if you look at how Christmas was treated in the late 1700s and early 1800s, you could make more of a case of a "War on Christmas" then then now. Now it feels like Christmas season starts after Thanksgiving and lasts a good month.

By saying Fox or O'Reilly won the war on Christmas would be saying their actually was a War on Christmas and it just wasn't something manufactured up by the right wing media complex to get ratings, sell books, etc.

 

[Victarion]

I watch Fox News for Red Eye.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Let's be honest here the whole War on Christmas was a pile of poop, they would find one or 2 little stories happening in the country and declare it a war basically on Christianity(because all the viewers of the show are old and christian and need something to be fearful about). Fox did this for so many years it became a joke basically(to the point I think the left enjoyed the Fox coverage more then the right, just to see how absurdly ridiculous Fox would get)

In terms of Christmas, if you look at how Christmas was treated in the late 1700s and early 1800s, you could make more of a case of a "War on Christmas" then then now. Now it feels like Christmas season starts after Thanksgiving and lasts a good month.

By saying Fox or O'Reilly won the war on Christmas would be saying their actually was a War on Christmas and it just wasn't something manufactured up by the right wing media complex to get ratings, sell books, etc.

Well duh. But O'Reilly still won it.

 

[chamber-music]

Satirists like Charlie Brooker, John Oliver and John Stewart sometimes do a better job at news reporting than cable news networks.

 

[SV Fan]

Well duh. But O'Reilly still won it.

Can't win something that doesn't exist, unless you are saying O'Reilly found an easy way to keep viewers interested by making up news, hence he won by keeping his ratings high.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Can't win something that doesn't exist, unless you are saying O'Reilly found an easy way to keep viewers interested by making up news, hence he won by keeping his ratings high.

Elements of it existed, O'Reilly just completely blew it out of proportion. And he was able to tap into society's irritation of being so damn needlessly PC.

 

[Kelly]

Exactly, maybe there isn't an actual "war on Christmas" but it did bring up other issues that are getting pathetically ridiculous and that is the PC crowd.

 

[The Overlord]

Elements of it existed, O'Reilly just completely blew it out of proportion. And he was able to tap into society's irritation of being so damn needlessly PC.

I'm sorry, but I have as much sympathy of people who are unhappy with the term "Happy Holidays" being used instead of "Merry Christmas" as I do people from Gamer Gate who complain about ethics in video gaming journalism, i.e none. This is such a first world problem, if this is the worst thing that happens to you during the day, consider that a good day. I consider it a very trivial and petty thing to get upset over.

"Happy Holidays" is not ruining Christmas, greed and commercialism is and those are the things a lot of conservatives seem to admire. You want to make Christmas meaningful and spiritual, go to a soup kitchen over the holidays and help the less fortunate, which something Jesus commanded of his followers, instead of getting angry at the overworked, under payed clerk at Walmart who dared to say "Happy Holidays". I think if people truly wanted to make Christmas more spiritual and meaningful, they spend their energy on important things, rather then things that petty and trivial.

I have no sympathy for Bill O'Reilly and his "war against Christmas" because it is pointless manufactured outrage at a petty and trivial issue, that completely ignores a greater point, about both life and Christianity.

 

[Thundercrack85]

Christmas doesn't exist without greed and commercialism. Without those it's called Yule and / or Saturnalia.

It's an inherently corporatist holiday that is masked, rather poorly as some sort of religious celebration, even though Christ wasn't born in Winter.

 

[The Overlord]

Christmas doesn't exist without greed and commercialism. Without those it's called Yule and / or Saturnalia.

It's an inherently corporatist holiday that is masked, rather poorly as some sort of religious celebration, even though Christ wasn't born in Winter.

Well then I really don't this "Merry Christmas" vs. "Happy Holidays" debate.


I think people could use Christmas, no matter what its origins, to help the poor and do good deeds. I think a holiday can be as spiritual and meaningful as you make it, heck if people used the winter solstice as an excuse to do good works, I would care more about the good deeds then I would the meaning of the day behind them.

I'm not even religious, but if people use religion and holidays to do good things, then I would be thankful to them, likewise I have scorn to those religion and holidays to get upset over petty and trivial things.

That is the problem with modern American conservatism, they only seem to be interested in the trappings of Christianity, rather then any meaningful message it has. It becomes all about imposing your will on others, rather then true personal sacrifice and the judgmental attitude I see from many conservative Christians seem akin to that of the Pharisees.

Bill Reilly is a Pharisee, he is a judgmental person who thinks morally superior to others and engages in the deadliest sin of all, pride.

I might not agree with a lot of Mother Theresa's opinions, she was pretty conservative in many ways, but she lived a life that was dedicated towards others who were less fortunate, she deserves some admiration for that. Bill O'Reilly uses Christianity pump up his own ego, feel superior to others and serve his own career, he deserves no respect.

 

[Kelly]

I'm sorry, but I have as much sympathy of people who are unhappy with the term "Happy Holidays" being used instead of "Merry Christmas" as I do people from Gamer Gate who complain about ethics in video gaming journalism, i.e none. This is such a first world problem, if this is the worst thing that happens to you during the day, consider that a good day. I consider it a very trivial and petty thing to get upset over.

"Happy Holidays" is not ruining Christmas, greed and commercialism is and those are the things a lot of conservatives seem to admire. You want to make Christmas meaningful and spiritual, go to a soup kitchen over the holidays and help the less fortunate, which something Jesus commanded of his followers, instead of getting angry at the overworked, under payed clerk at Walmart who dared to say "Happy Holidays". I think if people truly wanted to make Christmas more spiritual and meaningful, they spend their energy on important things, rather then things that petty and trivial.

I have no sympathy for Bill O'Reilly and his "war against Christmas" because it is pointless manufactured outrage at a petty and trivial issue, that completely ignores a greater point, about both life and Christianity.

Hmmm....I don't know that sympathy is needed. I celebrate Christmas the way I want to celebrate it, and if others want to call it the Holidays, Christmas, or nothing at all, as a Christian? I could really care less. I think it is silly that both ends of the spectrum get so bent out of shape over the whole thing.

 

[Thundercrack85]

I don't think half the people on Fox News believe the things they say. They may be bigots, but they're not as ignorant as they present themselves.

I remember when Jon Stewart had a segment on Gretchen Carlson pretending to be an idiot (claimed she didn't know what a czar was). Even though she graduated from Stanford with honors.

O'Reilly went to ****ing Harvard. Yet he still tries to play that everyman schtick.