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Just an observation, but you can tell that most conservatives who post here get their "news", whether they admit it or not, from Fox and/or the Conservative talk show hosts like Limbaugh and Hannity. I listen to some of these clowns myself, for entertainment mostly, and some of these statements are almost direct quotes from these guys. You've got to realize these guys are entertainers first and foremost. And there's a difference between entertainment, opinion, and facts. With those guys, you never get just plain facts. They have to juice it up, add a little drama to it. Of course their whole spin is that they have the facts and the "liberal media", whoever that is, is lying and giving you misinformation or not telling you the whole story. For example , its funny how night after night, Sean Hannity brings up Rev. Wright, and complains that the mainstream media didn't put as much emphasis on the story as he did. How dare the libral media! With earthquakes and cyclones and other things going on, they should have done like Hannity and led in with Rev. Wright EVERY night. Huh? My point? We live in the 21st century and we have countless outlets for real facts without people relying on some loudmouth knucklehead to tell you how you should think about something and give you ridiculous reasons to back these opinions up. And instead of realizing it's just jokes, some people actually go out and repeat these ridiculous rantings and think they're making plenty sense. Not talking about anyone in particular here, but if the shoe fits...............

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PhunkD
yup. I got the information from a biased source. But that doesn't mean it's not true.

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ORIGINAL: henny

They've basically tapped into the same loyal demographic that conservative talk radio has tapped into, and present their editorial shows in a similar format, which I think has a lot to do with their success. But "Hannity and Colmes," "O'Reilly," (And the vast majority of Fox's -as well as MSNBC's and CNN's programing) are not news programs -they are editorial, tabloid, or political debate shows.

The only real journalism left on TV is "The News Hour With Jim Lehrer" on PBS.

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ORIGINAL: henny

I really don't take any cable news channel seriously anymore. It's very rare that you find any real "journalism" on any of the three major cable News networks. It's all just "soundbite" news cycles during the day, and then editorial/opinion shows at night. To me the most insidious thing about these networks is not any political bias, but rather their tendency to sensationalise, flatten out, and dumb down all the "news" they can get their hands on.

Fox News is basically just Talk Radio translated to a TV format. Except for a few hours in the afternoon, most of their content is just editorial and tabloid shows headed by talk radio guys (and the vast majority of these editorial shows are headed either by conservatives or conservative leaning moderates, which I think is where the accusations of right wing biases come from). They've basically tapped into the same loyal demographic that conservative talk radio has tapped into, and present their editorial shows in a similar format, which I think has a lot to do with their success. But "Hannity and Colmes," "O'Reilly," (And the vast majority of Fox's -as well as MSNBC's and CNN's programing) are not news programs -they are editorial, tabloid, or political debate shows.

And the worse thing about this, I think, is that the other competing networks have followed suit and are now remodeling their programing after a similar Fox type format to try to match their success. MSNBC, especially in the past two years with the rise of Olbermann (who's basically just a liberal version of Sean Hannity -which I mean as an insult), has basically repositioned itself as just a liberal version of Foxnews (and unfortunately its ratings have gone up as a result, so I don't think they are going to "wise up" any time soon).

So I say a pox on anyone who watches Cable News and takes it seriously.

The only real journalism left on TV is "The News Hour With Jim Lehrer" on PBS. There's no talking heads shouting, stories about celebrities, over the top rhetoric, blatant political baiting, or shallow political personal attacks. When they do host political debates they're always civil and more nuanced -which of course means that no one watches it, as it's not "entertaining" enough. They don't tap into the overly simplistic us vs them political bloodsport that dominates most of the media (and these forums) and draws audiences in by giving them a cheap rush.

It seems like people are only interested in having what they already believed validated for them nowadays, which is kind of disturbing, as I think it results in a sort of niche climate where people seek their news primarily from organizations that catter to their political interests. And I think there will be a greater level of segmentation as the internet begins to take over (although, this isn't all bad, either, as I think more voices are always good -it's only a problem if these voices appeal to just the lowest common denominator).

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ORIGINAL: amosgirl

All media is biased. If I buy the Daily Telegraph I know it'll be rightwing; if I buy the Guardian, I know it'll be leftwing. Know and understand the source and judge their perspective accordingly.

This is from the Guardian, a famously leftwing paper:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/08/barackobama.hillaryclinton

Now while this is obviously biased reporting, no-one - even the rightwing media - would deny that a significant proportion of the Appalachian population will never vote for Obama for no other reason than the colour of his skin.

....and no mainstream, self-respecting journalist whether on the right or the left would ever try to justify their point of view.

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One of Sean Hannity's famous statistics he likes to drag out is that in West Virginia and Kentucky, over 50 percent of the democratic voters found Obama untrustworthy. What he doesn't say is a lot of those people also claim that race was an issue in their decision. So basically, some of those white people don't trust ANY blacks, period.
But Hannity won't tell you that.

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If I quote a thousand sources and they're not Fox, then you'll discount them as being part of the libral media.

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They lie, then wonder in amazement why the rest of the mainstream media isn't telling the same lie and of course it's because they're libral, and that's why you should get all your news from them.

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ORIGINAL: inthysite
What about when they didn't report on Michelle Obama's racist thesis?

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This is completely off topic, but since when is Michelle Obama's thesis racist?

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ORIGINAL: inthysite

"I have found that at Princeton, no matter how liberal and open-minded some of my white professors and classmates try to be toward me, I sometimes feel like a visitor on campus; as if I really don't belong. Regardless of the circumstances underwhich I interact with whites at Princeton, it often seems as if, to them, I will always be black first and a student second."

She admits that people are being open-minded towards her which I take as meaning they are treating her with respect. But her "feelings" make her assume that the "white" professors and students will always see her as black. She doesn't say that it is anything that they do or say about her, so maybe it is because of her preconceptions that give her this attitude.

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"These experiences have made it apparent to me that the path I have chosen to follow by attending Princeton will likely lead to my further integration and/or assimilation into a white cultural and social structure that will only allow me to remain on the periphery of society; never becoming a full participant."

So now black people can only hope to become observers of a white culture, never being allowed to become a participant? She is basically stating that the white culture feels it is so superior that it will not, cannot tolerate blacks becoming a part of it.

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ORIGINAL: inthysite
We all know that if he doesn't have a prepared speech and a teleprompter in front of him the magic disappears and he sounds worse than George W. Bush.

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Struggling to hold on to viewers in an early-evening time slot, Fox News has decided to give a controversial right-wing radio host a trial run hosting a new show.

The New York Times reports that conservative talker Laura Ingraham will join a rotating series of personalities on a new 5 p.m. program. Network executives "appear to be grooming her as a new talent for the network," according to the report.

Ingraham, who frequently fills in for the brash Bill O'Reilly on Fox, has made a name for herself with a popular talk radio show that is among the top-rated in the country. Fox will need the rating help, as its previous 5 p.m. report -- America's Election HQ -- placed third last week in the advertiser-coveted 25- to 54-year-old demographic, the Times reports.

It's not just at 5 p.m. where Fox is struggling, either. The network's most recognizable loud-mouth slipped from his No. 1 spot last week among the viewers advertisers want most.

MSNBC is gloating that their star Keith Olbermann bested O'Reilly among 25- to 54-year-olds last week. It's the first time Olbermann has beaten his primary competitor among the key demographic.

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ORIGINAL: davemiller7

This year, the votes of Florida and Michigan Democrat Primary voters were severely compromised because those states didn't obey the edict that came down from on high, concerning when to have their primaries. And the media doesn't pick up on the hypocrisy.
-Dave