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One of the big news stories out there these days is the CBS shakeup in the wake of an independent panel investigation into the story on Bush's National Guard service. There seems to be a pretty significant controversy out there having to do with media credibility and bias. In the not-too-distant past, the Jayson Blair scandal rocked the New York Times, in which a reporter was discovered to have been fabricating news stories. This resulted in the resignations of Blair and other high-level editors from the paper.
So what's your opinion on media credibility? Is there a real problem in the media with regard to credibility? Is it a systemic problem? Does the media need to reassess its standards vis-a-vis accuracy? Or is this simply a phase or a case of a few bad apples?
I personally have a problem with the credibility of the Fox Network. They are so blatantly biased in their news coverage and, often, overtly partisan, while claiming, all along, to be "fair and balanced", that I find it laughable at times, if it wasn't so serious! In my mind, they come across as being almost propagandistic in their approach to news coverage.
And yet, the argument made by many ultra-conservative news sources, to justify their often blatant partisan one-sidedness, is a so-called liberal bias in the mainstream media. Is such an assessment justified, or is it merely paranoid hogwash?
So, what's your opinion? Is the news media pandering to politicians? Is the news reliable? Is it valid? Is it true? Can you trust the news anymore, or has the media degenerated to the level of partisan propaganda (some more obviously than others, I'd say).
What I find really interesting is the recent cancellation of CNN's "debate" show "Crossfire", not long after comedian Jon Stewart made an appearance on the show and basically told it like it is. He called it partisan hackery and theater (though he did it in a riotously funny way). And now, the show has been cancelled. And that is scary, considering that Jon Stewart is a witty satirist from Comedy Central, for crying out loud... and if something he says results in the cancellation of a news show on CNN... then maybe Jon Stewart should be on CNN while Paul Begalla and Tucker Carlson should be on Comedy Central!
Anyway... what are your thoughts?
So what's your opinion on media credibility? Is there a real problem in the media with regard to credibility? Is it a systemic problem? Does the media need to reassess its standards vis-a-vis accuracy? Or is this simply a phase or a case of a few bad apples?
I personally have a problem with the credibility of the Fox Network. They are so blatantly biased in their news coverage and, often, overtly partisan, while claiming, all along, to be "fair and balanced", that I find it laughable at times, if it wasn't so serious! In my mind, they come across as being almost propagandistic in their approach to news coverage.
And yet, the argument made by many ultra-conservative news sources, to justify their often blatant partisan one-sidedness, is a so-called liberal bias in the mainstream media. Is such an assessment justified, or is it merely paranoid hogwash?
So, what's your opinion? Is the news media pandering to politicians? Is the news reliable? Is it valid? Is it true? Can you trust the news anymore, or has the media degenerated to the level of partisan propaganda (some more obviously than others, I'd say).
What I find really interesting is the recent cancellation of CNN's "debate" show "Crossfire", not long after comedian Jon Stewart made an appearance on the show and basically told it like it is. He called it partisan hackery and theater (though he did it in a riotously funny way). And now, the show has been cancelled. And that is scary, considering that Jon Stewart is a witty satirist from Comedy Central, for crying out loud... and if something he says results in the cancellation of a news show on CNN... then maybe Jon Stewart should be on CNN while Paul Begalla and Tucker Carlson should be on Comedy Central!
Anyway... what are your thoughts?
Last edited by darkhorse; 01-13-05 at 07:23 PM.
