I actually feel very bad for mitt...

Iamamartianchurch · 08-07-2012, 05:55 PM

Yeah I meant to quote you.

I can't recall ever hearing Palestine was a beacon of prosperity. Am I missing something?

LOL Renegade · 08-07-2012, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheSilentAssassin

Let's move away from the media for a second. Are you denying that Mitt Romney (and his press secretary) made several gaffes during his trip? I am not asking you whether it was a failure or not. Simply, did Mitt Romney make a couple big mistakes during his trip?

Of course he made several gaffes, but all they seem to focus on is those gaffes and none of the positives.

Quote:

Originally Posted by F1VENOM

I'm talking about Rush, O'Rielly and Beck.

Is it misguiding when Fox publishes articles about Obama in a negative light?

You seem to think Fox is perfect but the other "mainstream" outlets are out to get Romney.

Fox is far from perfect. Our media as a whole is a giant pile of bull****. I just think in the midst of all this garbage, Fox is probably the most go-to source in my opinion. At least as far as national news is concerned.

frankie says chillax · 08-07-2012, 05:59 PM

nobody on fox ever gives a legit source of info backing up any claim. it's just propaganda. "vote out obama or he'll turn america into a socialist, athiest dictatorship and include death panels in his healthcare system"

to say it's the most "go-to source" is pretty stupid. half isn't even news, just biased commentary.

Iamamartianchurch · 08-07-2012, 06:01 PM

I have a question. Is the problem with mainstream media outlets their news reporting or their pundits?

TheSilentAssassin · 08-07-2012, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iamamartianchurch

Yeah I meant to quote you.

I can't recall ever hearing Palestine was a beacon of prosperity. Am I missing something?

The insult wasn't saying that Palestine was economically poor. It was saying that Palestine was economically poorer because their culture wasn't good enough. It is also insulting to say that Palestine is economically struggling because of their culture while ignoring the huge obstacles PUT ON THEM BY THE COUNTRY HE IS COMPARING THEM TO.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LOL Renegade

Of course he made several gaffes, but all they seem to focus on is those gaffes and none of the positives.

Which positives would you prefer they focus on?

Iamamartianchurch · 08-07-2012, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheSilentAssassin

The insult wasn't saying that Palestine was economically poor. It was saying that Palestine was economically poorer because their culture wasn't good enough. It is also insulting to say that Palestine is economically struggling because of their culture while ignoring the huge obstacles PUT ON THEM BY THE COUNTRY HE IS COMPARING THEM TO.

Calm down.

I said what I said because culture has a whole **** lot to do with the health of your nation. In the void of Isreal, do you think Palestine would be that stellar of a state?

LOL Renegade · 08-07-2012, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frankie says chillax

nobody on fox ever gives a legit source of info backing up any claim. it's just propaganda. "vote out obama or he'll turn america into a socialist, athiest dictatorship and include death panels in his healthcare system"

to say it's the most "go-to source" is pretty stupid. half isn't even news, just biased commentary.

Come on frank. You and I both know nobody worth watching on that channel is saying that (Stossel, O'reilly, Williams, etc.)

Every once in a while they'll get a guest that's pretty far out there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iamamartianchurch

I have a question. Is the problem with mainstream media outlets their news reporting or their pundits?

I'd say it's a combination of both. Different pundits have different ways of commentary/reporting. If I may use Fox as an example, O'reilly leans right but often gives his guests the benefit of the doubt, a lot more than people give him credit for. If you go on youtube and type in Bill O'reilly, what will you find? All of his worst moments conveniently propped up there for everyone to bash him on.

Beck on the other hand is slightly more firm about his views.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheSilentAssassin

The insult wasn't saying that Palestine was economically poor. It was saying that Palestine was economically poorer because their culture wasn't good enough. It is also insulting to say that Palestine is economically struggling because of their culture while ignoring the huge obstacles PUT ON THEM BY THE COUNTRY HE IS COMPARING THEM TO.

Which positives would you prefer they focus on?

It's not even about focusing on the positives as much as giving all the negative press a rest. They cover it all but all they show/comment on is the worst parts they could find. It's like MTV's Real World.

spracks21 · 08-07-2012, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iamamartianchurch

I have a question. Is the problem with mainstream media outlets their news reporting or their pundits?

The news executives decide the bias of the network. The pundits are just talking heads meant for the public to identify with.

I'd say the problem is our modern culture of needing to be entertained 100% of our time, and seemingly having our attention spans reduced more and more every day. You know it's bad when studies come out citing smart phone usage as one of the biggest contributing factors in poor posture and back pain.

We live in a busy time now days, so we have gotten used to multitasking and blocking out the things that don't interest us.

So, the news has to grab our attention to stay in business. That means bold claims, misleading headlines, and controversial subject matter.

Most people today don't have the time in their lives to stay up to date on every political issue. So the news outlets just deliver quick talking points, and repeat them again and again. People hear them, substitute them in for their opinion, and then proceed to look like morons when confronted in real world discussion/debate.

And since every issue now days only has 2 sides (left or right), most people can tell which stance their gut wants them to take pretty quickly, and create an instant bias before actually doing any research or fact checking.

We need to encourage more critical thinking development in our education system to counter the rise in information bombardment. It can be very difficult to see through the clouds of irrelevance and the manipulation of data. That, or we should all just turn off the TV a little more, and actually talk to eachother about things.

/long post

Edit: Although, as you like to say Martian, "To raise a child is to indoctrinate a child," so to is to report the news, means to skew the news. All we can do though is induce people to think, and hope reasonable thought prevails.

spracks21 · 08-07-2012, 06:51 PM

Worth noting, however, news outlets should not be equated in quality (Bad or good) just because they have an opposite bias. Some outlets are simply better at manipulation and skewing data, and do so more purposefully. Degree of bias is an important aspect to keep in mind when deciding where to get your news from. But just knowing there is bias is a good first step to being able to process the news without swallowing whole what is being spoon fed to you. So chew your food people.

frankie says chillax · 08-07-2012, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LOL Renegade

I'd say it's a combination of both. Different pundits have different ways of commentary/reporting. If I may use Fox as an example, O'reilly leans right but often gives his guests the benefit of the doubt, a lot more than people give him credit for. If you go on youtube and type in Bill O'reilly, what will you find? All of his worst moments conveniently propped up there for everyone to bash him on.

i'll watch full interviews and o'reily looks like a complete toolbag with no open mind.

he has calmed down a bit

TheSilentAssassin · 08-07-2012, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LOL Renegade

It's not even about focusing on the positives as much as giving all the negative press a rest. They cover it all but all they show/comment on is the worst parts they could find. It's like MTV's Real World.

What else was there to focus on though? It was either talk about his multiple gaffs or to not talk about it at all. He didn't do anything positive that was noteworthy, so they focused on the only thing that was noteworthy...

madgoat · 08-07-2012, 07:41 PM

http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla...UCLA-6664.aspx

TheSilentAssassin · 08-07-2012, 08:07 PM

http://www.brendan-nyhan.com/blog/20...oblems_wi.html
http://mediamatters.org/research/200...ks-issu/134514

Quote:

National Rifle Association of America (NRA) scored a 45.9, making it "conservative" -- but just barely.

RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research organization (motto: "OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS. EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS.") with strong ties to the Defense Department, scored a 60.4, making it a "liberal" group.
Council on Foreign Relations, whose tagline is "A Nonpartisan Resource for Information and Analysis" (its current president is a former Bush administration official; its board includes prominent Democrats and Republicans from the foreign policy establishment) scored a 60.2, making it a "liberal" group.

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), bête noire of the right, scored a 49.8, putting it just on the "conservative" side of the ledger.

Center for Responsive Politics, a group whose primary purpose is the maintenance of databases on political contributions, scored a 66.9, making it highly "liberal."

Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a defense policy think tank whose board of directors is currently chaired by former Representative Dave McCurdy (D-OK), scored a 33.9, making it more "conservative" than AEI and than the National Taxpayers Union.