Had a couple of folks recently tell me that they thought Fox News was the only really fair news source. So I'm curious as to whether any board members reeeeeally think Fox News is a fair and balance view of the news? In fair disclosure, I lean left and don't think either Fox or MSNBC are even close.
Its sad that they call their reporting fair and balanced. They arent even close. Sad thing is, there are a lot of people out there that think its the only fair network out there. The fact that Bill O'Reilly has his own segment on Fox should be one of the main indicator...
Special Report w/ Britt Hume (now Brett Baier) is the best hard news program on tv. Otherwise, lots of fluff like with any cable news channel. I think they're as fair and as balanced as any other major American news network. If you truly want fair and balanced, watch C-SPAN.
TV news is entertainment. Any person foolish enough to look to any network or news station as a principal source of information gets exactly what (s)he deserves. Would one watch ESPN if he needed to learn how to coach football? Remember, it is entertainment. If one finds a station or show pleasing to him or her, that is great. Different strokes for different folks.
I don't know if they're fair, but they at least occasionally try to be balanced. Considering the alternatives, I don't see them being that much more biased than the other network - the main difference is that they're not as good at packaging it and being subtle about it.
It is probably impossible to have a news program that is exactly fair and balanced at all times. That being said, I would request a clarification of your question. You are only asking about the news, and not the commentary programs like O'Reilly and Hannity, which do not even pretend to be "news" in the proper sense of the word. Right? If it is just the news you are asking about, and not the commentary programs, then I believe that it is safe to say that Fox is the most fair and balanced among the news channels. And I would agree with the earlier poster who states that "Special Report with Bret Bauer" is the best "news" show on television, with the very possible exception of the "Lehrer Report" on PBS.
well, for years they had a guy on that was the only ************ in the world stupid enough to lose a debate to sean hannity night after night. ******* John the Stutterer from Stern makes more sense than Colmes. and now he's gone.
Fox leans right, obviously. That said, they are absolutely killing the other cable news outlets. One reason, I think, is that you get news stories on Fox that the other TV news outlets completely ignore. You may say that those stories are BS, but often they're not.
There's no such thing as unbiased. FNC leans right. What leads to the White House induced "two minute hate" against FNC and talk radio every day is that their bias is difference from that of the Times and the Post, and the nets and major weeklies, which all follow the Times and the Post.
CNN's just not as juvenile and mendacious as MSNBC. I'll offer you the same thing I've offered several times on here (and haven't been taken up): pick a program or series of programs on CNN that we commit to watching and discussing, and dissecting, regularly. It will not be difficult to illustrate a left leaning bias when viewed critically, and not through the prism of accepting left wing assumptions at face value.
The real measure of bias for a news organization is what they leave out. What they refuse to report. That is how you tell if a news organization is fair and balanced, or not.
"Fair and balanced" is about as objective as CNN's claim to have the "Best Political Team on TV". The incessant whining about Fox News is so tired. There are numerous left leaning news media outlets and only one right leaning outlet. Jeesh!
The only people who watch Fox News are the people who already agree with it. It's more a cheering section than a news station.
Deadhorse, you may be right, but if you are then a whole lot more people have started agreeing with Fox lately.
First off, O'Reilley and Hannity are not "news", they are commentary, and both have a decided rightward tilt. (Ok, Hannity has 2 right wings The 2 "news" shows preceding them have much less of a rightward tilt. News shows (or newspaper articles) don't generally show their bias overtly, but demonstrate it by what stories they choose to cover, how much time (or space in a newspaper) they devote to it, where its located (lead story or buried at the end), how probing are the questions they ask of people they interview, what adjectives they use (for example was it enhanced interrogation or did the anchor say torture). It seems to me that NBC, CBS, CNN use less showmanship in their "news" (but why is it that CBS much have Katie Couic in soft focus), but what they report shows a decided leftward tilt. But none of those are as bad as Newsweek has gotten. I've been a Newsweek subscriber for 30 years. That will end this fall. They have ceased providing "news".
I'm about as right wing as they come but I cannot watch Hannity. It is just a broken record. I usually like O'Reilly though. Big egos don't bother me much. I can wade through that stuff.
I'd say that two glaring issues are: 1) The "vetting" of Barack Obama. It just did not happen. Very little discussion of the birth questions, or his medical records, or his academic records, or his dealings with some very questionable people. Fox talked about it, no one else did. 2) The next would be the very questionable people that Obama has appointed to his administration. Nothing outside of Fox. No one wants to touch it. I really think some liberals are moving over to Fox some just to hear some stories on BHO that they don't hear elsewhere. Even when it is your guy, you don't want to be limited to fluff pieces.
Like Coel said, I think the Special Report w/Bret Beier is a great show. Glenn Beck points out things others won't touch, but he gets a little annoying sometimes. the Fox Report isn't bad either. Overall, I do like Fox News. It gives a good dose of info that other networks don't want to expose on their endorsed politicians.
[quote1) The "vetting" of Barack Obama. It just did not happen. Very little discussion of the birth questions, or his medical records, or his academic records, or his dealings with some very questionable people. Fox talked about it, no one else did. ]2) The next would be the very questionable people that Obama has appointed to his administration. Nothing outside of Fox. No one wants to touch it.
Here is a link to the cable TV news channel ratings. The times are Eastern, and the Fox "news" shows are at 6 PM and 7 PM. That would be 5 PM and 6 PM Central time. Cable TV News Channel Ratings (5-11 PM)
