Thursday, 29 October 2009
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News Media's Spin Zone
I want to make one thing very clear, I hate news media. If it wasn't for the fact that it is almost the only way for us to keep in touch with the events of our world, I would discard it completely. Unfortunately it is a necessary evil that we must constantly weed through to somehow manage to find the truth in all the spins, deceptions, and flat out lies.
It seems like everytime I present some political views of mine, someone who disagrees, loves to bring up how I should "stop watching fox news" and how "You're just saying what you hear from fox news." After I get a few of these I can't wait to drop the bomb, that jaw dropping, nothing left to say moment, that never seems to get old..."I don't watch fox news!" You heard me right, I NEVER watch fox news. The last time I watched it was maybe 5 years ago. Let me pause a moment to let all of my troll readers regain their composure.
If there's anything I can't stand, it's slanted news, especially obviously slanted. Unfortunately this includes most news stations including cnn, fox, abc, nbc, msnbc, etc. It's nearly impossible to present news facts without putting a slant on it, but I'd like to hold out hope that it can be done. Unfortunately I end up having to take what I hear from many news stations, friends, internet, and try to piece together the facts from that.
I guess what I'm saying is that we all need to be as "fair and balanced" Heehee as we can, in a time when news is far from fair and balanced. Sure we can give our opinions, but don't let yourself be decieved by the spins and slants that are thrown at us daily.
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Comments (39)
I just get all my news from Colbert. Nothing slanted about that...
You know, in all my journalism classes, we were taught not to put our opinions or spin on a story, obviously that doesn't apply to "real" journalists, only those still in school.
@AlterEgo909 - Haha I suppose you're right. Ideally I'm sure they want a no spin media, but people have a very hard time not doing that.
Of course it's true that news media usually has some sort of slant.
The reason people say the Fox thing is because that's been taken to a ridiculous level...
"A white boy was beaten up by two black boys... because of Obama!"
"People are being murdered every day... because of Obama!"
"There was a tsunami in East Thailand... because of Obama!"
Most other news stations, however slanted they may be, aren't crazy. They don't try to associate every last bit of bad news with people who hold the opposite view as them.
But yeah, I agree, TV news is sort of blah. I feel like the internet is usually better - perhaps not by much, but at least online you can look things up faster and compare and contrast more easily.
I learned when a million man tea party march took place in Washington DC and none of the news media but fox covered it, how bad the slanting is. Fox at least does report both sides.
Do you realize how significant this slanting is? a MILLION people showing up in Washington were IGNORED. Yet if six people shows up at Bush's ranch, all the networks are on it.
I fear that censorship is around the corner.
@SerenaDante - Well like I said I havn't watched fox news in a very long time so I don't know about all that, but I do know that when Bush was in office media like cnn loved to go on rants about him. "Bush lied and kids died" Gas prices are high because of Bush...What about now? etc. One story that really got me was the fact that cnn(I believe) actually did a story on how "Offensive and belittling" it was for snl to do a skit on Obama! Umm hello here! How many skits have been done about every major politician. Cry me a river!
It's come to the point where we rarely watch the news anymore. Each news organization has their own agenda. Anyone who says otherwise, well go ahead and fill in the blank there. Still, it's incredibly difficult to find a news organization willing to present the facts, and just the facts. It would be nice though, wouldn't it?
@filledwithglory - I agree. See the comment of mine above. I can't get over some of this stuff.
Same here I don't watch TV news. I do not listen to talk radio and it is very rare (it has never happened) anyone saying that to me is half as well informed as I am
Haha! What a coincidence. I just blogged about this. Anyway, the paper at my school does a great job of slanting the news. I'm sure they start teaching them the tricks of the trade early on. *sigh*
The day I heard three wildly different slants on one event was the day I stopped trusting network news. The year was 1995, and it is no better now. The same happens with polls and statistics, so we can't trust them either. It comes down to picking a set of standards and living by them. For most of us, the tide of the world is completely out of our hands.
@SerenaDante - If you look back a year or so you will remember that the same ridiculous connections to all things bad were made to George Bush. People who oppose Mr. Obama are appalled at his utter disregard for mainstream America, who for all their faults and lack of knowledge, still don't want a king to rule over them.
I turn on fox news, then go on xanga and it's the same shit parroted.
When that happens, I sometimes tell the person to think for themselves and not be so gullible. It doesn't matter in the least whether you get you information from fox news or get it from one of the news sources run by the same company (wallstreet journal and NY post etc) or from some blogger who got it from fox news, limbaugh or one of the other talking heads.
@quest4god@revelife - Obama isn't in any imaginable sense, a king. You know he can only sign a bill after it's approved by the house and senate, right? This king business is ridiculous.
I think I watched Fox news during the actual elections, but who's winning an election is pretty objective. Unless you're Al Gore . . .
But yeah, I try to avoid the news media, and if I must learn about something more than just the headlines on Yahoo news I try to get it from several sources and compare.
@Simbathe2nd - Bush gave several false justifications for a war he unilaterally started, thus "bush lied, people died". How is blaming him for his actions "blaming him for everything"?
@filledwithglory - Actually it was about 70,000 according to the fire department. Fox news made up the 1 million figure. And all the networks covered it.
How does this translate into censorship?
Here's a good article. LINK
I just dont watch any news. Its boring...
really? please send me urls of any of the other network coverage. Thanks
Hi Simbs!! Trolls 'eh.
My favorite source of news is the Christian Science Monitor. For a crazier-than-average denomination of Christianity they somehow managed to sprout a news organization that to me, appears less Christianity biased than any other source. I feel like news on TV is all entertainment, so I get most of mine from paper-news websites and from blogs.
I hardly ever watch the news. Except to catch the weather forecast, maybe.
Typically, I use the internet to keep myself up to date.
I am tired of even hearing the news while listening to the radio. You really don't know who you can trust when it comes to the media.
I was on the news 2 summers ago when I sank my jet ski in Lake Michigan and was stranded in the water for 2 hours. I watched the news story later after I had been rescued and it was amazing how they got so much wrong...and that was just on a little local story - not some big national event.