Political Discussions
Unbiased news - does it exist?
Posted by LesleyMo • 5/19/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: news, unbiased news
I'm curious - where do you turn for news? My husband watches Fox News, which drives me insane. I watch MSNBC, which drives him equally insane. We both read the local paper which is unabashedly conservative, and I read a lot of blogs which are definitely slanted. Is there an objective news source out there?
User Comments
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Lesley, I can wholly appreciate your instigating of this discussion. The problem is, there indeed are so very few objective news sources out there today.
In terms of the major news networks, at least from what I can tell, there is not currently a single "exception to the rule" in terms of non-slanted reporting. MSNBC, the network once largely defined by conservative programming led by Tucker Carlson, Alan Keyes, and Pat Buchanan, has now veered far to the left with nothing but liberal commentators (well, sans their morning program, anchored by Joe Scarborough). We of course need not even delve into the obvious bias of FOX, and in terms of CNN, while they're a tad less ultra-partisan a network, I find their reporting itself to be mediocre at best. I feel as though anytime I turn on the network, they're reporting upon nothing but news along the lines of the Miss California debacle. There really is nowhere for us centrist folk to turn.
And, in terms of newspaper publications, our options aren't significantly better. I think the Chicago Tribune is perhaps the most "balanced" major publication out there, though it tends to lean a tad to the right. Otherwise, I cannot even stomach The New York Times/Post. -
Reality has a liberal bias. -
I like to get multiple sources of information. If you're an internet junkie, you can get your news the same place your paper does
www.reuters.com/
www.ap.org/
Foriegn news can also tell you things that you may not see here...
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/default.stm
english.aljazeera.net/
...though they do tend to have their own national bias
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Thank you! Reuters and AP - why didn't I think of that? Great suggestions.
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The BBC does not have a national bias.
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Absolutely, Agit8r. The wire services are great.
I also like the reporting on Public Television. The News Hour may cover less breadth of stories, but they go into greater depth, so I feel more informed after watching.
I would also recommend The Economist (online or print version) for international news. Their coverage has great breadth, if not always depth. -
MSNBC = very Left
CNN = slightly Left, but most balanced of major cable news
Fox News = way the *%&# out there extreme right propaganda
Reuters, AP & PBS are good, but I'd also check out NPR, C-SPAN & various online media. It's best to mix it up and formulate your own opinions. The various slants will become obvious the more sources to review.-
PBS and C-span are my two favorites, although I do read a lot of WaPo, NYtimes, US news etc and so forth, and on the radio I listen to right wing pundits (Savage, Limbaugh, Graham, Beck etc) and watch Fox news as well.
I like to know what everyone is saying.
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I get my news from the NY Times and Washington Post. I get analysis on PBS News Hour because they offer both sides in a rational setting. Also from some writers such as Paul Krugman and others from the Times and Post. For talk radio, Thom Hartman is my favorite, although he's a little further to the left than me, but he's smart and intersting. For humor, it's Keith Olbermann and the Daily Show.
To find out what the other side is complaining about, I check out the Drudge Report sometimes or the other WordPress blogs.-
NY Times and WaPo! Those are commie rags!
oh, sorry... i was listening to Sean Hannity earlier
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Yeah, anything without a right-wing spin must be a left-wing rag.
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PS: Rent or buy Outfoxed for your husband. Perhaps he'll see the light.
www.outfoxed.org/
Fox News: We deceive. You believe.™-
Thanks RuinousRight, that's worth a try! I have to leave the room when my husband starts watching that cr*p. I'm ordering the video right now.
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That's nice, dissimilar in thought requires re-education. Thank goodness LesleyMo has the "true" political position, her husband can rest easy. Whatever happened to ingesting information from all sources and political positions, and then through logical and reason formulate a perspective that accurately reflects the most probable conclusion? Now, if any of you purport to embody this designation without prejudice I would offer this reply; Liar, liar pants on fire!!!!!!
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Libertylight, I agree that it takes a variety of sources to form an accurate perspective - especially now, when so many of the sources are so skewed. I tried to watch Fox News with my husband for a while, and all I saw was hyperbole, distortion and hysteria. I probably shouldn't have called it cr*p but sorry, it's just too biased for me. That's why I posed the question for this thread. Of course, if I do find an objective news source I'll probably complain that it's boring. Is it news? Is it entertainment? Is it fiction? The boundaries are pretty blurred these days.
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Well, I find that C-span simply sticks the camera in the room, during the events as they occur (typically senate and house proceedings, debates, etc) and let's the viewer see and decide for themselves.
That's as unbiased as you can possibly get -
Agreed, but remember, he's still your husband..:-)
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I still tune into Fox News and visit their website on occasion as well. I balance their information along with other sources. However, it's good to be aware of some of their tactics and what many former FNC journalists say about the network.
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I don't get the appeal of Fox "news." You can't trust their information, they're not funny. They're just angry and nasty. But a lot of people must think it's entertaining to watch someone hurl insults because people like Sean Hannity, O'Reilly, and Limbaugh make a huge amount of money.
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I was thinking the same thing of Keith Olbermann.
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You haven't watched his show. He's a funny guy. But his "special comments" are pure commentary and hit right at the heart of Republicanism.
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Oh how I disagree with you. I do watch his show, how about his guest Garafolo? Your presumption is astounding.
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The British Broadcasting Corporation.
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I watch the PBS version o fthe BBC now instead of Jim Lehrer (why I don't get THAT PBS is beyond me, but I enjoy the view from the other side of the pond )
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Excellent. You might want to tune into the BBC World Service (radio) and online for the ultimate in world news. Amazingly it is broadcast in 32 languages.
www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/
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I noticed no right-wingers stated where they get their news from. Could it be they don't read the news because facts don't fit their ideology?
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