Lets Rate them! For Fairness, and balanced(ness)

I'm curious.
Is there a Television outlet, broadcast or Cable, that presents a view of the news that shows both sides of the big issues?
I's like to hear your opinions, or at least READ them

I think we should start out with a list of the MAJOR news outlets first.
I don't want to leave anyone out. If you'd like to include international outlets
Please list them, in your first response..Once the list is done. We can rate them on a scale of some sort...I'm open to suggestions on a rating scale as well...I want to keep this "Fair, and Balanced"!

For starters:

ABC
CBS
NBC
FNC
CNN
CNBC
MSNBC
BBC

Well, I have to tell you that I lost faith in Dan Rather a long time ago. Peter Jennings is living on the wrong side of the northern border and Tom Brokaw never uttered an honest statement in his life. CNN, well Peter Arnett says it all for me. I remember in December of 2001, when MSNBCs Brian Williams declared that the war in Afghanistan was dragging on. That was all I needed to change the channel. I don't get the BBC on cable, so that just about sums it up.

There are many things that annoy me about Fox, but all things considered, no pun intended, they do the best job of reporting, commenting on and analyzing the news.

The left hate Fox because they hate the truth. If it isn't what they want to hear, they can't stand it. There are so many liberals on Fox it makes me sick. Another reason that the left hates Fox is that when the "playing field" is level the liberal view loses. Every night you get to see how ignorant and ill-tempered these nimcompoops really are. If the argument doesn't go their way they yell, interrupt, laugh, snort, and everything they can to disrupt a rational discourse.

Ordinary people get an honest view of who the people are who support the various views and they see the truth. The left doesn't know how to deal with a fair debate.

[edit on 04/10/1 by GradyPhilpott]

I pretty much like MSN myself

To me it seems to show both sides from Cris Matthews to Joe Scarbrough who is one of my favorites.

CNN leans to the left and Foxl eans to the right, at least MSN seems to TRY to show both sides, now if they would just be fair enough to show the Libertarians and the Greens.........

Originally posted by Amuk
I pretty much like MSN myself

To me it seems to show both sides from Cris Matthews to Joe Scarbrough who is one of my favorites.

CNN leans to the left and Foxl eans to the right, at least MSN seems to TRY to show both sides, now if they would just be fair enough to show the Libertarians and the Greens.........

Good point Amuk! How can we call any of these fair and balanced if they don't reveale the whole truth? I'll stick with the Internet thank you...

I'm not fond of any of them, but Fox---minus O'Reily--is tolerable. And IMUS on MSNBC in the morning is OKAY. Metro Detroit radio WRIF has Drew and MIke in the Morning and they are quite good with current events.

I get email editions of the Christian Science Monitor and CBC (Canadian)

I for one just read my local papers.

When I do watch TV for news, I use MSNBC or CNN.

But for the most part, it's the Denver Post/Rocky Mtn News.

Local papers
Especially smaller ones, are probably one of the most accurate types of news.
Everyone knows where the reporters live...

I watch, and listen to various news sources..CNN, FOX, Talk Radio, lots of internet sources.

Originally posted by spacedoubt
ABC
CBS
NBC
FNC
CNN
CNBC
MSNBC
BBC

None of them are really good for anything in-depth, though as far as pure unspun straight 24/7 journalism goes (minus the specialty shows) CNN is the standard. It just is. It'll still be the standard when FOX is up and down and up and down years from now.

The alphabet networks are a joke except for news maganizes (which are the best at in-depth anything) where NBC has made headway, but CBS still rules the universe with 60 Minutes. Again it just does. Not ratings and Bush thing aside, it's still the gold ring.

For radio NPR is as good as it gets, for in-depth.

Now "fairness" to some people means presenting all sides, even lies without rebuttal. Not to me. Fair means presenting all cases, then stating the TRUTH and OMISSIONS. Lou Dobbs kicks butt by the way.

Thus in-depth is always better than most of the 24/7 eye candy.

But though CNN remains the standard, it's also boring. MSNBC is more interesting and presents more extremes. Again, CNN is just more even keeled and down the middle.

FOXNEWS though is so far right it's lying on it's side. Oh, it shows liberal perspectives alright. ALOT. Their way. Their people. Their spin on them. It's rigged.

But that's not my problem with Fox. It is entertaining sometimes, but I stopped my obession when Bill O'Really butchered my e-mail in editing from a scathing ironic rebuke to sounding like abject adoration and thanked me for being a fan. He's a liar. It's all rigged.

But still he's not "news" so that's fine. On the FOX "NEWS" though, I hate how they pretend to have just crawled out of bed and came to these simple everyday common joe perceptions of reality they assert (always in agreement with the Bush administration) and put 'em out there with ZERO intellectual curiousity about them.

I've been watching the Fox 'n' Fiends morning show a few hours now to see the Bush debate recovery effort. It's horribly partisan with that extra special humble effort of "but hey, what do I know? I'm just a regular guy calling 'em as I sees 'em" while all three super happy pundits jerk heads in agreement. :shk:

The worst has always been ED HILL but she gets the Saturday Morning Cartoon Show off. Today it was really the guy on the right that got to me.

After all agree Bush won on issues he adds And I really think if Bush weren't hampered by all those horrible debate rules he would have won the debate part. But he wasn't allowed to go head to head with Kerry and call him on things.

WHAT THE HELL? Of course all immediately agreed and said, yes if only it could have been a fair, real debate then Bush could have won.

These clowns do know who demanded those rules and refused to participate without protection right? OF COURSE THEY DO. They aren't stupid. They just play stupid on TV to sway opinion of less interactive informed people.

That's not news. It's propaganda.

My question to anyone here that actually likes Fox and thinks it's fair is what do you do when you hear utter crap like that go unchallenged on Fox? From the HOSTS?

You're on ATS so you know better. Do you just grin and hope it works on the stupid or wish they weren't so biased or does it just slide right over your head?

I'd seriously like some Fox Fan impressions and honest confessions.

Obvously I'm adamantly disagreeing with your assessment of why I hate Fox, Grady. So maybe you can help clarify.

You said I hate the truth. I hate the lies. My question is when Fox lies (or as in my example just pretends to be stupid) does it bother you? Do you notice?

I've previously given the example of ED HILL saying Bush landed that damn plane on the aircraft carrier and it never being corrected, so use that example too if you like. I already saw you post in the thread about the entirely fabricated story about John kerry they posted yesterday.

You said "no big deal" right? Or something to that effect?

Originally posted by RANT
For radio NPR is as good as it gets, for in-depth.
CNN is just more even keeled and down the middle.

Oh Rant .... now I understand why you are the way you are.

MSNBC and FOX for me. And Rant, I think FOX will be around
a lot longer than CNN. CNN is so dull. Not many under age 50
would ever admit to viewing it.

Fox News? hahahahaha! I nearly laughed so hard I couldn't breath and passed out. Anyways....

Bill says he is a registered Ind. Wrong! He is a registered Republican. In 1994 he registered himself as a republican. But in 1996 he said he was a registered independent. Lie! Of course he won't even tell you where he grew up. He says Levittown, a working-class town. But his mom says they grew up in blue-collar town of Westbury, and Bill went to a private school and private college, not the hardships Bill discribes. When asked about it he says he grew up in the Westbury section of Levitton. There is none. It would be like "I grew up in Manhattan, the Brooklyn section of Manhattan." There is none! Then he compares the Quran to Mein Kempf. A person asked him about it, he said he didn't, there is no proof, you can't prove it. Oh but we can! July 7, 2002 he was talking about how a North Carloina school was teaching the Quran in a sev=condary class. Bill's words about what he thought? "I don't know what this serves to take a look at our enemy's religon. See? I mean, I wouldn't give people a book during WWII on the emperor is God in japan, would you? I wouldn't read the book. And I'll tell you why: I wouldn't have read Mein Kampf either." Hmmm, sounds like he is comparing Mein Kampf to the Quran to me. Or even better! On Februrary 4, 2003, Bill interveiwed Jeremy Glick, whose father died in the WTC attacks. Glick then signed an ad that was against the Iraq war. Bill invites him to the show to explain his point, which he does, until....

Bill: I don't want to debate world politics with you.
Glick: Well, why not? This is about world politics.
Bill: Because, number one, I don't care what you think!

After this he told Glick to shut up, when Glick didn't, Bill told his engineer to cut Glicks mic. Then as Glick was leaving? "Get out of my studio before I tear you to F***ing pieces!"

Now this is one man, not the whole Fox News. But who runs it? Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes. Rupert has supported them all, from Gingrich to Thatcher, who have in return given him shady tax breaks and deregulations. But Roger? This is the guy who if he had the choice kill every last democrat and smile all the while. This man helped get both Nixon and the elected Bush elected into office. Roger is known as the Dark Prince of the Right-Wing attack politics, by the republicans. Roger also produced Rush's show. He then came up with the slogan to be used. The "fair and balanced". First thing Roger did? He cleaned house. Yep, he FIRED EVERYONE WHO WAS A LIBERAL! The then President Joe Peyronnin, quit, after he told people he thought that this was "inappropriate". He now helps run the news on Telemundo, the Spanish Channel. So, who now runs/works Fox News? Brit Hume, a ultraconservative, his wife Kim, also ultra conservative, who in her own words said that "mainstream media stories are all mushy, like AIDS, or silly like Head Start." Hmmm, silly, AIDS? I know Soth Park made fun of it, but AIDS silly? no. On Brit's show he has Fred Barnes, a republican, Mort Krondracke, a independent, and Mara Liasson, also and independent. It would be like a see-saw on the playground wher two people sit on one end and two people sit in the middle, sounds "fair and balanced" to me. Then there is Tony Snow, a former speechwriter for the elected Bush, also a republican. Then there is Hannity and Colmes After Bush's 2003 State of the Union Hannity and Colmes spoke about it. Hannity with 2,086 words, Colmes with 1,261 words. Also, Colmes isn't only a network man, he also adds toner to the copiers, and orders chinese food for the editors. Surprised he isn't a janitor to.

Fox News isn't "fair and balanced" unless you consider two people on one end of the see-saw and two in the middle balanced.

Originally posted by FlyersFan

Originally posted by RANT
For radio NPR is as good as it gets, for in-depth.
CNN is just more even keeled and down the middle.

Oh Rant .... now I understand why you are the way you are.

I listened to NPR religiously all through the eighties. It wasn't until the nineties that I realized how polluted my mind has become. Now when I hear a person tell me that they are well informed because they get their news from NPR, I just have to laugh.

Break the NPR addiction and free your mind. It was the best thing that ever happened to me--better than religious conversion.

James the Lesser,

Everything you write about O'Reilly has been refuted by O'Reilly himself. He will gladly bet you $100,000. to prove his political affiliation and he has the deed to his families home in Levttown. O'Reilly ain't Jesus, but he is what he says he is and repeating these lies only reinforces the opinion of those heer that you are a few bricks short of a load.



[edit on 04/10/2 by GradyPhilpott]

Originally posted by Jamuhn
Good point Amuk! How can we call any of these fair and balanced if they don't reveale the whole truth? I'll stick with the Internet thank you...

Problem with the internet is you have no idea what sort of checks and balances they go through, if any.

I don't totally trust any news network, but even broken clocks are right twice a day.

One word:

PBS...





Any station that not only does news but NOVA, Austin City Limits, Antiques Road Show, etc. is all right with me!

[edit on 2-10-2004 by Jazzerman]

Originally posted by Jazzerman
PBS...

Any station that not only does news but NOVA, Austin City Limits, Antiques Road Show, etc. is all right with me!

There's nothing wrong with the shows you mention but PBS is about as biased as it gets. I always liked the McLaughlin Group, but the local station got to where it would preempt it for a beanbag competition and I just got tired of chasing it around. I used to enjoy the McNeil/Lehrer Report, but the reportage got to be quite spotty, so I gave up on it.

Fox News is for the mature of mind--not perfect, but sensible, fair, and balanced in its presentation.