Comments on musings and misadventures: HTT - News Edition

I have written for 5 newspapers (everything from B...

2008-08-13T17:12:00.000-05:00

I have written for 5 newspapers (everything from BYU's student paper and LDS-owned Deseret News to an admittedly-liberal Park City paper and the Salt Lake Tribune) and I have never been instructed on what "slant" to put on a story, nor have any of my stories been rejected or changed to comply with a specific bias.

Think about a doctor trying to create a completely sterile room for a surgery . . . it's never going to happen. There will always be germs, always be microbes, always be "bad air." But they do everything they can to keep it sterile and then move on. Some doctors are better at maintaining a sterile field than others.

Journalists are the same way. They just can't throw away years of building opinion and experience. They try their best to fairly represent both sides, and some are better than others at doing so -- but completely unbiased, unopinionated, unslanted, and unhuman coverage isn't reality.

I think in general journalism tries to be fair. I...

2008-08-11T10:58:00.000-05:00

I think in general journalism tries to be fair. I agree with most of what you said. I think a lot rests upon the listeners to recognize the bias that will naturally be there. For example, my brother feels concerned that his students at a church run university think that Steven Colbert tells the news like it is. I am definitely no knocking Colbert Report, as I think he is one of the funniest men alive. But it does frighten me that some people may think it's serious. I suppose we all lean towards news that is slanted in the way we see the world, because most of us think we're fair and unbiased in our own opinions.

I can't resist posting on this one. I can see you...

2008-08-07T09:49:00.000-05:00

I can't resist posting on this one. I can see your point. Which I guess is why I've shied away from network news over the last however many years. I don't have time to do the same thing with tv that I do with newspapers. That's reading multiple ones from across the country. I will also admit that I still pick the ones that I agree with the "voice" in which it's written.

I do have issues when people will say they feel they understand an issue or know a candidates stand because they've watched the news. To me one source is never enough research. In fact I'd say two sources don't work either in that situation. Because of the details they choose to give as result of targetting their audience it's not a completely acurate picture. In that sense, there is influance. I'm not sure if I fault the news for that though. Maybe a little. Especially when information is so readily available.

I do also think that when the media chooses which details to report and what focus they place on a issue they create feelings about that issue and candidate. Some inconsequential issues get blown out of proportion based on the media perceptions. If we as a public don't research then we are then left with the original bias as a starting point for forming our own opinion. Even if we see the story that was reported as unimportant it can leave an impression that influences the final decision.

But as I said, I'm not sure with whom I get more frustated. The media - who is trying to make money and keep afloat in a digital age where information is available from many different sources OR the consumer that doesn't take advantage of that information to make a more informed decision.

I guess I got long-winded too... sorry.

Ahh #$%@ there's a new cheese steak place opening ...

2008-08-06T13:39:00.000-05:00

Ahh #$%@ there's a new cheese steak place opening up?

Not being a real newspaper reader (moving 8 times ...

2008-08-06T00:19:00.000-05:00

Not being a real newspaper reader (moving 8 times in three years puts the kybosh on recieving a daily paper) I have realized that most local news outlets seem to be pretty trustworthy. I don't find much bias in my daily Fresno Bee or my local channel 5 newscast. Having said that, I don't always agree that large newspaper/news outlets (i.e- USA Today, the NY Times, the Chicago Tribune,CNN, MSNBC) are completely without bias. Having a father who worked in the newspaper business for 16 years, I know that each paper has a reputation for being liberal or conservative and most do not try to hide that fact. So that's my opinion on the matter. Hope it makes sense...

I can't say thank you enough for this. At least SO...

2008-08-05T14:46:00.000-05:00

I can't say thank you enough for this. At least SOMEBODY gets it. I'm human, yes, and have my own biases, but I never let that creep in. I love how one side of my family thinks I'm a Democrat while the other thinks I'm a Republican. With my job, it doesn't matter what I think. I'm supposed to present both sides and then let people decide after that.

I don't know how something written by people, who ...

2008-08-05T12:38:00.000-05:00

I don't know how something written by people, who have personal opinions and values doesn't have some type of bias to it.

I definitely think that the media is biased. I ho...

2008-08-05T12:28:00.000-05:00

I definitely think that the media is biased. I honestly don't know how much of that is b/c they report what they think people want to hear or because they are getting funding (advertisements etc) from certain groups. However, without lying there are definitely ways to present the same topic in 2 radically different ways. Take "big oil" for instance (the name in and of itself is already getting people on the "we hate big business" bandwagon). My husband works for an oil company and the articles that he sends me are crazy-that oil companies make about 10% profit and the govt makes about 18% profit through taxes etc. However, in the most of the media you hear about the huge profits that oil companies are making etc. So who is right? Both are. But, one is coming from a "oil companies are evil" standpoint and the other is coming from the oil company standpoints itself. My beef with the mainstream media is how we usually only hear one side of a given story, and thus I definitely think that our media is biased. I rarely think that things are as one dimensional as presented in the media.

news organizations are biased, and are going to pl...

2008-08-05T11:50:00.000-05:00

news organizations are biased, and are going to play to their base. understandable i guess. BUT i think it is possible to be too biased. when you start report fictitious things as facts just to please your base and bring in viewers, that is irresponsible and not okay. that is not news.

My biggest problem with the media is why "serious" tv journalist are too scared to call people on their crap. Tim Russert asked the hard questions, but i dont feel like anyone else does. his death was a HUGE loss for the news community.

Also, I feel that I shouldn’t have to go digging for news. i will come across something big and wonder “why isn’t this more of a big deal? Why isn’t this being covered on the news?”

They need to start giving us information that we need and let us go dig for the information that we want, you know, like what brangelina’s kids had for breakfast this morning.

sometimes i think my sister should write my tuesda...

2008-08-05T11:33:00.000-05:00

sometimes i think my sister should write my tuesday posts.

ginny, amen. you said what i wanted to say, but better.

I feel a long comment coming on, so apologies in a...

2008-08-05T11:22:00.000-05:00

I feel a long comment coming on, so apologies in advance... I think the commentators here are right in that the media IS slanted, but Mrs. Dub is definitely right in that the slant of any given media organization only reflects that of its readership/viewership. It's capitalism--plain old supply and demand economics, and in an age where so much free information is available, each outlet is willing to give its reader whatever the reader wants just so they can count that reader when they hold their palms out to their advertisers (their only source of revenue). I worked for a celebrity news channel for a short time and I can attest to the fact that said channel was only reflecting public opinion, NOT trying to form it. The result was a lowest common denominator of sorts.

That said, is the fact that the media only feeds us what we ask for to our detriment? Does the fact that it shines its spotlight on some global causes but not others influence how funds are spent and which wars are fought? If you think so, then read Manufacturing Consent by Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky (1988), or really anything by Chomsky published since then if you want something more current. (You asked for book recommendations a few days ago, didn't you)? But beware, Chomsky is definitely slanted and not for those who like their news with three sides of Jolie-Pitt twins.

I think that SOME of these people live in a parall...

2008-08-05T10:42:00.000-05:00

I think that SOME of these people live in a parallel universe and they think EVERYBODY thinks like they do and so they don't consider themselves biased. But where the story is placed either in the paper of the newscast tells a lot about the station's/paper's philosophy. You have to learn to take some sources with a grain of salt. (I love the "Coffee is good for you" story - sponsored by the coffee growers of america or something like that!!!)

That's one reason i love the 'Net because it's easier to access a wide range of sources.

It does drive me nutty how they emphasize the negative so much. If it bleeds, it leads. I also hate how our society is soooooo stinkin' hooked on celebrity news. How many more celebrity news shows can there be? And WHY do I/should I care?

Other than that, I have no strong feelings on the matter...

Sorry, but your writing this HTT has not changed m...

2008-08-05T10:08:00.000-05:00

Sorry, but your writing this HTT has not changed my mind at all. Americans are smart--for the most part--we can tell if something is slanted. We don't need someone to tell us that it is not. We can decide for ourselves if we think it is, make our own judgements, and then choose to either agree with the slant or not. It's okay that the news is biased, I just think it is funny that they try not to admit it. I believe that some news organizations even receive significant contributions from liberal groups like moveon.org. Someone can correct me if I am wrong on this, but if it is true, that would mean that they are going to HAVE TO please those groups. Just a thought...

all i've ever wanted to know what which new york n...

2008-08-05T09:11:00.000-05:00

all i've ever wanted to know what which new york newspaper was actually factual,as i see you've suggested the new york post as not, does the mean the times is? i've always wanted to know that.

Oops ... that would be "what they choose" ...

2008-08-05T09:10:00.000-05:00

Oops ... that would be "what they choose" ...

I think that legitimate print media and television...

2008-08-05T09:08:00.000-05:00

I think that legitimate print media and television news media can hardly be put into the same category. I DO think that the written news (not purchased at the check-out) is largely unbiased. I sometimes question what they chose to put on the front page and what makes it back to A6, but I feel they are driven by ... reporting the news.

Television news on the other hand, can no longer be relied upon in my opinion. They are driven first and foremost by ratings. What else could possibly explain their choice of salacious stories during "sweeps" and their unrelenting drive to stick cameras in the faces of grieving victims.

But then, you knew my feelings on this, already. Have a nice day, sweetie.