Is the American Media Biased?

[Shi Huangdi]

wait, aren't american medias (newspaper, tv, radio and etc) owned by 4-5 big corporations already?

You're right for the most part, but there is still some government funded media, such as National Public Radio. And there are rumblings about government bailouts for big newspapers, which would amount to nationalizing them. Government bailouts always have strings attached, as many American businesses have discovered. Look at GM, for instance.

Correct!

I like your attitude on the 1st Amendment. It seems that a lot of people only want to apply it to themselves.

They'll cry "Racist! Foul!" when you criticize Obama, but they're perfectly comfortable with lambasting anyone who disagrees with their sovereign perspective.

And then they come up with "Fairness Doctrine" junk. Uggh; how disgusting can you get?

Well, I don't like the left-wing Obama propaganda media, but they're free to say whatever they want. I don't want tyranny either by the Left or by the Right (although the Right is completely antithetical to tyranny since it supports the Constitution). I just want my liberty. Let competition within the free market, not politicians, decide which media outlets succeed.

Great quote from Chomsky! He's a big lib, but he got that much right.

[bushbush]

You're right for the most part, but there is still some government funded media, such as National Public Radio. And there are rumblings about government bailouts for big newspapers, which would amount to nationalizing them. Government bailouts always have strings attached, as many American businesses have discovered. Look at GM, for instance.
.

well i watched some PBS (i guess one of the few government funded media) before. It seems to me they are actually by far the most objective ones lol. I am serious. I don't think i can label guys like jim lehrer as a liberal or a conservative pundit, can i?

Well, I don't like the left-wing Obama propaganda media, but they're free to say whatever they want. I don't want tyranny either by the Left or by the Right (although the Right is completely antithetical to tyranny since it supports the Constitution). I just want my liberty. Let competition within the free market, not politicians, decide which media outlets succeed.

Great quote from Chomsky! He's a big lib, but he got that much right.

that's not necessarily a good thing. If we assume media's role is of being watchdog and educating the public, sometimes those roles go against gaining ratings and making money. So they do less of that, instead of broadcasting what 's the most entertaining, not the most important/responsible/needed information for the public.

not to mention if we let only a few big companies dominating the media, it doesn't serve the best interest of the country, that is to have a diverse opinion pool in the general public.

[Ariovistus Maximus]

We need to end all government funding of media outlets. Otherwise, there is nothing we can do without violating the First Amendment (except boycotting the lib media by not watching).

Correct!

I like your attitude on the 1st Amendment. It seems that a lot of people only want to apply it to themselves.

They'll cry "Racist! Foul!" when you criticize Obama, but they're perfectly comfortable with lambasting anyone who disagrees with their sovereign perspective.

And then they come up with "Fairness Doctrine" junk. Uggh; how disgusting can you get?

[Nikos]

OK -- the media is biased.

What now?

1. Come to TWC
2. Realize Media is biased
3.????
4. Profit

[Boer]

I think that individual sources are biased, but "the media" is not because all the different biases cancel each other out. It's really up to the news consumer to determine which bias he gets. Personally, I get a lot of different views. On a typical day I get at least some news from CBS, NBC, FOX (more for local stuff), NPR, ABC and PBS (national, Although PBS also has good weekly local news shows) and for international stuff I've been watching France24, RT, BBC and South Asian News (broadcast on local PBS stations). And those sources are not even counting the Internet.

Instead of expecting each source to be balanced people need to balance their sources.

[LSJ]

All media is biased. Even if all one does is state facts, there is still bias due to the selection of facts considered most relevant.

If media was truly unbiased, it would not matter, because the viewers pick and choose and create their own opinions that will often play down or up the importance of certain facts, attaching their own meaning to everything, creating bias any way. They choose to pay attention to all the extra crap thrown in.

What's important is not whether there is biased media, but that there is a balance created by a wide array of biases, all widely accessible. News networks of America are all ridiculous in their own way, so it works out.

[Viking Prince]

I think that individual sources are biased, but "the media" is not because all the different biases cancel each other out. It's really up to the news consumer to determine which bias he gets. Personally, I get a lot of different views. On a typical day I get at least some news from CBS, NBC, FOX (more for local stuff), NPR, ABC and PBS (national, Although PBS also has good weekly local news shows) and for international stuff I've been watching France24, RT, BBC and South Asian News (broadcast on local PBS stations). And those sources are not even counting the Internet.

Instead of expecting each source to be balanced people need to balance their sources.

Two sine wave can cancel out is the degree offset is precise, but they are still two sine waves. The media is biased. I do not absorb all of the media every minute of every day. Even if your postulation is correct, that is of no practical importance to the users. The only things that can be assumed to be true for the typical user are

• the individual report may be biased
• the bias may not be known by the user
• accumulation of information can reduce user error based on bias
• there is never a complete accumulation of information to eliminate all bias

The message is that all information may include a net bias. The user needs to rely less on the media and more on personal analysis of facts rather than other people's opinions.

[Thorn777]

Two sine wave can cancel out is the degree offset is precise, but they are still two sine waves. The media is biased. I do not absorb all of the media every minute of every day. Even if your postulation is correct, that is of no practical importance to the users. The only things that can be assumed to be true for the typical user are

• the individual report may be biased
• the bias may not be known by the user
• accumulation of information can reduce user error based on bias
• there is never a complete accumulation of information to eliminate all bias

The message is that all information may include a net bias. The user needs to rely less on the media and more on personal analysis of facts rather than other people's opinions.

LOL, and how do you explain FOX "news".

[Da Skinna]

What about Frontline programs?

I find some of the PBS shows to be very thorough, speaking to the realities of ordinary Americans.

[Pious Agnost]

I've never seen an American news show that isn't biased.

But both the Conservatives and the Liberals have them, so it balances out

[danzig]

All media, american or otherwise is biased to a degree. Want neutrality? Give everyone in the world a lobotomy and you'll have it.

[Lumina]

Only one good source of News in the United States and thats "National Public Radio" it is a none profit news organization, which stays alive because of government funding and private donation from viewers like you. *laughs*

Everyone else is either find the most epic and useless story but know you can make a killing off of it... or find something to make people worried and complainy, if that fails, find something hateful make everyone get mad at someone. You will make billions!!! Thats the American News "Industry" in a nut shell.

[CtrlAltDe1337]

Fox is biased to the right, the others are heavily biased to the left.

[Heathen Hammer]

Every media has an owner. The way media portrays things depends on their owner's views and goals. Every major media in the world is biased, not only American.

[Digbert]

Of course the media is bought and paid for

Edit 300TH post

[Barry Goldwater]

All media is biased.

[sephodwyrm]

We need to end all government funding of media outlets.

We should also ban media corporations from funding presidential campaigns.

[Ariovistus Maximus]

We should also ban media corporations from funding presidential campaigns.

Yeah, they sure are subtle aren't they?

I guess I should make a point, since it's my own thread:

Ironically, when we say that a news group is biased, we really just mean that they disagree with us.

The whole "biased" and "open-minded" thing kinda gets out of hand...

[Pickle_mole]

i think that the "to liberal" option has ABC,NBC and Etc. while the "to consvervative" option only has FOX speaks as to which way the media is slanted.

[Imperator Romani]

Um...Yes
Getting a little off topic here-I wonder if anyone has noticed that American news is mainly focused on bad things...on horrible events...on bad decisions...nothing good