I wish we had a "liberal media"

[kentuck]

I would love to have a press that saw it's responsibility as one that challenges the White House and all those in power. I would like a press that challenged every assertion by FOX News, talk radio, and all of the conservative media. I would like a media that would not be afraid to carry speeches such as the one by Al Gore the other day. And I would like a press that would praise Gore for his comments, rather than go along with the conservative ridicule. Wouldn't that be nice? :)

[bluedog]

1. signs of Fascism

tihnk we are there yet??


6. Controlled Mass Media
Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.

7. Obsession with National Security
Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the

13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability.

14. Fraudulent Elections
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media

Freedom is when the people can speak, democracy is when the government listens.
-- Alastair Farrugia

[Finch]

2. The Media is sensationalist...

....not Liberal or Conservative...

However there are exceptions, FOX and CBS being the most obvious.

Pew Polling (A GOP firm but a darn good pollsters at all levels) found that while most journalists in the new networks and big national papers where moderate a large minority defined themselves as Liberal and a tiny minority as conservative.

The Media plays it safe and when it can is as sensationalist as possible with the exception of a few groups such as say FOX, NYT, CBS, WSJ etc... that’s pretty much the truth... CNN and MSNBC are probably the best networks unlike FOX they are pretty balanced... the thing is both Liberals and Conservatives complain about the media, I know a lot of republicans and a number of them are convinced its dominated by Liberals, that said the more moderate ones i know just think like me its sensationalist...to but it simply you can't pin things on either a "Liberal" or "Conservative" Media... neither is the case (with the exception I've mentioned)...

[kentuck]

3. And I think Paul Krugman had a more accurate descrription..

<snip>
The answer, of course, is that the straight shooter never existed. He was a fictitious character that the press, for various reasons, presented as reality.

The truth is that the character flaws that currently have even conservative pundits fuming have been visible all along. Mr. Bush's problems with the truth have long been apparent to anyone willing to check his budget arithmetic. His inability to admit mistakes has also been obvious for a long time. I first wrote about Mr. Bush's "infallibility complex" more than two years ago, and I wasn't being original.

So why did the press credit Mr. Bush with virtues that reporters knew he didn't possess? One answer is misplaced patriotism. After 9/11 much of the press seemed to reach a collective decision that it was necessary, in the interests of national unity, to suppress criticism of the commander in chief.

Another answer is the tyranny of evenhandedness. Moderate and liberal journalists, both reporters and commentators, often bend over backward to say nice things about conservatives. Not long ago, many commentators who are now caustic Bush critics seemed desperate to differentiate themselves from "irrational Bush haters" who were neither haters nor irrational — and whose critiques look pretty mild

[Finch]

4. As Usual Krugman is about right...

...they do try to overcompensate to counter their own attitudes a lot of the time for fear of sparking some kind of out rage from the right, the few conservatives everywhere save Fox usually do it the other wayround...

But I'm not sure it leads to a massive bias, yes there is one but it seems to be slipping back to where it use to be...it really depends on what you are watching or reading on any given day... I think any "blanket statement" about the media would be inaccurate, lets just say it varies wildly :)

[lanparty]

5. Air America ... The Nation

There are only a few examples of a "Liberal Media". Thats the reason these creaps have gotten away with the myth for so long. Isn't it so humorous that the networks and CNN who are owned by large corporations fall over themselves and accuse THEMSELVES of having a liberal bias.

I tell people to try to listen to Air America because THAT is a liberal biased media. That is what it sounds like. It's a VERY FAR CRY from ABC or CNN.

[dawg]

6. I don't!

I just wish we had a "fair and balanced" media that would report the damn truth and call either party out whenever it lies or misleads the American public.

Instead, what we've got is at least one network that is blatantly biased. Several major newspapers that are blatantly biased. And the rest have no balls (ovaries?) and will bend over backwards not to offend conservatives.

If the Bush administration claimed the sky was green, FoxNews would report it as fact. CNN, NBC, and ABC would report "Sky Green according to Bush Administration, Democrats have differing opinion."
CBS would report "Bush Administration claims sky green, Democrats disagree, evidence for greenness of sky not conclusive." Thousands of irate conservative would then bombard CBS with hate mail for being "biased".

[GreenPartyVoter]

7. ditto.. truly fair and balanced is

what we need: more regulation, less conglomeration, zero corpratization.

[SpaceCatMeetsMars]

8. Or, CNN, NBC, MSNBC and ABC would say something like:

"In a Bold New Initiative, pResident Bush Declares the Sky is Green: Will Democrats Fail in their Attacks on Bush in Attempt to Define the Sky as "Blue"?

Their framing is always something like that and you just feel like throwing your hands up in frustration at their spin.