Media credibility?

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human_being

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I’m posting this out of frustration. It’s so hard to find the truth anymore. It seems that even every so-called credible source is biased anymore. Maybe it’s been that way forever,for all I know. Maybe I’m just noticing it more. It’s like you need your own team of researchers and lawyers to find truth anymore on just about any topic. Just blowing off steam I geuss. How can we make the media and politicians give us the truth. I was just on a thread discussing the environment/cap n trade issue. I,ve not much an opinion on this issue but I tended to agree with FOX and the republicans on this issue. Then I look on Catholic sites and see that bishops agree with the dems. So,I must agree with the dems. I am and have been independent. I tend to agree with dems on labor type issues because that’s my bread and butter. Alot of other issues I lean towards the right. Abortion,gay marriage and such. But the TRUTH is so hard to find. Any comments are welcome. I’m just angry at the dishonesty or somethng at the media and sources bending truth. Rarely do I watch mainstream media unless it’s a major event such as election, new war,GM,9/11,so i can get as much info as I can from all sides.
 
I was just on a thread discussing the environment/cap n trade issue. I,ve not much an opinion on this issue but I tended to agree with FOX and the republicans on this issue. Then I look on Catholic sites and see that bishops agree with the dems. So,I must agree with the dems. I am and have been independent. I tend to agree with dems on labor type issues because that’s my bread and butter. Alot of other issues I lean towards the right. Abortion,gay marriage and such. But the TRUTH is so hard to find.
**Opinions on social issues and truth about events are two entirely different issues.

I, like you and most people, are liberal on some things and conservative about others.**
 
The networks today are all about sponsors, and they will not do or say anything that will upset the shareholders or cause advertisers to get nervous.

Therefore, real journalism has gone the way of the dinosaur.
 
mkingdomlvr said:
The networks today are all about sponsors, and they will not do or say anything that will upset the shareholders or cause advertisers to get nervous.

Therefore, real journalism has gone the way of the dinosaur.
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Actually, I think what did it was the idea that there can be no objective thought; all thought being filtered through one’s own subjectivity causes bias in every endeavor. This has become particularly pronounced in the law and in journalism.

It used to be that journalists tried to get over their biases to report objectively, and objectivity was important. No more…

And as to how to see bias, if you look at possible motivation, you can often see what the truth is, or at least where the lies are more likely to be. So, if you have someone who has founded a company which can make a lot of money from selling Item X, and that person makes a movie explaining exactly why Item X is so very incredibly important, then you might think, hmmm, maybe this movie is biased.

And when you read about the politicization of science in the universities, you might think to yourself, hmmmm, maybe there’s a reason for this or that.

I have also noticed ads coming out explaining the existence of a medical problem *just before *some pharmaceutical company comes out with a cure for that problem!

Cherchez l’argent…
 
What constitutes "The Media"has changed so dramatically over the last 40-50 years that I believe that the actual tems is fairly meaningless. It implies an entity with clear boundaries and a common purpose, e.g. informing the public, which I believe no longer apply.

I used to trust my local newspaper, Walter Cronkite on CBS, Harry Reasoner on ABC and Huntley/Brinkley on NBC. Those were my choices and they said pretty much the same things, or at least covered the same stories.

Now, with the explosion of information (much of it incomplete or skewed, in my opinion), our problem is not finding information, but sifting through a mountain of information to find a nugget of fact (never mind, truth).

Also the news and entertainment media have slopped over into one another to such an extent that it’s very difficult to select which is which. Characters like Limbaugh and networks like Fox and MSNBC not only dispense information, they are also peddling an “information product.” I watch MSNBC most nights. I know that what I’m getting is not the “CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite.” But that kind of television journalism no long exists, it seems to me.

So pick your outlet, listen to what they tell you through the filters you know you need in order to find something close to facts.
 
We always watched Walter Cronkite in our house too, and it never occurred to us to question what he presented.

My question is-were we naive back then? Was there just as much bias in those days and we just weren’t aware of it?
 
mkingdomlvr said:
We always watched Walter Cronkite in our house too, and it never occurred to us to question what he presented.

My question is-were we naive back then? Was there just as much bias in those days and we just weren’t aware of it?
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I don’t think you were naive to trust Walter Cronkite. But even back then media and news had certain viewpoints and I doubt that there ever truly was a 100% fair and objective presentation of news and events, this however doesn’t mean they are lying or trying to deceive their viewers. It just means that we should always try to verify what we hear, realize we’re going to get “spin” from officials and even journalists. Try to find a few news sources you trust or have proven accurate and use them as your main sources of information.

As Sonny mentioned in another post channels like CNN, Fox and MSNBC are peddaling “information products.” Most of the shows on those channels are not straight news reporting like you think of the evening news. Many of them mix traditional reporting with commentary and sometimes the two can be hard to separate. I think part of this arises from the fact that you have so many channels trying to fill up 24 hours a day/7 days a week with news programming and only so much truly worthy of coverage can happen in one day. They also have to pay bills and so they need to keep as many viewers as possible for as long as possible so they have to entertain viewers as well as deliver news.

I do think that the media is mostly credible, but looking for a wholly 100% unbiased reportage is an exercise in futility and most likely never existed.

ChadS
 
human_being said:
I’m posting this out of frustration. It’s so hard to find the truth anymore. It seems that even every so-called credible source is biased anymore. Maybe it’s been that way forever,for all I know. Maybe I’m just noticing it more. It’s like you need your own team of researchers and lawyers to find truth anymore on just about any topic. Just blowing off steam I geuss. How can we make the media and politicians give us the truth. I was just on a thread discussing the environment/cap n trade issue. I,ve not much an opinion on this issue but I tended to agree with FOX and the republicans on this issue. Then I look on Catholic sites and see that bishops agree with the dems. So,I must agree with the dems. I am and have been independent. I tend to agree with dems on labor type issues because that’s my bread and butter. Alot of other issues I lean towards the right. Abortion,gay marriage and such. But the TRUTH is so hard to find. Any comments are welcome. I’m just angry at the dishonesty or somethng at the media and sources bending truth. Rarely do I watch mainstream media unless it’s a major event such as election, new war,GM,9/11,so i can get as much info as I can from all sides.
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It is difficult to discern what is real and what is not these days. It is important to be able to tell the difference in a news program and an opinion program. You can tell a lot by what news items a network covers and what they do not. I know that several of the networks have opinion panels on their news programs. This is fine with me because I know the difference but unfortunately many do not. And, after all, an opinion is only worth what it costs.
 
mkingdomlvr said:
We always watched Walter Cronkite in our house too, and it never occurred to us to question what he presented.

My question is-were we naive back then? Was there just as much bias in those days and we just weren’t aware of it?
Click to expand...
Having lived through the time period, no, being naive was not the problem. Walter Cronkite’s days as a journalist included World War II. He was trusted and rightly so. Around the year 2000, Mr. Cronkite was asked by Larry King what he thought of today’s news. He replied that he is seeing what he called the tabloidization of the news. That people are not really being informed.

In previous decades, news organizations began to cut reporters and investigative staffs. News programs like 60 Minutes were popular and timely, giving people an in depth look at problems and successful action regarding certain problems. Nightline with Ted Koeppel fell into that category.

So, the news is out there but we have to separate the wheat from the chaff. I suggest a Catholic newspaper or magazine to get the Catholic perspective on world events. I find BBC News to be reasonably good for world news. I also give small, suburban papers high marks because even though they may be owned by a corporate giant, they still provide a sense of community.

Peace,
Ed
 
edwest2 said:
Having lived through the time period, no, being naive was not the problem. Walter Cronkite’s days as a journalist included World War II. He was trusted and rightly so. Around the year 2000, Mr. Cronkite was asked by Larry King what he thought of today’s news. He replied that he is seeing what he called the tabloidization of the news. That people are not really being informed.

In previous decades, news organizations began to cut reporters and investigative staffs. News programs like 60 Minutes were popular and timely, giving people an in depth look at problems and successful action regarding certain problems. Nightline with Ted Koeppel fell into that category.

So, the news is out there but we have to separate the wheat from the chaff. I suggest a Catholic newspaper or magazine to get the Catholic perspective on world events. I find BBC News to be reasonably good for world news. I also give small, suburban papers high marks because even though they may be owned by a corporate giant, they still provide a sense of community.

Peace,
Ed
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Even these seem to present a somewhat different perspective on the same story. There are at least 2 posts on these forums with catholic news websites focusing on 2 ,not necessarily different perspectives, on the upcoming encyclical release,but they focus on the encyclical with 2 different “political type views”.

ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/fighting-hunger-beefing-unions-part-pope%E2%80%99s-new-social-encyclical

catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16400

They seem to me to be 2 different perspectives focusing on thier own take I geuss.
 
human_being said:
Even these seem to present a somewhat different perspective on the same story. There are at least 2 posts on these forums with catholic news websites focusing on 2 ,not necessarily different perspectives, on the upcoming encyclical release,but they focus on the encyclical with 2 different “political type views”.

ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/fighting-hunger-beefing-unions-part-pope%E2%80%99s-new-social-encyclical

catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16400

They seem to me to be 2 different perspectives focusing on thier own take I geuss.
Click to expand...
NCR is notoriously liberal (at least among conservatives). Read some of their articles on women’s issues (Brave women who go through ordination and the like and even episcopal consecration) and then you will see where they are coming from. if you get the idea from the article, don’t bother reading the comments.
 
Hello everybody, if you have someone who has founded a company which can make a lot of money from selling Item X, and that person makes a movie explaining exactly why Item X is so very incredibly important, then you might think, may be this movie is biased.
 
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