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Originally Posted by Lebell
Yes, you have said that several times, putting it forward as "default" without offering any proof that it is the "default".
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Is a free media inherently biased? Obviously not. It would not be a free media - it would be a controlled media. So if you want to claim our media is biased, you have to demonstrate it - as you have (finally) attempted to do below.
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The reality is that polls show that the majority of journalists are left of center.
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This is irrelevent to the question of whether their reporting is left of center. Journalism is a profession based on the intention of objectivity. That is the goal of the average journalist. To equate their personal viewpoint with their ability to strive for and in varying degrees obtain objectivity is disingenous.
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The one study I saw "refuting" liberal bias asked these same journalists, "are you biased in the way you present the news?"
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The one study? Then you must have missed the reviews of the studies which claim a liberal bias. Those reviews which point out the numerous flaws in methodology of those studies.
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The real test for me comes from canvassing the actual stories and their slant.
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Unfortunately, you can't canvass the actual stories and their slant. Because YOU ARE BIASED. Why do you think you are able to discern what is fair reporting and what is not?
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From my own first hand knowledge of firearms, I can answer that absolutely anti-gun sentiment usually outweighs pro-gun sentiment in newspaper articles I read, with the anti sentiment usually at the top of the article (usually with a few wrong "facts") and any "balance" or opposing view being presented towards the end.
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So you offer one single example (two if you include your SBVT issue) of what you perceive as liberal bias. Not compelling. If I counter your one example with two examples of conservative bias, would you then claim that the media is in general slanted conservative? I expect not.
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But from a journalist this is equivalent to mal-practice, and it happens much much too frequently for my liking.
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I completely agree, if this is what you are claiming, that the media is incompetent. But obviously I have seen no evidence what-so-ever to claim that media is incompetent because it is liberal. It is incompetent because it's goal is to sell advertising and therefore it must appeal to its perception of its audience.
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The majority of the news sources I saw went straight to trying to discredit the group themselves while very few addressed the charges they brought.
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Again, who are you to objectively judge what media did or did not do with the SBVT issue? I hold the opposite perception that you have in this case - when SBVT broke, it was EVERYWHERE. And what was it? The constant repetition of the words of the SBVT with almost zero effort determine what was or was not accurate in their claims. Again - it is the incompetence of the media - controversy sells newspapers/increases viewers which increases advertising demand, which increases rates, which puts money in the pockets of the CEOs, investors and staff.
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Another is how CBS is handling the Dan Rather investigation, now saying that they will hold it until after the election. (Why? they didn't hold the original story until after the election.)
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Of course, you left out the fact that CBS also is withholding the completed report on the inaccuracies and contradictions in Bush's march to war. And you left that out because ... you don't want to have to present the arguments which are in opposition to your opinion. Ironically, exactly what you have accused the media of doing.
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I could go on and on, but at this point, I really don't care to discuss this further with you.
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You could go on, and I could match each and every example you provide with either a thurough refutation of it, or a comparable example which demonstrates a (in my mind mythical) conservative bias.
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You've clearly set your opinion in concrete and nothing will change it, nor do you seem interested in debate, only argument.
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Right back at ya. Except of course, my demands that you back up your incessant claims of liberal bias is the very definition of debate. But hey ... however you want to twist things is up to you. Just don't think you're some kind of Mr. Objectivity or your just setting yourself up for a fall.