<strong>"Fair and Balanced" to FNC means that they're the conservative to the other news networks' *cough*MSNBC*cough* liberal.
They THEMSELVES aren't fair and balanced. Just because they bring a Republican and Democrat on together doesn't mean it's equal. The network usually *cough*always*cough* takes the side of the Republican.
But I like FNC. Really. <img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" />
My point is that they ARE MORE "fair and balanced" because they let the viewer know that there are actually two sides. Yes, the network usually does take the "conservative" side but by showing that there are TWO sides they do let the viewer decide for themselves more so than the other networks.
I think Bill O'Reilly is really great. He's the ONLY interviewer I see who goes after the sacred cows and the things "we're not supposed to talk about" (Jesse Jackson, the Red Cross, celebrity activism, mental illness, etc.).
I mean, Larry King has always been a softball tossing idiot, but since O'Reilly has come along, King has never looked so inept, kiss-ass and out-of-his-league.
I respect O'Reilly quite a bit, because he's saying what most won't (or can't) and if some of you would open your ears a bit, you'll see that he's FAR from a "right wing flamethrower" or whatever. If O'Reilly is anything, it's a middle-class, blue collar populist type of ranter.
He seems less agitated at liberals than he does at greedy corporations, irresponsible citizens, weasel-esque lawyers and PR types, liars, cheaters, etc.
I mean, who can't get behind and agree with THAT?
He's savaged Enron and gaffes by the Bush administration (and has grilled McCain, Forbes, etc.) just as hard as he ever has any Democrat or left-leaning guest.
He's like me: he just hates liars, stupidity, spin, bullshit, people who sail through life unaccountable for their words/actions because of their politcal party/race/gender/social status, etc.
Open your ears a bit and give it a fair listen. You might be surprised.
And, he ALWAYS gives his guest the last word. Always.
And with some of the assholes who come on his show, he's kinder and more civil than I - or any of you - would probably be with them.
Cut him some slack. Most of you aren't watching him anyway, and you're only going by what you hear others say.
Ask Rosie O'Donnell what SHE thinks about him. They had a very open and civil interview on his show last week, and she was very candid in how she completely misread him and had a totally wrong perception of how he is and what he believes.
And they don't get any further anti-right wing than Ms. O'Donnell.
Besides, I just love it how people suddenly get this burning conscience about "fairness, accuracy and 'both sides'", when it comes to Fox News and their (gasp) possible conservative bent.
For 20 years, where were people screaming about Ted Turner's CNN and it's leanings and side-taking programming?
Just further evidence of the whole "conservative = book burning Nazi, liberal = annointed, kindhearted thinker" mentality far too many people seem to have branded into their brain.
<strong>I think Bill O'Reilly is really great. He's the ONLY interviewer I see who goes after the sacred cows and the things "we're not supposed to talk about" (Jesse Jackson, the Red Cross, celebrity activism, mental illness, etc.).
I mean, Larry King has always been a softball tossing idiot, but since O'Reilly has come along, King has never looked so inept, kiss-ass and out-of-his-league.
I respect O'Reilly quite a bit, because he's saying what most won't (or can't) and if some of you would open your ears a bit, you'll see that he's FAR from a "right wing flamethrower" or whatever. If O'Reilly is anything, it's a middle-class, blue collar populist type of ranter.
He seems less agitated at liberals than he does at greedy corporations, irresponsible citizens, weasel-esque lawyers and PR types, liars, cheaters, etc.
I mean, who can't get behind and agree with THAT?
He's savaged Enron and gaffes by the Bush administration (and has grilled McCain, Forbes, etc.) just as hard as he ever has any Democrat or left-leaning guest.
He's like me: he just hates liars, stupidity, spin, bullshit, people who sail through life unaccountable for their words/actions because of their politcal party/race/gender/social status, etc.
Open your ears a bit and give it a fair listen. You might be surprised.
And, he ALWAYS gives his guest the last word. Always.
And with some of the assholes who come on his show, he's kinder and more civil than I - or any of you - would probably be with them.
Cut him some slack. Most of you aren't watching him anyway, and you're only going by what you hear others say.
Ask Rosie O'Donnell what SHE thinks about him. They had a very open and civil interview on his show last week, and she was very candid in how she completely misread him and had a totally wrong perception of how he is and what he believes.
And they don't get any further anti-right wing than Ms. O'Donnell.
</strong><hr></blockquote>
EXACTLY!!! You hit the nail RIGHT on the head!! I loved the way he talked to the Toyota CEO. Talking about how he was basically Jesse Jackson's bitch. Nobody else would dare get into that mess, but O'Reilly did and he made complete sense. People need to give this guy a chance before they bash him.
<strong>Well crap, if Rosie O'Donnell says so then it must be true. <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[No]" />
hey Pscates, let me guess, "Buchanan for President" ??</strong><hr></blockquote>
His point is that Rosie stated that she was a hardcore Democrat and all of her advisors beged her to NOT do the interview with O'Reilly buy she did it anyway and was surprised with him.
[quote]I have no problem with most of their guests being Republican. In my OPINION, Republicans can see both sides of an issue better than Democrats. Of course this is just my experience, YOU DECIDE.<hr></blockquote>
Wait a minute, weren't you the one who said this:
[quote]Please don't turn this into a Demo. vs. Repub. thing<hr></blockquote>
I made that Rosie comment because she has been extremely vocal in her beliefs and leanings, and would not seem like the kind of person who would like to go on O'Reilly's show. But she did, and she said HERSELF that she, in many way, had him pegged wrong.
Yeah well I think ultra liberals are just as humurous as ultra-conservatives. It's amazing how blindly one-sided some people can be. Every day I am more convinced that a 2 party system is a sham and the people getting cheated are the average American.
There are only two news programs I watch: The Lehrer Newshour on PBS and the O'Reilly Factor. I enjoy them both. The rest of the news/commentary on any channel is pure dung, IMO. My preferred daily sources are reading the LA Times and WSJ.
I really do miss the Paula Zahn show. She was really good on Fox until she left for CNN where they have her reporting news rather than having her own guest show.
I would have to say that the best news on TV really does come from the Newshour on PBS. It's too bad that they only have time for 3 or 4 big stories, but they always have the entire story, which makes it better than the other shows which barely scratch the surface.
<strong>Yeah well I think ultra liberals are just as humurous as ultra-conservatives. It's amazing how blindly one-sided some people can be. Every day I am more convinced that a 2 party system is a sham and the people getting cheated are the average American.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Who's ultra conservative? O'Reilly, if you were talking about him is against the death penalty so he's not.
But, wasn't he the host of Inside Edition or Hard Copy? Those shows weren't very legitimate.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Actually, if you look at the bios of many of FNC's talent, a good deal of them came from some "tabloid" news program. Whether that's a good/bad or legitimate/illegitimate thing is up to you.
<strong>Who's ultra conservative? O'Reilly, if you were talking about him is against the death penalty so he's not.</strong><hr></blockquote>Stop it. O'Reilly is a conservative. This is what cracks me up about his show - he gets so defensive if someone calls him what he is. Yet show after show, he has conservative opinions. Sure, everyone has small areas of disagreement - George Will, Pat Buchanan, Robert Novak, all have areas where they disagree. O'Reilly probably does too. But he's still a Republican, and a conservative.
THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH HIM BEING A CONSERVATIVE! He's a commentator and interviewer.
Hell, CNN had Buchanan and Novak as their primary political commentators for years, and they didn't try to pretend they weren't conservative.
Because I know all you Fox news fans like the "fair and balanced" approach, <a href="http://www.fair.org/extra/0108/oreilly.html"; target="_blank">here's a contrarian article on O'Reilly.</a> I report, you decide.
[quote]Every day I am more convinced that a 2 party system is a sham and the people getting cheated are the average American.<hr></blockquote>
Yes, absolutely. But the two-party system is only the public presentation of what is really a one-party system with 2 facets. Ralph Nader hit it nicely when he said:
"the main difference between Republicans and Democrats is the relative velocity at which they sink to their knees when big business comes calling"
Re. O'Reilly; He is definitely skilled, but I do wish he would not constantly and arbitrarily interrupt those who are raising a point which is at odds with his philosophy/ideology. That tactic reminds me of that used by Nedra Ruiz (lawyer employed by defendants in the SF dog-mauling trial) on CNN's Crossfire recently. It was tedious and embarrassing in the extreme.
Re. Fox: Rupert Murdoch may be a "skilled businessperson", but as a human being he's barely left the starting block.
Re. Media: Not 20 years ago, there were over 1000 media companies (independent newspapers, TV, radio, magazines etc) engaged in healthy competition. Today >95% of the US (and world) media is in the hands of 6 massive transnational conglomerates. The FCC (in 1996 and again today) is paving the way for still greater consolidation, effectively silencing smaller outlets or those with non-mainsteam news and opinion. Murdoch is a major player in this scary scenario of the move from free enterprise in the media to rigid control by monopolistic dinosaurs, aided and abetted by federal laws sponsored by the parties these laws are designed to featherbed. This trend of straight-jacketing public awareness of current affairs by having media control in the hands of an immensly powerful and approved few reminds me of the old Soviet Union and its two approved news outlets, "Pravda" and "Izvestia". And the current and ongoing consolidation by giant media corporations is taking America down a similar route.
Comments
<strong>"Fair and Balanced" to FNC means that they're the conservative to the other news networks' *cough*MSNBC*cough* liberal.
They THEMSELVES aren't fair and balanced. Just because they bring a Republican and Democrat on together doesn't mean it's equal. The network usually *cough*always*cough* takes the side of the Republican.
But I like FNC. Really.
EDIT: Shepard Smith is DA MAN!!!!
[ 03-31-2002: Message edited by: CosmoNut ]</strong><hr></blockquote>
My point is that they ARE MORE "fair and balanced" because they let the viewer know that there are actually two sides. Yes, the network usually does take the "conservative" side but by showing that there are TWO sides they do let the viewer decide for themselves more so than the other networks.
I mean, Larry King has always been a softball tossing idiot, but since O'Reilly has come along, King has never looked so inept, kiss-ass and out-of-his-league.
I respect O'Reilly quite a bit, because he's saying what most won't (or can't) and if some of you would open your ears a bit, you'll see that he's FAR from a "right wing flamethrower" or whatever. If O'Reilly is anything, it's a middle-class, blue collar populist type of ranter.
He seems less agitated at liberals than he does at greedy corporations, irresponsible citizens, weasel-esque lawyers and PR types, liars, cheaters, etc.
I mean, who can't get behind and agree with THAT?
He's savaged Enron and gaffes by the Bush administration (and has grilled McCain, Forbes, etc.) just as hard as he ever has any Democrat or left-leaning guest.
He's like me: he just hates liars, stupidity, spin, bullshit, people who sail through life unaccountable for their words/actions because of their politcal party/race/gender/social status, etc.
Open your ears a bit and give it a fair listen. You might be surprised.
And, he ALWAYS gives his guest the last word. Always.
And with some of the assholes who come on his show, he's kinder and more civil than I - or any of you - would probably be with them.
Cut him some slack. Most of you aren't watching him anyway, and you're only going by what you hear others say.
Ask Rosie O'Donnell what SHE thinks about him. They had a very open and civil interview on his show last week, and she was very candid in how she completely misread him and had a totally wrong perception of how he is and what he believes.
And they don't get any further anti-right wing than Ms. O'Donnell.
For 20 years, where were people screaming about Ted Turner's CNN and it's leanings and side-taking programming?
Just further evidence of the whole "conservative = book burning Nazi, liberal = annointed, kindhearted thinker" mentality far too many people seem to have branded into their brain.
<strong>I think Bill O'Reilly is really great. He's the ONLY interviewer I see who goes after the sacred cows and the things "we're not supposed to talk about" (Jesse Jackson, the Red Cross, celebrity activism, mental illness, etc.).
I mean, Larry King has always been a softball tossing idiot, but since O'Reilly has come along, King has never looked so inept, kiss-ass and out-of-his-league.
I respect O'Reilly quite a bit, because he's saying what most won't (or can't) and if some of you would open your ears a bit, you'll see that he's FAR from a "right wing flamethrower" or whatever. If O'Reilly is anything, it's a middle-class, blue collar populist type of ranter.
He seems less agitated at liberals than he does at greedy corporations, irresponsible citizens, weasel-esque lawyers and PR types, liars, cheaters, etc.
I mean, who can't get behind and agree with THAT?
He's savaged Enron and gaffes by the Bush administration (and has grilled McCain, Forbes, etc.) just as hard as he ever has any Democrat or left-leaning guest.
He's like me: he just hates liars, stupidity, spin, bullshit, people who sail through life unaccountable for their words/actions because of their politcal party/race/gender/social status, etc.
Open your ears a bit and give it a fair listen. You might be surprised.
And, he ALWAYS gives his guest the last word. Always.
And with some of the assholes who come on his show, he's kinder and more civil than I - or any of you - would probably be with them.
Cut him some slack. Most of you aren't watching him anyway, and you're only going by what you hear others say.
Ask Rosie O'Donnell what SHE thinks about him. They had a very open and civil interview on his show last week, and she was very candid in how she completely misread him and had a totally wrong perception of how he is and what he believes.
And they don't get any further anti-right wing than Ms. O'Donnell.
EXACTLY!!! You hit the nail RIGHT on the head!! I loved the way he talked to the Toyota CEO. Talking about how he was basically Jesse Jackson's bitch. Nobody else would dare get into that mess, but O'Reilly did and he made complete sense. People need to give this guy a chance before they bash him.
hey Pscates, let me guess, "Buchanan for President" ??
<strong>Well crap, if Rosie O'Donnell says so then it must be true. <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[No]" />
hey Pscates, let me guess, "Buchanan for President" ??</strong><hr></blockquote>
His point is that Rosie stated that she was a hardcore Democrat and all of her advisors beged her to NOT do the interview with O'Reilly buy she did it anyway and was surprised with him.
Wait a minute, weren't you the one who said this:
[quote]Please don't turn this into a Demo. vs. Repub. thing<hr></blockquote>
Hypocrite.
What would Bill O'Reilly say?
<strong>
Hypocrite.
What would Bill O'Reilly say?
It was not I that turned it into this debate. I felt the need to defend myself
<strong>Well crap, if Rosie O'Donnell says so then it must be true. <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[No]" />
hey Pscates, let me guess, "Buchanan for President" ??</strong><hr></blockquote>
Uh, no...not hardly, smartass.
Let me guess, "jumps to stupid conclusions because you don't know me?".
<img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" />
I made that Rosie comment because she has been extremely vocal in her beliefs and leanings, and would not seem like the kind of person who would like to go on O'Reilly's show. But she did, and she said HERSELF that she, in many way, had him pegged wrong.
THAT'S what I was referring to.
Jeez...
I'd like to watch it, though.
But, wasn't he the host of Inside Edition or Hard Copy? Those shows weren't very legitimate.
And do they HAVE to be labeled 'conservative'? How about 'non-liberal'?
How about we 'label' it what it really is? A joke.
I really do miss the Paula Zahn show. She was really good on Fox until she left for CNN where they have her reporting news rather than having her own guest show.
matthew
<strong>Yeah well I think ultra liberals are just as humurous as ultra-conservatives. It's amazing how blindly one-sided some people can be. Every day I am more convinced that a 2 party system is a sham and the people getting cheated are the average American.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Who's ultra conservative? O'Reilly, if you were talking about him is against the death penalty so he's not.
<strong>
But, wasn't he the host of Inside Edition or Hard Copy? Those shows weren't very legitimate.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Actually, if you look at the bios of many of FNC's talent, a good deal of them came from some "tabloid" news program. Whether that's a good/bad or legitimate/illegitimate thing is up to you.
<strong>Who's ultra conservative? O'Reilly, if you were talking about him is against the death penalty so he's not.</strong><hr></blockquote>Stop it. O'Reilly is a conservative. This is what cracks me up about his show - he gets so defensive if someone calls him what he is. Yet show after show, he has conservative opinions. Sure, everyone has small areas of disagreement - George Will, Pat Buchanan, Robert Novak, all have areas where they disagree. O'Reilly probably does too. But he's still a Republican, and a conservative.
THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH HIM BEING A CONSERVATIVE! He's a commentator and interviewer.
Hell, CNN had Buchanan and Novak as their primary political commentators for years, and they didn't try to pretend they weren't conservative.
Because I know all you Fox news fans like the "fair and balanced" approach, <a href="http://www.fair.org/extra/0108/oreilly.html"; target="_blank">here's a contrarian article on O'Reilly.</a> I report, you decide.
Yes, absolutely. But the two-party system is only the public presentation of what is really a one-party system with 2 facets. Ralph Nader hit it nicely when he said:
"the main difference between Republicans and Democrats is the relative velocity at which they sink to their knees when big business comes calling"
Re. O'Reilly; He is definitely skilled, but I do wish he would not constantly and arbitrarily interrupt those who are raising a point which is at odds with his philosophy/ideology. That tactic reminds me of that used by Nedra Ruiz (lawyer employed by defendants in the SF dog-mauling trial) on CNN's Crossfire recently. It was tedious and embarrassing in the extreme.
Re. Fox: Rupert Murdoch may be a "skilled businessperson", but as a human being he's barely left the starting block.
<a href="http://www.cjr.org/year/98/3/murdoch.asp"; target="_blank">http://www.cjr.org/year/98/3/murdoch.asp</a>;
Re. Media: Not 20 years ago, there were over 1000 media companies (independent newspapers, TV, radio, magazines etc) engaged in healthy competition. Today >95% of the US (and world) media is in the hands of 6 massive transnational conglomerates. The FCC (in 1996 and again today) is paving the way for still greater consolidation, effectively silencing smaller outlets or those with non-mainsteam news and opinion. Murdoch is a major player in this scary scenario of the move from free enterprise in the media to rigid control by monopolistic dinosaurs, aided and abetted by federal laws sponsored by the parties these laws are designed to featherbed. This trend of straight-jacketing public awareness of current affairs by having media control in the hands of an immensly powerful and approved few reminds me of the old Soviet Union and its two approved news outlets, "Pravda" and "Izvestia". And the current and ongoing consolidation by giant media corporations is taking America down a similar route.