"Leaving the objectivity God behind:" More Reader E-mails
"I don't mind the lack of objectivity," John writes in. "I just mind the dishonesty about it." Vidiot agrees: "You know, it's fine that Fox "is arguably the first mainstream, widely distributed news medium to leave the objectivity God behind." That's fine. What I object to is their constant trumpeting of themselves as "fair and balanced" while they're doing it. They're obviously not balanced, and they're frequently not fair. They should just cut the crap and call themselves something honest." Dee has a similar thought: "That is my huge issue with Fox--portraying themselves as something they are not--this deception that they have very successfully pulled over the American public. What ever happened to Truth in Advertising? Yeah, I know, it never existited either, but to me it's an outrage that Fox chose this slogan and beats it into the ground. We Report, You Decide? Yeah, right. And I've got a bridge in Brooklyn I'd like to sell you too." Should it stop with FOX? What should CNN call itself? Or the New York Times?... 4:58:52 PM

FOX Scoops NBC, CNN on Nader Bid
Ralph Nader is coming on Meet the Press Sunday to announce whether or not he will make another run for the White House, MSNBC.com says. But FOXNews.com already says that "Nader's back" -- "Consumer advocate to enter 2004 race for White House as independent candidate, advisers say." And CNN.com has nothing... 4:58:26 PM

"Leaving the objectivity God behind:" Media Balanced, but not Fair
At NationalJournal.com, Vaughn Ververs says that the press is balanced, because "both sides of the political spectrum are yelling about coverage." But fairness is another matter. "If everyone is angry, reporters must be doing something right, correct? That may be true to an extent. The Fourth Establishment certainly is succeeding in becoming the object of universal outrage. But while the press may have achieved balance through extremes, it's done a better job of simply achieving extremes. It's not hard to argue that the press is unfair, but it is now harder to argue that it targets one side more than the other. Can you call that progress?" 10:40:05 AM

"Leaving the objectivity God behind:" A View from London
Ed in London has a unique perspective: "As a student of political science and journalism studying this semester in London, it's been fascinating reading the more than 10 national dailies and sampling their obvious biases: "The Independent" is more left-wing as is "The Guardian. "The Daily Telegraph" and "The Times" lean to the right...As for a lack of objectivity, why not? If anything, leaving objectivity behind will make viewers and readers more media literate and will help citizens distinguish the true differences between the left and right. Britons are very well-versed in news issues and seem to have a good understanding of their political party's disagreements. Let it happen, I think it'd be entertaining and would inform viewers and readers not only about the news, but also about broader political issues." 10:04:14 AM

"Leaving the objectivity God behind:" Why Is Bias Always Denied?
Murrowfan says it's a load of crap: "Media biases didn't exist until FNC started pummeling CNN? -- am I mistaken, or does John Stossel's new book address the liberal bias that has been the norm at ABC for decades? Why target Brit Hume? He's about as 'fair and balanced' as it gets, in my opinion. How come I see so many discussions involving both the Republican and Democratic point-of-view during FNC programming?" Question: What if FOX let go of 'fair and balanced,' and admitted a conservative tilt? What then? 10:00:58 AM

"Leaving the objectivity God behind:" Viewers Must Take an Active Role
Kyle writes in to say that the emergence of slanted news sources is not a problem -- as long as "the viewing masses understand that this journalism is not objective." He notes that the viewers "should strive to have multiple sources of news and points of view." An essential question: Are students being taught how to gather news from multiple sources? Also: "I challenge the fact the news has ever been objective to begin with -- whether certain networks strove for objectivity or not, a certain bias always influenced how they reported. The most critical point in this whole debate is to ensure the voice of the minority is heard -- we cannot have all liberal or all conservative networks if we are throwing objectivity out the door (which I think we are)." 1:36:14 AM

Krauthammer Dissects Candidates' "exploitation of media conventions"
Charles Krauthammer notes the "exploitation of media conventions" in the Post today. "The cable channels all covered the Tuesday night victory and concession speeches, which the candidates invariably turned into opportunities to deliver their stump speeches to a national audience." He asks a good question: "What have you gleaned from the wall-to-wall cable news coverage of the candidates' debates, rallies and victory/concession speeches?" 1:32:05 AM

Is Countdown the Best News Show on Cable?
An interesting thread at the Watercooler about the Countdown: "I think that if MSNBC were smart, they'd move Olbermann opposite Brown's show," one person suggests. "I think it would be a far more interesting option than Aaron Brown's snooze fest." Keith's pet project is praised: "It's not just the focusing on a few stories that makes Countdown different from other formats. It's the humor and the way different elements are weaved together...It may be the best news program on cable." The idea also pops up at the MSNBC MSN group... 1:31:21 AM