Pew Survey

Films, TV shows, and books of the 'modern' era
Vecchiolarry
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Post by Vecchiolarry »

Hi,

I only watch the CTV Morning Show from Toronto. It has all the local, national and international news of the day. Then, because I'm usually never home after 10:00AM, I rely on word-of-mouth after that.

Most of the 'news' these days is old recycled stuff anyway, so I don't pay much attention to any of it.

If they ever find a 'real world leader' anytime soon, please let me know!!

Larry
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Post by jdb1 »

I've pretty much given up on all US news shows. I rarely look in on them except for details of some specific story I want to find out about. For regular news coverage, I've turned to Europe: my cable network carries both BBC News and EuroNews. EuroNews shows feeds covering news stories in Europe, but BBC gives you everything that's going on all over the world.

If you watch US news shows, you have the impression that other world nations exist only insofar as they are part of American news, and also that whatever those other countries do or say is wrong. I don't think I agree with that thesis. I find BBC to be the most impartial in its news coverage, although the BBC News network has plenty of opinion pieces. But even there, it's nice to see what someone who is not in the pocket of corporate America thinks about things.

And even though I'm not in the 18-34 crowd any longer, I do like to hear what Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert have to say about things.

I would like to hear from the conservative side as well, but there are so few outlets of conservative thought on TV that aren't of a confrontational and rather childish, playground bully nature. What's needed is a conservative TV news or discussion program of the William F. Buckley kind, where differing opinions are put forth, debated, and most importantly, respected.
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mrsl
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Joined: April 14th, 2007, 5:20 pm
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Post by mrsl »

I try to see Jon Stewart nightly, and Bill Maher weekly, then go back on the internet to read further into what they had to say. I have tried to watch Colbert, but I just can't stand him. I know he's joking, but even at that, his egotistical attitude is hard to take. I know a lot of you don't like Bill Maher but this season (which ended last Friday night until August), every week he had a different presidential candidate from both parties on as a guest. At least it gave me a glimpse of them, and those I liked, I will study further.

My problem with the local news is that local news is first and foremost. If you live in, or near Chicago (like me), you get a recap of drive by shootings, fires, thefts, and abductions, as well as what celebrity did something unusual before, and if, you get any outside news. Also, nothing is in-depth. You hear a 'headline' like 4 killed today in Iraq, but rather than where they were, or what they were doing, you get their name and where they're from, or their marital state, instead of how it happened, unless it was in a black SUV driving along a perimeter - not if it was in a skirmish, or a bombing of troops. Don't get me wrong, I'm not being blood thirsty, it's just that if we're losing 2 or 3 boys a week, I want to know why - are they really fighting over there, or is it an occasional volley in between games of poker and checkers?

I hope I'm being clear. I want to know if our boys are defending themselves and us, or are they just targets in a turkey shoot, and vice a versa.

Anne
Anne


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CoffeeDan
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Joined: April 25th, 2007, 1:53 pm
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Re: Pew Survey

Post by CoffeeDan »

ken123 wrote:A Pew Survey shows that viewers of The Fox News ( Propaganda ) Channel are the least informed consumers of news. Are you surprised ?
Yes, especially when the same survey rates viewers of The O'Reilly Factor among the best-informed.

Frankly, I don't understand why Bill O'Reilly arouses such consternation. I haven't seen his TV show, but I have read several of his books and found them to be passionate, well-researched, and well-written. I guess he must be a different guy on the air.

I was also glad, but not surprised, to see Rush Limbaugh get high marks in this survey. Long time ago, I listened to him for fun -- mainly to see if he was as irritating as my liberal friends claimed -- but now I consider him essential listening because he reports more news on more subjects than anybody else on the air. I once spent two months checking up on him, and found the guy really does his homework. You may not always agree with his commentary, but he definitely keeps you informed -- and thinking.
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movieman1957
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Post by movieman1957 »

What worries me are the people who get their news only from Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Bill Maher. They are entertainers, not journalists. Those people need to do like Anne does and read other sources as well. Otherwise it becomes too slanted.
Chris

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
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Dewey1960
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Post by Dewey1960 »

Chris wrote: "What worries me are the people who get their news only from Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Bill Maher. They are entertainers, not journalists."

What worries me EVEN MORE, Chris, are the folks who only get their news from the likes of Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Chris Hannity and Michael Savage--non-journalists who underscore their so-called "reportage" with gross falsifications and hate-mongering. And therein lies a far more serious problem than American television watchers being entertained by comedians masquerading as journalists.
-Dewey
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movieman1957
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Post by movieman1957 »

I wouldn't quite put them in the same category but I do understand your point. I try to at least read several different papers (on-line), listen to talk radio locally and tend to watch discussion oriented shows rather than regular news casts.

One thing coming back to the fore front at least through conservative areas is the Fairness Doctrine. I have read where one liberal commentator actually said they wanted to stop conservative talk radio. They admitted Air America was a failure and saw this as the only way to reign them in.

Any thoughts?
Chris

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
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Post by SSO Admins »

movieman1957 wrote:What worries me are the people who get their news only from Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Bill Maher. They are entertainers, not journalists. Those people need to do like Anne does and read other sources as well. Otherwise it becomes too slanted.
I'll give you Colbert and Maher, but Stewart is actually not a bad place to get your news. He may add some snark, but he doesn't distort facts.
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