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Originally Posted by JWsleep

(Note: FD, I'm not saying you're a complete skeptic about the media, but I wanted to comment on this sort of charge.)

I think this ongoing line from the right is dangerous. Here's why: it's the place where they come closest to the loony left. The loony left (as my father in law calls them (me?)) do not believe the press either. They think they are largely controlled by corporate interests and only publicize those stories supportive of the capitalist status quo (see Noam Chomsky, for example). They are now very prone to embrace conspiracy theories of the nuttiest kind. This is not a good step.

It drives irrational behavior--accepting a crazy story just because it comes from the MSM and rejecting good stories for the same reason. So, if you think the MSM is biased and untrustworthy, and then someone says Obama is a closet muslim, you take it as EVIDENCE that the story is true that it's not reported or it's denied by the MSM. Same if you hear Palin is a snake handler or something: it WASN'T in the news, so it MUST be true, or anyway more credible.

No doubt the media has issues. My suggestion is to cross-reference stories from lots of sources. I read both the NY times and the WSJ. I also check the Drudge Report on a regular basis. And I try to followup on stories with longer things when I can--books, long-form articles, etc.

But if you don't get your news from the MSM, where do you get it? Why think that source is better? The press plays a vital function in democracy, and attacking it is dangerous. What, should political parties get to vet the media? Should they have editorial control? That serves the parties, but damages the nation. And yes, I do think in general that the MSM is biased. NY Times, WPost, NBC--liberal. Fox, NYPost, WashTimes--conservative. Knowing this allows for some cross-calibration. And I take try to take all these reports with a grain of salt.

It makes sense to be skeptical of what we get from the MSM, but it doesn't make sense, it seems to me, to become an out-and-out skeptic about the media. There's an important difference.

I get my news from a bunch of sources both from the left and the right. MSNBC, FOX, PBS, PBR, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN I kind of surf around to see what they are talking about and if its of interest I'll will then listen. I don't cherry pick and only watch when they are talking good about who I support or when they are talking bad about who I don't support. I really enjoy surfing the news right after the debates to see all the different slants from the different news outlets. Like I said earlier I don't mind liberal slanted media its how they hide the fact that they are liberal and report like its just facts without their slant. I know liberals dog Fox but you know what you are getting when you turn them on and they do not hide the fact they lean to the right. You cannot say that about MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, or CNN and they just want you to think they are just reporting without their slant.