tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post8593482117927319636..comments2023-10-10T08:02:18.073-04:00Comments on Rationally Speaking: Neil Postman on how to watch TV newsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-61469932359431500602008-01-14T12:22:00.000-05:002008-01-14T12:22:00.000-05:00If one really looks through the website one can fi...If one really looks through the website one can find interesting less sensational stuff like this <BR/><BR/>Culture influences brain function, MIT imaging shows http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/<BR/>psychology-0111.html<BR/><BR/>But you have to really be seeking out something of substance to find it. <BR/><BR/>As for guys on the right and what they happen to be looking at, (passively or not) I think it is very much like the Samson and Delilah story of the OT. Sure, any guy of any political pers. can look at anything he wants. But he has to ask himself, what am I losing when choose to do that? <BR/><BR/>I think at times men don't immediately recognize what causes them to lose the strength to do the right thing.<BR/><BR/>I appreciate my husband's approach to this. We watch different news channels, sometimes fox included. But if notices that the subject matter is getting on to something salacious, he flips the channel in a sec. And believe me, he's not a "whipped" guy either. He does what he wants in most respects and dares anyone to tell him he can't. ;) I feel that he has chose to acquire a respect for women that he may not have had years ago. <BR/><BR/>It would be great if more men would choose no matter what their politics happen to be. Better lives, better families more trust between the genders... Too many benefits to list. <BR/><BR/>calAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-19753214583757435302008-01-14T09:31:00.000-05:002008-01-14T09:31:00.000-05:00Cal,I think you are right about Fox, that it talks...Cal,<BR/>I think you are right about Fox, that it talks out of both sides of its mouth, pandering to the Religious Right, but then also broadcasting alot of celebrity news, sex and scantily clad women and sensationalism. Perhaps they know their target audience of religious conservative men who like to huff and puff with righteous indignation about how immoral society is, yet are also looking for titillation?<BR/><BR/>But of course seeing through Fox's agenda is easy. What takes a little more effort is to see through the TV News that is PRESENTED in a supposedly less biased manner, but plays right into its propaganda function for elites.Sheldonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03743116454273042629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-65563260547356248642008-01-12T11:19:00.000-05:002008-01-12T11:19:00.000-05:00K "Fox is rabidly right-wing and supports various ...K "Fox is rabidly right-wing and supports various authoritarian measures."<BR/><BR/>That is not quite true. Fox has a lot of very trashy, sensational programming, all the while some people who are commentators are giving some conservative points of view. There is something definitely wrong with Fox, and I probably don't think it is the same thing you do. <BR/><BR/>It would be very much like me telling my girls "don't go out and sleep around" all the while I have romance novels and other garbage like that laying around my house. I don't. But that's pretty much what Fox basically does, mixed messages on morality. I think it's despicable and completely lacking respectability. <BR/> <BR/>"Can you identify the subtle and not-so-subtle biases of the other major networks?"<BR/><BR/>Sure. Obamba was supposed to, by media accounts, be "winning" the NH race so a bunch of people ran out to vote for Hillary. THAT was most certainly a media engineered reaction. The brainless populace, huh. <BR/><BR/>One of my daughters will be getting married early this summer so I need run off to the B&B that she wants to get married at. <BR/><BR/>What an awesome (and beautiful) kid she is! :) <BR/><BR/>laters<BR/>calAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-4617628301532389412008-01-11T22:18:00.000-05:002008-01-11T22:18:00.000-05:00Oh, yeah, the power of commercials. It always amaz...Oh, yeah, the power of commercials. It always amazes me when people say they don't think those ridiculous ads work... while they are probably buying exactly the stuff advertised and having their opinions formed exactly as intended in these commercials. Or would people be spending billions on marketing just for the fun of it?<BR/><BR/>Sheldon, what you pointed out in your first comment is really a serious problem. And considering that the only "news" I get from TV comes from those two shows, I think I will cut the third part of them that is dedicated to commercials...<BR/><BR/>I myself prefer to get news from the internet newspapers, I have some staple sources from different countries. "Folha de São Paulo" in Brazil, "NY Times" and "Wash. Post" here, the British "The Register" (tech news, mostly), and "Der Spiegel" in Germany, are my regular somewhat ones, depending on the mood (the Brazilian one I read every day though). Sometimes "El País"... Oh, and whatever catches my attention in the Yahoo page when I log out from my email (advertising at work!). Either way, I always feel I don't know what's going on to begin with!<BR/><BR/>I don't know if having such sources helps, maybe I'm just getting the same bias from different places, which I selected to reflect and reinforce my own biases, and so forth... :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-54940245921781992752008-01-11T17:40:00.000-05:002008-01-11T17:40:00.000-05:00Great topic Massimo! Hopefully Cal can't drag it ...Great topic Massimo! Hopefully Cal can't drag it into some discussion about eternity like she did the last thread!<BR/><BR/>Sometimes what makes television news so bad, is not neccessarily the issue of so-called bias, but the issue of substance versus shalllowness.<BR/><BR/>Take Bill Moyer's programs. Nobody doubts that Moyer's programs are coming from a more liberal perspective overall. But the programs have more significant depth and substance in the exploration of issues. And Moyer's "liberal bias" doesn't prevent him from sitting down and having civil rational discussions with conservatives, or from criticizing Democrats.<BR/><BR/>Amy Goodman's Democracy Now is also clearly coming things from a left wing anti-establishment perspective, which it doesn't try to hide. But again there is alot more substance in the news she does. <BR/><BR/>On the other hand, nobody doubts that Fox News is shilling for the right and Republicans, and in a grossly shallow and sensationalistic manner.<BR/><BR/>As for the major networks, they just try to appear un-biased, by playing it down the middle, and trying not to offend anybody with anything outside of the mainstream. Yet thats the problem, there ends up being hardly anything presented with substance. And avoiding going counter to both the establishment conservative and liberal perspective leads to another type of bias.<BR/><BR/>NPR (actually radio) and the PBS Newhour, while I agree that they do cover things in greater depth and substance, but I still think they play it down the middle in catering to the moderate liberal to conservative viewpoints, it results in another kind bias, with important issues left unexplored.Sheldonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03743116454273042629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-21376774524624965732008-01-11T13:28:00.000-05:002008-01-11T13:28:00.000-05:00Jim Lehrer's News Hour on NPR does have some prett...Jim Lehrer's News Hour on NPR does have some pretty good in-depth reporting. I'm not saying that some peole might find bias here and there, but it is not the incredibly nasty vituperation seen on the (FFNN) Fox Faux News Network. They have both conservative and liberal viewpoints without mocking or denigrating either.<BR/><BR/>Bill Moyers Journal also holds to the above standards although he, personally, is a liberal, a most thoughtful and well articulated liberal.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-56133638051083585322008-01-10T21:38:00.000-05:002008-01-10T21:38:00.000-05:00This probably makes more sense to many Americans. ...This probably makes more sense to many Americans. I tend not to watch TV news at all because it lacks the depth of information that internet/newspaper articles have. <BR/><BR/>Of course similar tips are useful for internet news readers. As usual - critical thinking is of utmost importance.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03877117916846565598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-55643671473147678862008-01-10T21:06:00.000-05:002008-01-10T21:06:00.000-05:00As raised at TAM 5 last year, the real issue for u...As raised at TAM 5 last year, the real issue for us at home is to learn to filter the TV news by identifying the underlying agenda. For example, Fox is rabidly right-wing and supports various authoritarian measures.<BR/>Can you identify the subtle and not-so-subtle biases of the other major networks?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-30001848732183345792008-01-10T13:17:00.000-05:002008-01-10T13:17:00.000-05:00"I have become so critical of biased and inaccurat..."I have become so critical of biased and inaccurate news reporting that my family no longer joins me in watching. Maybe I've gone a step too far."<BR/><BR/>Hee hee. Yeah. You and my husband both. I watched him watching both of the debates, hollering and complaining and generally giving everyone a piece of his mind. I sat on the other couch laughing my head off at him. <BR/><BR/>Apparently some of us can learn to disassociate ourselves for the sake of our sanity and some just can't. <BR/>Ah...what a fun night we had. ;)<BR/>I really am looking forward to getting old(er) with this man. <BR/>LOL<BR/><BR/>calAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-79983599121825981122008-01-10T12:49:00.000-05:002008-01-10T12:49:00.000-05:00I have become so critical of biased and inaccurate...I have become so critical of biased and inaccurate news reporting that my family no longer joins me in watching. Maybe I've gone a step too far.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-4101466998611050602008-01-09T21:47:00.000-05:002008-01-09T21:47:00.000-05:00Sheldon,actually, I don't usually watch the Colber...Sheldon,<BR/><BR/>actually, I don't usually watch the Colbert Report (not enough time in the day). I do watch the Daily Show, but I subscribe to it via iTunes...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09099460671669064269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-17738424829120891562008-01-09T21:41:00.000-05:002008-01-09T21:41:00.000-05:00"“Reduce by at least one-third the amount of TV ne..."“Reduce by at least one-third the amount of TV news you watch.” It’s a good thing I don’t have cable!"<BR/><BR/>Mmmm? How is it that you say you watch the Daily Show and The Colbert Report?Sheldonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03743116454273042629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-46489241598471653822008-01-09T16:53:00.000-05:002008-01-09T16:53:00.000-05:00All excellent tips. One idea I didn't see mention...All excellent tips. One idea I didn't see mentioned is to deliberately select different news organizations with different biases, so as to 1) hopefully be able to fill in the missing parts of the picture, and 2) exercise one's ability to detect bias by exposing oneself to various angles and intensities of bias.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com