Yeah, but you probably wouldn't say they made the WTC attacks amusing. I'm glad Mort-Hog enjoyed it. Gives him something in common with the terrorists.

------------------
Have you forgotten ...

[This message has been edited by Wookie06 (edited July 11, 2004).]

Heh, I don't think the American media is at all "liberal" by international standards.

Try reading European newspapers.

Very true. It's rather surprising how much the views of the average American are distorted; not so much as in their leanings, but in what they call their leanings. Most people in the US consider anything that seems to the the left of their ideas to be Liberal. This is not so... There are actually five categories of ideology, not two or three. Listed from left to right, they are:

• Radical (i.e. communism)
• Liberal (i.e. democracy)
• Moderate (i.e. democratic republic)
• Republican (i.e. republic)
• Reactionary (i.e. tyrany)

Most Americans label themselves as liberal to conservative. Very few label themselves as radical, while virtually none of them label themselves as reactionary. Sadly enough, many that call themselves conservative actually seem far more reactionary. For example, Anybody who seriously agrees with the platforms of either the Libertarian or Reform parties are thoroughly reactionary. Most of the fiery "conservative" show hosts such as O'Rielly or Limbaugh are also more reactionary than conservative. In fact, there really is no major real major news network in the USA that's more liberal than conservative, aside from the BBC, which has only medium Liberal leanings. CNN has a mildly conservative stance, while ABC, NBC, and CBS are fully conservative. Of course, ABC is owned by Disney (easily a strongly conservative company), while NBC is owned by General Electric (conservative as well). As Elana14 mentioned, virtually the only option for un-biased television news is PBS. Of course, I've heard many call Jim Lehir a "Liberal", but if he is, it doesn't show at all. A single hour is not enough for all the day's major news, AND add spin of EITHER side.

Fox, on the other hand, is insanely right-wing. Supporting any administration through all its mistakes is not patriotic; it's favoring dictatorship. As TwistedSoul has in his sig:

That is the American stance: it's moderate.

------------------
"I know there's got to be some sort of mathematical equation for this sort of thing, but I prefer trial and error. It's one of the advantages of having a socialized health care system."

I don't find over 3,000 innocent people being murdered amusing.

I disagree with the examples in the brackets, but never mind.

Is PBS paid for by donations?

The problem with privately owned media is that they have to make a profit.

Conservative media will appeal to conservative Americans, who will buy their newspapers and tune in to their news stations, which in turn will make them more conservative. It's a vicious circle.

The only way to potentially achieve anything remotely objective is if the media is not concerned about profit. That is, if it were government-funded.

[This message has been edited by Mort-Hog (edited July 12, 2004).]

Yes, PBS is funded by donations. Unfortunately, it's gotten more and more underfunded. Many of the underwritters are actually conservative corporations, though some of the more right-wing companies (such as Exxon-Mobil) have withdrawn their suport. However, the News Hour is underwritten largely by brokerage companies (any securities/assets), and as such the only real slant seems to be focussing business news more, and having very little news about the "entertainment" industry or sports.

------------------
"I know there's got to be some sort of mathematical equation for this sort of thing, but I prefer trial and error. It's one of the advantages of having a socialized health care system."