[BC] Station Positioning

[Mike McCarthy]

The problem is when the commentary becomes the news...as in Bill O'Reilly, 
et al. themselves becoming centers of attention based on what they 
think/conclude beyond what is reported..factual or otherwise.

I have listened to all of the above as well and have concluded that NPR is 
a bit more liberal leaning (as opposed to left...which is a whole different 
animal) than the major OTA networks.  PBS's overall programming is more 
liberal leaning, but the news I have found is mostly centrist in content 
and presentation. Fox is more populous in that they give the viewers the 
stories they want to see/hear. Whether the content is conservative or 
liberal (praising or bashing), I have found Fox's actual news positioning 
is more real than politically positional.  More sensationally presented, 
probably (Bleeds/leads...swooping graphics...yeah that stuff). That's FOX's 
trademark and no one has yet to rise or lower their operation to 
match.  Which is one reason they're such a lighting rod for controversy.

One thing's for certain, I have found there to be zero difference in the 
attention the media has devoted to the Bush/NSA and CIA legal issues as 
they did to Clinton's MonicaGate. OBSERVATIONAL COMMENT....If anything, 
Hillary will play off that chapter to show how strong a woman she really is 
under fire.  That being said, she will assert and no one will doubt her as 
Commander in Chief if she is elected.

But I digress, the liberals are always bashing the media for being so 
heavily weighted by conservatives. And the reverse is true because the 
conservatives see the media as always reporting/pushing the liberal agenda 
on a wide list of issues.  So in reality, they MUST be centrist if both 
sides are not happy.

MM

At 06:53 PM 1/7/2006 -0500, Rich Wood wrote
>------ At 03:58 PM 1/7/2006, Kirk Harnack wrote: -------
>
>>Rich, I think you can discern "news" from "commentary".  At least a 
>>couple of university studies have shown that Fox News's "news" is as 
>>accurate and *more* balanced than other major media.
>
>If you're going to take that route, then you have to accept the similar 
>studies that claim the same for PBS and NPR. I know that hurts, but they 
>don't lean.
>
>>The problem with so many other media is that what they call "news" is 
>>actually "commentary".  Fox tends to make clear which is which.  If Bill 
>>O'Reilly is talking, it's commentary.  If Donna Feducia is reading a 
>>newscast, it's news.  If Kelly Wright is reporting from the White House, 
>>it's news.  If Kelly Wright is co-hosting their weekend morning show, 
>>it's commentary.
>
>If you lean to the right, then FOX is at your center. When I watch it I 
>see no balance. For me, Bill O'Reilly embodies the old lawyer joke: "How 
>can you tell when a lawyer is lying? His lips are moving."
>
>When I watch The News Hour on PBS I almost always see representatives from 
>a number of sides. I don't see that either in FOX News or in its commentary.
>
>Rich