D'Juhn Keep on 9/9/2008 at 15:02
Quote Posted by BEAR
I grew up in a pretty cool place all things considered, I'm not really speaking too much from personal experience as observation.
I was referring to tbm's post with my second paragraph btw
But your anecdotes about where you lived illustrate my point about bemoaning a lost golden age.
heywood on 9/9/2008 at 15:34
If you stay informed by reading indymedia.org and mediamatters.org, the mainstream media is going to look conservatively biased. And the converse is true for those who stay informed through conservative talk radio or freerepublic.com.
I get most of my news from NPR or the web these days and don't watch much TV. But I did watch the conventions. I thought ABC had the most balanced convention coverage. MSNBC and CNN were somewhat pro-Obama, as they were in the primaries. And Fox's GOP convention coverage was too favorable toward Palin.
Overall though, I think the differences between the major TV networks is relatively insignificant. They all give fluff interviews and they talk mostly about the horse race and rarely about the issues. The one guy from the mainstream media I miss is Tim Russert, who was able to press people a bit in his interviews but always played fair. I like Stephanopolous too, especially since he has started adopting a bit of Russert's style.
Regarding Gibson's first interview with Palin, you bet your ass it's going to be mostly a fluff piece. That's not because Gibson is biased. It's because it was part of the deal that got him the first shot. And I don't mean a literal deal, just an understanding. The candidates want opportunities to look good and get their message out, and they have no incentive to agree to an interview that will make them look bad. You want access to the candidates, you have to play the game.
Quote Posted by BEAR
If the Democrats do the same thing I would like to see it as well, but the daily show, left leaning that it is, doesn't give them a free ride (their convention coverage was pretty irreverent).
The Democrats do the same thing, but you mainly hear about it on conservative talk radio.
Besides, does anybody who follows the election not know that McCain and Obama have changed their positions on taxes, oil drilling, immigration, and a bunch of other things? It's not like this stuff isn't getting covered by the mainsteam media.
Turtle on 9/9/2008 at 16:58
Quote Posted by heywood
Besides, does anybody who follows the election not know that McCain and Obama have changed their positions on taxes, oil drilling, immigration, and a bunch of other things?
The problem is, millions of people
don't follow the election.
Whether they're too busy, disinterested in politics in general, or whatever, they get most of their information on a candidate from sound bites or word of mouth from friends and relatives.
heretic on 9/9/2008 at 17:05
Quote Posted by Turtle
The problem is, millions of people
don't follow the election.
Whether they're too busy, disinterested in politics in general, or whatever, they get most of their information on a candidate from sound bites or word of mouth from friends and relatives.
Likely friends and relatives who've followed the election, as even second hand info has to disseminate from somewhere. Obvously it may be debased and reduced by that point, but that works both ways. That said, it is unforunate that so many are disinterested.
Turtle on 9/9/2008 at 20:57
It is unfortunate that they make it so disinteresting and misleading.
heretic on 9/9/2008 at 21:24
Quote Posted by Turtle
It is unfortunate that they make it so disinteresting and misleading.
QFT
Thief13x on 9/9/2008 at 21:34
Quote Posted by Turtle
It is unfortunate that they make it so disinteresting and misleading.
I'll be honest, I have tried (and cannot fathom) how an American would be disinterested in politics. I READ cnn.com every morning with my coffee. How can you not be interested in something that's going to affect you and this country so much? It's quite literally like having cancer and not caring about experimental treatments.
heretic on 9/9/2008 at 21:56
Quote Posted by Thief13x
I'll be honest, I have tried (and cannot fathom) how an American would be disinterested in politics. I READ cnn.com every morning with my coffee. How can you not be interested in something that's going to affect you and this country so much? It's quite literally like having cancer and not caring about experimental treatments.
Right or wrong, there are legions of folks that truly believe their vote does not matter. Surely there are other reasons that the voter turnout of certain demographics is so low as well.
Disenfranchisement (real or imagined) can breed indifference, which often leads to disinterest eventually.
So can the complacency that springs from the lifestyle so many take for granted.
There are a lot of people that (until personally affected by one issue or another) don't care to see the bigger picture, or their place within it.
BEAR on 9/9/2008 at 23:12
Wait, aren't you describing yourself? You have no dog in this fight and think both candidates are shit, but you don't think your vote doesn't count?
heretic on 9/9/2008 at 23:24
Quote Posted by BEAR
Wait, aren't you describing yourself? You have no dog in this fight and think both candidates are shit, but you don't think your vote doesn't count?
Of course my vote counts, just not towards my ideal candidate. But that's life and hardly unusual to boot eh?
There are other incentives for political involvment than sheer party affiliation you know, however large or small.
