After Friday night’s first Presidential debate, Democrats envisioned a clear victory for Barack Obama. Republicans envisioned a clear victory for John McCain. Ron Paul supporters were probably happy he wasn’t invited to participate in the craziness of the first debate. Above describes the wonderful world of spinning, in its most basic sense. In a week that saw Americans scared of “the most serious financial crisis since the great depression,” both candidates’ campaigns said their respective nominees held their ground on the other candidate’s home turf.
Obama’s stance on foreign affairs and the War in Iraq stymied McCain at times, on his specialty, and McCain plastered Obama as another “tax and spend” Democrat whose administration will continue wasteful spending.
These ideas, statements, thoughts, etc. show exactly how partisan this country has become. It’s not just candidates, but its print media and news networks too. As bipartisan and impartial news networks like CNN and FOX News are supposed to be, the public’s opinion doesn’t deter from CNN being ultra-liberal and Fox News being ultra-conservative.
Campbell Brown ranted this week on “sexist” treatment of Sarah Palin by the McCain camp. Brown is an anchor for CNN and a member of the “best political team on TV.”
Brown’s statements were fair to make. She blasted the McCain campaign from hiding their Vice-Presidential candidate from the press. This writer has as much right to argue for what she argues for, but since she is an anchor for CNN, she is defaulted as biased and her ideas voided.
Some readers of that piece agreed with the rant, but others called her message weak and influenced by partisan ideologies.
On the article response section, Jennifer from Stillwater, Oklahoma said that Brown’s rant was “just ridiculous” and that Brown and other “journalists” were asserting unfair bias into reporting. Some readers agreed with her opinion while others gave props to Brown for stating the truth about McCain’s “chauvinistic treatment” of Palin.
But whether Brown’s comments were or were not influenced greatly by partisan bias, the signee of her paycheck constitutes her point of view.
CNN, MSNBC, FOX News Channel and other cable news outlets pay conservative and liberals alike to bring in their opinions, but “deep down” the way they frame the opinions is apparently partisan according to critics.
So let’s let bygones be bygones and allow news channels to attempt to remain impartial; the problem is human beings are in some way or other biased. Sports analysts, who comment on all sports stories, usually have bias from where they are born or who they played for.why would political reporters be any different?
Because they have to be.
Journalists need to have a clear, concise, non-subjective view on the world because their job is not for fame or pay, but for a service to citizens.
Every person is born with a political affiliation, moral principles and/or a different way to achieve life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness: but that does not have to equate to bias.
Reporters can be a democrat and report fairly on Republican matters. The key to reporting is FACT. Facts are things that have no amount of bias. That why journalists remove “I, we, us” statements from the things we report. Our opinions don’t mater one cent. Some people’s opinions manner and that is where attribution comes into affect, but anchors should not EVER, EVER, EVER instate opinion into their coverage.
It happened last night on CNN, which apparently is exactly what Jennifer from Stillwater was hitting at. Anderson Cooper, after the debate on Friday, said about a potential interview with Gov. Palin that he doubts it CNN would get it. Next time, he might want to say, “Sara Palin has not returned our request for an interview.”
This is not the only network that does this. FOX News Channel does reverse favoritism of Republicans.
CNN and FOX not the only networks that are guilty of the lost art of reporting, but if your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?