CNN has a pretty obvious liberal bias when you watch it, and pay attention as a right winger, and they are more dangerous then far left leaning organisations because you would have to be insane not to believe sources like msnbc or media matters or huff post were left leaning. The same can be said of fox news, there is no denying that fox news has a right wing bias, but it is so blatant that any person with a half a brain can see it, so they are not exactly stealth, and they dont fool most thinking people. The dangerous news outlets are ones like CNN which are supposedly a legitimate center of the line news source who actually lean pretty hard left, but dont do it in such an obvious fashion.
Yes, and what better way to mask their leaning than by presenting balanced viewpoints by giving voice to capable spokespeople on all sides and with similar weightings. Those devious bastards, eh?
you obviously missed the point, watch any CNN programming and watch when they do a piece on any social issue and watch which way the anchors are leaning, 95% of the time it is a liberal view point. The anchor is the hero in every case, because people tune in to watch their specific anchor of choice, so people who go in watching a source like CNN trust the anchors opinion over any of the guests, for viewers who are supposedly in the "center" who watch these anchors and put their trust in them as a centered news source, the opinion which is formed is inevitably a left wing opinion, 19 times out of 20. Plus the stories they choose NOT tocover are just as important as the ones they do and again 9 times out of 10 it is a story which would be beneficial to conservatives which inevitably gets dropped. They can have as many guests as they want trying to pitch a right or left wing view but the bottom line is that the opinion which matters is the anchors, and it is definately not balanced, though it is not as blatantly obvious. If you watched Sean hannity every night and he had the last word, but he always had on 2 liberals and 1 conservative would you believe hannitys show was balanced? I bet you also think the CBC is in the center.....
I always wondered what happened to Eddie Munster. His show is hopelessly partisan. On the occasions I watched it for a few moments at a time, any liberal viewpoint expressed on that show has characteristically be understated and meek and generally drowned out. If "fair and balanced" FOX were a boat, it would have capsized a long time ago.
You still havent dealt with the crux of the matter, i KNOW sean hannity is conservative, and it is obvious to most people, you seem to think CNN is balanced though.
I think CNN does a reasonably good job of being balanced. I will acknowledge that I see glimmers of bias from time to time, in some cases more than others. However, people are people. At least they're trying. I don't think they are being insidious. Hell, I wish FOX was as "insidious." Most of FOX's viewership wouldn't catch the nuance anyway, so they'd view it as well and truly balanced. And then they'd change the channel because that's not what they're looking for. You may not like it, but you know it's true.
Thats the point i was making, most of the viewers who watch fox watch it for the fact that it is right wing, and they are right wing, and the same thing holds true for MSNBC in reverse. And yes i am a glutton for punishment so i watch both networks to get both opinions. The people who are actually able to sway opinions are the ones like CNN who appear to be a legitimate center of the line news organisation on the surface but inevitably lean left, because their viewers are the ones looking for center of the line info. When you go to a news source like fox, most viewers are there because they hate them, (fox will not sway these opinions) or because they already love them, and again fox will not sway these opinions. People go in knowing the product is a right leaning network, and thus there is no turning the people who go there, you either love them or hate them. Very few people who are sane turn to fox thinking they are about to find a centered news source, and thus the reason i believe CNN, and other supposedly "legitimate" news sources hold more power. CNN has alot more power in this regard because what they do is subtle, and alot of people do not even know they are getting fed a liberal opinion most of the time, CNN tries to claim they are truly unbiased when the fact is that they arent even close.
I disagree. I think they come fairly close. Our opinions differ. Here's what I like. You know that I'm a liberal, and I state so openly. I want to hear a strong conservative viewpoint and I want to hear it supported as best as it can be. Then I relish when it is legitimately pummeled. As a liberal, such an exchange has entertainment value for me. However, it is essential that the conservative viewpoint is not presented by a token conservative whipping boy weakling. I want it to be presented by the best they have. The fight should be a fair one. If the liberal argument wins in my view, then that was satisfying entertainment. But if the liberal argument is found wanting in my opinion, then that causes me to think rather than be entertained. I don't mind thinking when the opportunity presents itself. CNN provides a reasonably fair forum for such balanced exchanges between equally ranking or equally qualified representatives of their respective political leanings. However, no such exercise takes place on FOX. The liberal viewpoint is characteristically underrepresented either in number or in quality, but it is nevertheless underrepresented without exception. It is like watching a competition between two conservative cats and a liberal mouse. Oh, the drama.
here's a thought - your viewpoint may not be "right or wrong", just yours. and if yours differs from others, then that is all - it is just different. no one is more right and no one is more wrong. and if the majority of a group of people differs from you, they are not stupid and neither are you. they are just different. finally, if the majority of the united states (meaning over 50%) differs from you or thinks a particular way...well, i'm sure you can finish it.
Arent you admitting to what i said then? You are a liberal, i am a conservative, and both of us go into the debate looking for our side to win. So there really is no swaying either of our opinions, the ones which can be swayed are the ones who are neutral. I will give you an example. The last time i went home to toronto i visited with my mom, and she really doesnt know alot about politics, and especially not about u.s. politics, but we started talking about U.S. politics, and Obama, and i stayed alot more neutral then i would have, just because she was my mom, and she loves Obama, well the first thing that she said to me was how the Tea Party was a bunch of violent angry racists, I looked at her aloofly at first, not understanding where that came from, and my first question back was "what made you believe that?" She couldnt really say much to me or give me specific examples, except that she had been reading the huffington post, and that was what she had read. She would be the perfect example of someone who was neutral who was swayed through media bias. She voted for Harper in the last election, and by most standards she would probably be a conservative. I dont want to harp on my own mom as i love her unconditionally, but she is precisely the type of person who can be swayed without even knowing that she is not reading from a center of the line news source.