do u belive the media is misleading?eg news?
448095
Cable news is horrifyingly bad, what with its two-minute reports, its repetition of talking points, its opinion journalism, and its reliance on pundits.  Newspaper journalism is substantially better, but its sphere of influence has decreased enormously.  To give you a sense of how bad cable news is, let me tell you the kinds of stories I've been aware of from a long time ago--and keep following through the blogosphere--that have not made significant noise in cable news at all: there are several people that the US is holding prisoner in Guantanamo that have been found innocent of the charges imputed to them, and the US refuses to release them.  One of the prisoners is actually publicly believed to have attempted to assassinate none other than Osama bin Laden, and was picked up from a prison in the Taliban dominated Afghanistan (at the time, I suppose he thought he was being rescued, what an irony!).  He and others are being kept in isolation--without permission to contact relatives, to have visits, etc., in Guantanamo.  A judge has ruled their detention to be illegal, but he said he has no legal relief to offer them.  The conundrum is that the US--which has acknowledged they are innocent!--cannot send them back to any other country (none will take them, except countries that want them to torture them), and for political reasons the administration does not wish to release them to American soil (imagine the conservative uproar: terrorism suspects picked up in Afghanistan by the military, only to be released in American soil).\n\nThis story is an incredibly heart-breaking story, especially when considering how these innocent people--some of them even allies in the war on terror!--are being treated even now that the US government has acknowledge their capture was a mistake!  They are not even allowed to plant a garden.  (See link below.)\n\nWhere are the cable news reporters asking tough questions to Bush on this one issue?  Why is Condoleeza Rice given a pass on this issue, when a diplomatic solution should already have been found--for example, finding a country that will take them as political refugees)?  Why is nobody outraged about the treatment they are subject to even *now*?
265566
Its very good that you have your own mind and not just follow whats in the local newspaper or tv shows. Educated people think they know all about everything in current events but sometimes they are just reading into something put there just for that reason, so they have something to believe. Propaganda is all around you man tv paper even in conversations with other people. We will never know the true agenda of the government or big business. Who knows if he is real or not ?Not me
734954
It appears all 24 hour news programs focus on sensationalist stories, not only the "right-wing" ones.  Even left wing broadcasts such as CNN and MSNBC focus on the sensationalist stories.  They often cover the same stories at the same time even, and the only difference remaining would be the commentators.  Its all about the ratings.  And sensationalist stories get people watching, which makes the stations money, which is all any of them really care about in the first place
319071
Yes, advertisers do it and I call it lying. Politicians often do it too.  Religious people do it,  but they don't know any better.  Understatement is closer to the truth.
375125
Everyone is biased!!  Therefore, the only thing we can do is get as much information from as many different sources as possible, definitely cross international lines for your news.  With the news from everywhere in the world, you might have a clue, but that's about all.
542526
This is the second time I posted this answer.\n\nThere's nothing really spectacular or journalistic about it, that's why, and media, may it be in the west or middle east cannot earn and would close down in no time if they would show things like that. \n\nWhat you have featured here are nothing new and it is too ordinary for media to give inportance to. In short those are not news materials, those are just simple pictures that may or may not entice people to see. That's why the word news came from the word "NEW" because people would only put interest on new things that happens around them. So, terrorism is news because it's new to a lot of people and it attracts attention and that's what terrorist wants. This way they increase TV viewing increasing their income by increasing the chances of getting good sponsors. There is nothing personal to it, really. So, don't point to the media the problems of Islam. Stop pointing your accusing fingers or else you will only see the mistakes of others and not yours. \n\nIn order for correction or change to take place, there should be acceptance of mistake first because how can you correct your own mistake if you don't see your own mistakes but instead see the mistakes of others. It's like barking on the wrong tree.\n\nMedia only report what they see. I don't believe that there are intentions of twisting the truth because what they report are only what is available to them and they don't have the whole world on their shoulders. If media twists the truth, who will really suffer in the end? We know it's not the sponsors or their viewers but them. Because the truth is that, in the free world, when their credibility suffers, their future follows.  \n\nSo, it nothing new really, I hope you got the picture so that you'll stop wondering anymore. By the way I am not a journalist, I am just an ordinary person who has an open mind who checks on my own fault first before looking at others.
446564
In theory the media exists to keep the populace informed on current events and important communication from the government and law enforcement agencies. It is intended to be unbiased and factual.\n\nThe reality is just the opposite. The role of the media as it exists today is to control and manipulate the populace. Sometimes in accordance with government, sometimes in opposition to the government but always along its own world-view. The media exerts a heavy-handed and no-apologies slant on events with the ultimate intent of herding the masses like brainless sheep. Their method is based on entertainment. Insidiously infusing biased interpretation and unbalanced pseudo-facts with sensationalist glitz and flash, the media competes among itself to grab viewers/readers/listeners and then tells you only what it wants to. The consumer cannot trust the media's product as there is no base line for comparison. Some counter-media groups exist but they are just as unbalanced in their own way. It is unlikely that any human based media organization can exist as a totaly unbiased source of information. or if they were, no one would watch as it would be very dry. Consumers are conditioned to seek entertainment and expect a degree of excitiement in their information. \n\nI offer as example a local tv news story a few years ago involving a train wreck. Most viewers share in-common a human empathy for the victims and family of those effected and the tragedy of a father and daughter laying in the wreckage dead would be sad for all. An unbiased report would disscuss the facts in a cool and business-like fashion leaving the viewer to assess the meaning of the event on their own. Instead the tv station spent many minutes of air time focusing on the devastated mother who lost her entire family. Cameras with tight closeups of her tear streaked face and a reporter sticking his microphone at her asking the inane question, "how does this make you feel?" I suggest this reporter should have carried his microphone in a personal oriface that is apt not to see the light of day. A station that condones such a callous intrusion on an individual's grief is irresponsible. What message are they making? Are viewers so mindless that they need a tv reporter to tell them it is time to grieve? Sensationalist journalism aimed at gaining viewers and controlling the thoughts and actions of viewers along station policy. That is the role of media today in our daily lives.
354961
Regardless of your politics people, the answer is YES.  The media needs stories to fill 24 hours worth of 'news.' The media frequently "reports" what the governments reports, says, and spins.  People at all levels of government (federal, state, local, school) spend time every day trying to spin a media message in a particular way, in the same way that PR companies and corporate companies cast their messages.  How, when, what, and why a story is reported is generally structured by others in government (and business) with the public blissfully unaware.  Fox simply characterizes with a conservative bent.
135336
Don't forget that being accused of lying does not mean that you are a liar.  It just means that the media is listening.
969265
My take is that you cannot take anything reported on TV as fact.\n\nTo learn the real truth regarding anything you have to search it out.  You are more likely to find the truth on the internet than the news media.
560773
Facts mixed with Fiction...did it confuse you?
507471
most people's opinions are formed by the media. what the media chooses to cover, what stereotypes they choose to feed into, what issues they decide get the ratings, etc. so our people are free to choose, but is it really freedom if they are only presented with selective information? most people do not take the time to look up facts, background, stats, etc. they trust that what they read, see, hear is the truth.  if you are interested in this subject, you should check out Bowling for Columbine, it's a documentary about the Columbine shootings, but it also has a very interesting part about U.S. media vs. Canadian media.  Of course, that's media, too.  :)
320451
In my case the result is that I go elsewhere to be informed.\n\nI read quite a few newspapers and magazines representing different points of view.  I also watch Jim Lehrer's News Hour on PBS - the only TV news show worthy of the name.\n\nIt's not hard to be informed - it's just that most folks aren't really interested in that.
984584
Very little these days.  The press needs to be free to keep the society honest and well informed about what is really going on.  It used to work pretty well, but today, all major news sources are owned by  international conglomerates of business interests.  These interests do not wish to have anything reported that makes them look bad, so if you want to know about the exploitation of the poor, environmental violations by business or governments they support, what is really happening in war, who supports and directs politicians, are elections rigged, or any number of other important issues relevant to your life and your future, you can no longer rely on the press to be independent and give you that information.  Press, TV news etc., have all been bought up by those you would hope the press would tell about.  No more.  Not here.  Go to Al Jazeera and you will get better news that we do in our "free country."
183950
The trend that aggrevates me the most is how local news is broadcasting more and more world news... only to have the world news come on right after it. Stupid... I like local news to be local news. If there isn't enough bad news to report... then report something good for a change.
15629
BBC...News actually covers the world and not as biased.  Not just the usual "America is the greatest place on earth" babble...
473881
The media clouds peoples judgment by planting artificial "facts". Does any of us truely read the reports that decisions are made from. No, we merely listen to views from the media. Politicians are in their business for money as we work for money, not all are good not all are bad. I say drop the party lines and get a more independant politician to present moral views.