Is BBC the Only Good One Left?

Off Topic Politics & World Issues
1

I have never been one to bash the media because to me, the more information the better. The only exception to this was FOX because there news casts were all the same, YOU’RE GOING TO DIE, or ANOTHER PERSON KILLED!

For the most part, I liked the newscasts because it was easy to point out the good stuff from the bullshit. However, today two of the news stations I watch the most have taken away my hope for the American media (I will always like BBC).

Today on channel 7 morning news, (ABC owns it I believe) they had the worst news stories I have heard in a long time. They were covering a string of robberies in GA, at the end they said, “And police believe that all of the bank robberies were related. There were striking similarities between the robberies such as the robbers were all male, had masks over their faces and were armed with handguns.”

Now I don’t know if the news reporters messed that up or if it was the cops who are the idiots. Let me get this straight…the robbers we males, had something over their faces and armed with handguns. Oh, well no shit it has to be related, who else would have a mask on and use a handgun? Man, those robbers just keep coming up with new things!

The other incident today comes from CNN. I was reading the Money section today and they are talking about the amount of jobs out there are going down and unemployment is on the rise. Now most of the article goes back and forth talking about how jobs are down and employment is down, but that the hours people are working and being paid are on the rise. One quote stated, “Employers have turned cautious in terms of hiring, but it looks like they’re asking their employees to work more hours, Bethune said.”

Well no kidding CNN! Let’s see if companies are laying people off then to keep the same workload they would have to make their employees work more, thus having to pay overtime. They act as if this is some startling realization. I guess the public has not realized that the economy acts in waves, and by the time, you see the peak in your stock prices the economy has already been on the decline for 3-6months. Hmm I guess stock market theory isn’t a general Ed requirement, but it should be. So for those who did not know, the stock market trails the economy, or as viewing it from the opposite you can use it as a predictor of things to come, either way, it is never inline with the economy.

Uh two stupid news reports, esp. the first one in one morning! Thank goodness for BBC.

2

holy cow, do you realize what this means? The same exact guys have been robbing banks for hundreds of years!! If we could catch The Men in Masks With Guns we would be able to prosecute almost every single bank robbery EVER!

haha, about the CNN article tho, I think they’re more making the observation that working conditions are declining, ie jobs are harder to find and when you do you have to work harder to keep it. Not surprising, theyre just making the observation that the job cuts arent being made because of a slow down in business but because of rising costs. Maybe I’m giving them too much credit tho…

3

I think news organizations in general have gotten sloppy and many of them are blurring the lines between purely objective reporting and their opinion staffs. Both are fine groups, but they should be clearly set verrrry far apart. This is not a “the media is all liberal” or “FOX News is a bunch of neo-cons” rant, just a general observation I’ve had independent of political affiliation.

I don’t think the BBC is really all that wonderful itself. Doesn’t anyone remember the 2004 issue of their claiming PM Tony Blair deliberately misled the British people into the war in Iraq and the subsequent firing of several BBC brass?

I don’t want think turning into another war debate, but generally speaking, very few news organizations these days are immune.

4

[quote]Kuz wrote:
I think news organizations in general have gotten sloppy and many of them are blurring the lines between purely objective reporting and their opinion staffs. Both are fine groups, but they should be clearly set verrrry far apart. This is not a “the media is all liberal” or “FOX News is a bunch of neo-cons” rant, just a general observation I’ve had independent of political affiliation.

I don’t think the BBC is really all that wonderful itself. Doesn’t anyone remember the 2004 issue of their claiming PM Tony Blair deliberately misled the British people into the war in Iraq and the subsequent firing of several BBC brass?

I don’t want think turning into another war debate, but generally speaking, very few news organizations these days are immune.[/quote]

That is true but I like how the portray most news stories. It seems like they aren’t trying to dumb it down which is what most US news stations do. They also portray US political issues in a somewhat open way. They call out both democrats and republicans when they do something stupid, so I like how they don’t have much of an agenda.

I’m from the DC area and I usually got the Washington Post and the Washington Times. One was a liberal paper the other a conservative one. However, the Post was a national caliber paper while the times was seriously lacking.

It?s so hard to get unbiased information these days. Now I just get one liberal viewpoint and one conservative and figure its somewhere in the middle.

5

I tend to agree that the BBC is better than most American news stations but I seem to remember hearing somewhere that many Brits look at it like we do FOX news. So long as you agree with their political affiliations you love them, otherwise, they’re shite. Since most Americans, myself included, don’t follow British politics we don’t really see the underlying political agenda inherent in BBC newscasts. I personally tend to read Reuters and AP online for my news. More objective and factual before the networks have had a chance to throw their spin on it.

6

[quote]KBCThird wrote:
holy cow, do you realize what this means? The same exact guys have been robbing banks for hundreds of years!! If we could catch The Men in Masks With Guns we would be able to prosecute almost every single bank robbery EVER!

haha, about the CNN article tho, I think they’re more making the observation that working conditions are declining, ie jobs are harder to find and when you do you have to work harder to keep it. Not surprising, theyre just making the observation that the job cuts arent being made because of a slow down in business but because of rising costs. Maybe I’m giving them too much credit tho…[/quote]

Haha I know, those guys need to be caught! Think how much money they have stolen since the train robberies they pulled off!

The CNN one wasn’t too bad, but lately the stories they have been reporting on and they way the portray the story has been declining faster than our economy.

7

A lot of Americans like CBC too (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), and it might be a little more relevant to some than BBC.

8

[quote]Jinx Me wrote:
A lot of Americans like CBC too (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), and it might be a little more relevant to some than BBC. [/quote]

You know I was wondering if you guys had something similar to BBC. I don’t get it with my current cable plan, but I’ll check it out online, thanks!

9

[quote]Jinx Me wrote:
A lot of Americans like CBC too (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), and it might be a little more relevant to some than BBC. [/quote]

Which Americans?

10

[quote]Jinx Me wrote:
A lot of Americans like CBC too (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), and it might be a little more relevant to some than BBC. [/quote]

Sorta funny considering how anti-american the CBC is. I get most of my news from drudge report.

11

[quote]T234 wrote:
Jinx Me wrote:
A lot of Americans like CBC too (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), and it might be a little more relevant to some than BBC.

Sorta funny considering how anti-american the CBC is. I get most of my news from drudge report. [/quote]

Watch Rick Mercer’s “Talking to Americans” and you’ll know why you guys get a bad rap here in Canada.

12

Remember that there is a difference between the BBC made for domestic consumption in the UK and the BBC World Service for people elsewhere who think their own domestic media sources suck.

13

I live in London and only idoits would think that te BBC and Fox News have anything in common.

14

I actually read Fox News, BBC, CBC, Al Jazeera, and CNN. Somewhere in there I may find a fact or two.

15

These days a great deal of what passes for news is actually a newscaster (or organization) putting out their opinion on what is happening. Watch 99% of the interviews - either a rah-rah session for “our” side with like thinkers or “how could you be so stupid?” when interviewing the other side. This seems more apparent on tv or radio.

Nothing more irritating than 2-5 people all talking as hard as they can to give their side of the tale. Does any viewer, much less actor… I mean journalist actually change their opinion after watching these talking heads argue endlessly?

Want to know why they are fighting in the middle east? Try looking at history for the past few thousands of years.
Wonder why all the illegal immigration? I suggest a basic psychology course.
Care to guess why politicians grovel before special interest? Human Nature 101.

A few minutes a day of reading is enough to keep up with current events. more time than that will only make you depressed, irritated, and negative. My
two cents.

16

Being a Brit, I have to say that evem with what failings the BBC does have, it is the best I know of. Better than FOX by miles!

17

Quick question, is Fox news still the most watched news channel in the US?

18

[quote]Z-Man wrote:
Quick question, is Fox news still the most watched news channel in the US?[/quote]

Yes and it’s fair and balanced.

19

[quote]Z-Man wrote:
I actually read Fox News, BBC, CBC, Al Jazeera, and CNN. Somewhere in there I may find a fact or two.[/quote]

Yup. It has gotten to the point where you need to triangulate the news.

20

If we have concluded that our preferred “news” sources are shaped by our political orientations, then what the heck is this thread about? “I like (BBC/ABC/FOX etc)” --sums you right up for whatever you are, conservative or lib.

I consider the BBC to be liberal- biased, as a FOX fan. I fully realize the bias of FOX. The biases are not exhibited in the manner of reporting as much as they are in the actual choice of what a particular network deems newsworthy.

An example might be the current Israel war, where one network might choose to emphasize the Lebanese “civilian” casualties over the Israeli civilian casualties. I’m glad you’ve found what you like, getting the “news” you want to hear. As my B.S.- tolerance level goes down with each passing day, I can more easily determine who might have some salient points for discussion by simply asking what their favorite source for “news” is. I will confess right now that along these lines, I would have to say my favorite source of “news” is conservative talk radio. Based on everyone’s critiques/opinions of the various “news” sources, conservative talk radio is no less a “news” source than any of the other less intellectually-stimulating venues mentioned here