#FirstWorldProblems

JHDK

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To be serious for a second and I know that's off brand for me... I talk a lot to my old roommate who moved here from Ecuador and we talk about like wage disparities and stuff like that. And in America we have homeless people and I think it's insane that we've just all decided that we see homeless people and we just walk past them like that. Seems crazy to me. But anyway, I'm getting off on a tangent. In America like 99% of homeless people are either mentally ill or drug addicted. My old roommate tells me that in Ecuador a lot of homeless people are just normal people. Like the economy is so shitty over there that they can't even get a job at like McDonald's like they would love to have a McDonald's job. I don't know. It just makes me think and it's sad. Meanwhile, I'm just going to watch Netflix on my giant TV and post about it here so I don't know. I'm not really helping anything
 
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JHDK

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That actually makes me think. I know you were joking but what paper is neutral? Here in Florida we have the Miami herald and the Sun sentinel and they're both left leaning. You can tell by reading the articles obviously, but if you just want to narrow it down, just look at what presidential candidate a paper endorses and the herald and the sentinel always endorsed the dem. In PA we used to have the Philadelphia inquirer delivered to us. I'm not sure how that paper leans because I was too young. I didn't really read it.

I spend a lot of time every day reading both sides and you guys know I'm much more conservative but I enjoy reading like Huffington Post and raw story and stuff like that because I like to see the other side. And also I kind of like getting upset at their opinions. I don't know. It's entertaining to me.

Is there any non-biased source of news these days? Maybe Reuters or the AP? That's all I can think of. I don't think any newspaper, website or TV show is non-biased
 

IdRatherBeSkiing

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That actually makes me think. I know you were joking but what paper is neutral? Here in Florida we have the Miami herald and the Sun sentinel and they're both left leaning. You can tell by reading the articles obviously, but if you just want to narrow it down, just look at what presidential candidate a paper endorses and the herald and the sentinel always endorsed the dem. In PA we used to have the Philadelphia inquirer delivered to us. I'm not sure how that paper leans because I was too young. I didn't really read it.

I spend a lot of time every day reading both sides and you guys know I'm much more conservative but I enjoy reading like Huffington Post and raw story and stuff like that because I like to see the other side. And also I kind of like getting upset at their opinions. I don't know. It's entertaining to me.

Is there any non-biased source of news these days? Maybe Reuters or the AP? That's all I can think of. I don't think any newspaper, website or TV show is non-biased
There are degrees of bias. MSNBC is very left. CNN is more centre but a bit left. FOX is obviously right. I think you have the right idea, read all sources. The bias should cancel out and the remainder should be close to the truth (with only your own biases affecting this process).
 
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scotchandcigar

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There are degrees of bias. MSNBC is very left. CNN is more centre but a bit left. FOX is obviously right. I think you have the right idea, read all sources. The bias should cancel out and the remainder should be close to the truth (with only your own biases affecting this process).
For the 50 or so years prior to the creation of the Fox News Channel in 1996, the "main-stream media" was just the news. Fox launched with a clearly stated mission to provide news that would appeal to conservatives. Over time, the major news outlets felt the need to counter some of the other news sources that were out there, resulting in the landscape we have now.
 
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IdRatherBeSkiing

Sherbet is NOT and NEVER WILL BE ice cream.
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For the 50 or so years prior to the creation of the Fox News Channel in 1996, the "main-stream media" was just the news. Fox launched with a clearly stated mission to provide news that would appeal to conservatives. Over time, the major news outlets felt the need to counter some of the other news sources that were out there, resulting in the landscape we have now.
Yes, they changed the federal mandate that all news sources needed to be unbiased or provide equal time to opposite viewpoint. I think that happened during Regan.
 

JHDK

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I do still like to think the nightly news with Lester Holt and those type of shows are unbiased. Like I understand that MSNBC is left Fox is right. CNN is a bit left but not as much as MSNBC. But those cable networks are not really news. They're entertainment, the nightly news or whatever CBS and ABC have that's supposed to be like actual news, at least in my mind. Maybe I'm far off you guys tell me.
 
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scotchandcigar

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I do still like to think the nightly news with Lester Holt and those type of shows are unbiased. Like I understand that MSNBC is left Fox is right. CNN is a bit left but not as much as MSNBC. But those cable networks are not really news. They're entertainment, the nightly news or whatever CBS and ABC have that's supposed to be like actual news, at least in my mind. Maybe I'm far off you guys tell me.
I seem to remember an interview with Dan Rather where he pointed to a time when news transitioned from a public service to a profit center. It may have been related to CNN's coverage of some big event. And ever since then, cable news shows are rated by viewership.
 
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HecticArt

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I do still like to think the nightly news with Lester Holt and those type of shows are unbiased. Like I understand that MSNBC is left Fox is right. CNN is a bit left but not as much as MSNBC. But those cable networks are not really news. They're entertainment, the nightly news or whatever CBS and ABC have that's supposed to be like actual news, at least in my mind. Maybe I'm far off you guys tell me.
The problem (one of the problems) is that people don't realize that what they are watching isn't really news. Whether it's info-tainment, cheer-leading, propaganda, or whatever, too many people close themselves off to even considering that there may be other facts or perspectives to consider. Sadly, objectivity and neutrality don't sell commercials.
 
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Jon

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I do still like to think the nightly news with Lester Holt and those type of shows are unbiased. Like I understand that MSNBC is left Fox is right. CNN is a bit left but not as much as MSNBC. But those cable networks are not really news. They're entertainment, the nightly news or whatever CBS and ABC have that's supposed to be like actual news, at least in my mind. Maybe I'm far off you guys tell me.
It isn't so much that their biased left or right, it's that they're corporate.

Hard to trust CNN when they're wholly owned by Discovery/Time Warner. Bezos owns the Washington Post, waiting for the day when Elon Musk decides he wants to get into the news business (already kind of has with Twitter).

I have found NPR to be the most balanced out there (as far as the actual NEWS division is concerned) because they aren't run by some corporation.
 

JHDK

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I have found NPR to be the most balanced out there (as far as the actual NEWS division is concerned) because they aren't run by some corporation
Npr makes good content in terms of like this American life and all that but I think it's pretty well known they're left leaning. They're no MSNBC but the Republicans have attempted to defund them multiple times. They've failed which is embarrassing but they have tried.
 
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JHDK

Release Robin's Bra
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I seem to remember an interview with Dan Rather
Maybe I'm just being nostalgic but in my mind people like Dan Rather, Walter Cronkite, Edward R. Morrow...those were real newsmen. Like unbiased reporters of the news.

Maddow and Tucker are not that dissimilar from like a Letterman show or a Colbert show. They masquerade as news and they talk about politics and don't make as many jokes but they're playing to a very specific audience that only wants to hear what they already think.
 

JHDK

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It isn't so much that their biased left or right, it's that they're corporate.
That's a great point and when your corporate like that all you really care about is the bottom line. So whatever opinion will make you money, that's the opinion you go with.

But wasn't ABC NBC and CBS corporate like back in the '50s. How was corporate back then? Different than corporate today? Because like I said, maybe I'm being nostalgic, but back then those corporations seem to actually care about reporting straight facts or at least as best as they could.