BREAKING: News Commentary Broadcasts Vary! They Are Not All the Same!

[MineralMan]

I know. That comes as a surprise to some. The problem, really, is that we have forgotten what is news and what is commentary. News, ideally, simply tells us what happened recently. Someone died. Someone did something. Someone ordered that something be done. That sort of thing.

News broadcasts don't make up much of the day on 24/7 cable news networks. We don't watch those news broadcasts all that much, and the broadcast networks like ABC, CBS and NBC do a better job of delivering the news in their half hour or one hour news programs each day. Cable news networks don't spend much time just reporting the news.

Instead, their programming is mostly commentary on the news. Some host has some guests and they talk about the news and offer their opinions on that news. But...that's not NEWS! It's commentary. Every hour, there's a new host with a new group of guests with various levels of expertise and experience. They chat about what is or was in the news. But, that's not NEWS. It's commentary and opinion. It's very useful, of course, but every host and every guest on news commentary broadcasts brings an individual flavor and bias to their opinions on the news.

FOX News Network uniformly takes a conservative view of the news, and slants almost all of its commentary to support the current administration. That's why I never watch FNN. CNN used to be relatively neutral about its commentary, but seems to have abandoned neutrality, depending on which commentary show you watch. MSNBC takes a more liberal point of view on its commentary programs, but it, too, also includes some hosts and guests who hold more conservative viewpoints. I don't watch those programs.

That's commentary. That's not NEWS. There is a huge difference between news and commentary. There are hosts on MSNBC I can't stand, so I don't watch their shows. There are hosts on MSNBC who irritate me with their hosting style, like Al Sharpton. So, I don't watch those shows, either. The Rev's questions go on and on and on, leaving little time for his guests to respond.

There is no single cable news channel I could watch all the time. I pick and choose the programming I watch. For NEWS, I tend to watch CBS and my local CBS affiliate for local news. It's more traditional in its reporting. It's more like straight news. For commentary, I like some of the programs on MSNBC. I pick and choose what I watch, but don't make broad statements about an entire network based on my limited viewing. Most of the time, I don't have a TV on. I'm on the Internet, where I have a much wider set of choices.

[exboyfil]

1. I read all my news

I don't watch any television news. I can't stand hearing his voice - it triggers me.

The problem is that there are few honest actors on the GOP side (they can't afford to be honest since their leadership is so incompetent and hold ideas, that if exposed, are rejected by the majority of the country). I would like to see a good debate show where everyone is given fair time that is evidence based.

I am actually pretty moderate.

[MineralMan]

2. Well, that's one way to avoid TV commentary, for sure.

I just watch selectively.

[abqtommy]

6. I don't watch any tv news or read any U.S. MSM "news" either. It's Al Jazeera, The BBC,

The CBC/Canada and The Guardian that I read. Daily. (I look at their photos too...)

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. The cable "news" shows, especially the evening shows on MSNBC,

(and, of course, Fox, whose electrons are not allowed to enter my TV), are really more like newspaper op-ed pieces. They don't pretend to be neutral, and we watch them in part because they reinforce our own biases. The fact that I won't watch Fox is evidence that I also prefer to have my own biases reinforced - which is what Fox watchers do, too. I can't think of anybody on TV right now who's as scrupulously neutral as Walter Cronkite was. When in 1968 Cronkite delivered his opinion - which he specifically identified as such - that the Vietnam War couldn't be won, it was kind of a bombshell. We don't see that kind of thing any more because everybody has an opinion and doesn't hesitate to express it.

[MineralMan]

4. Yes. Newspapers still have editorial pages, where

writers from many different points of view weigh forth with their opinions. However, one can easily move on without reading that commentary and focus on the actual news reporting. On TV, that's harder to do.

I grew up with Cronkite, of course. But, we still have a good deal of straight reporting on the broadcast network daily news programs. We still have newspapers, too. Whether one reads them online or over coffee on newsprint, they are a pretty good way to find out what has happened. So is broadcast TV news, generally.

I'm sorry to see so many people who no longer see the difference between news and opinion.

[cayugafalls]

5. I don't even have cable TV or antenna for that matter. Online local newspapers,

and several not local newspapers provide me with "news", then I go and search out information to either support or knock down any opinion stuff I may have picked up on. Then DU, it points me to lots of articles or opinions I need to consider as well as things I miss in my daily internet browsing.

I like websites that are tied to universities or medical research during this time especially. I do use the CDC as they used to have some good content (and still do, if you search for it).

I try and think critically about what I read or see online and I endeavor to never just accept one source for a piece of information.

I use Duck Duck Go for my search engine as I feel they give me a better, less filtered result set.

[LeftInTX]

7. Do you watch CBSN?

https://www.cbsnews.com/

I started watching it when I ditched cable. Less commercials and less bias....I watch it on my Roku. (Their Roku channel also has 60 Minutes episodes etc) From their description:

CBSN is the original reporting and breaking news you trust from CBS News - and it's always on. If you're on the go, you can find CBSN on your phone, on your tablet or on your laptop. If you're at home, you can find us on your connected TV or streaming device. We're available on Roku, Amazon, Apple TV, Samsung and many more. When news is breaking, we are there. We stick to the facts — without opinion. We keep you up to date — without partisan shouting matches. Morning. Afternoon. Evening. Anytime, anywhere, CBSN is the only live news you need. It's news for everyone.

CBSN is the first digital streaming news network that will allow Internet-connected consumers to watch live, anchored news coverage on their connected TV and other devices. At launch, the network is available 24/7 and makes all of the resources of CBS News available directly on digital platforms with live, anchored coverage 15 hours each weekday. CBSN. Always On

[MineralMan]

9. I don't actually. I do watch CBS Morning and Evening national news

broadcasts, along with local news, on my CBS affiliate station here.

[LanternWaste]

8. They all posses a common denominator...

maximize shareholder profit.

Everything else is simply different methodology towards that same agenda.

It ain't new.

And it ain't news.



"we have forgotten what is news..."
Ain't no we in this buggy, cowboy; that's on you and yours-- avoid projecting your failure onto us.




Try tuning out one afternoon and instead reading The Media Monopoly by Ben Bagdikian a read.

[MineralMan]

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