Fair and Balanced?
I've had an idea for a post for a while and decided to do some research last night.
For the most part, I can't stand watching either the CNN or Fox evening news shows as both don't seem to me to be "fair and balanced." Each tends to spin a lot of the news their own way.
So, last night I started watching both at 6:00 p.m. I switched between them when a commercial came on. I didn't count bias when commentary was clearly being presented, only when it was shown by an anchor or reporter.
Here are my notes:
CNN reporter: "out of control corporate interest" in story about minimum wage debate.
Lou Dobbs (CNN): "anti-Republican sentiment running wild" when describing Senate race in Ohio.
Dobbs: "with as much integrity as can be managed" referring to election workers in Ohio when talking about a piece on problems with electronic voting.
Dobbs: "we wish the Nation the best" in a sarcastic tone when wrapping up the electronic voting story.
All of these quotes came in the first 45 minutes of the 6:00 p.m. CNN news show. I couldn't find any bias during the same period on Fox (Britt Hume).
I decided that changing at the commercials might have resulted in me watching more CNN than Fox, so I stayed on Fox for the rest of the hour. No bias; but, most of the time was devoted to Fox's "Panel" giving commentary on various issues.
At 7:00 p.m. Wolf Blitzer came on CNN and Sheppard Smith took over on Fox. I lasted another half hour and found only one marginally biased statement on Fox by Smith: "this election is about the GOP holding ground rather than gaining."
Asides: Jack Cafferty on CNN is quite biased but also quite funny. I saw Al Gore on Fox, he's getting a little fat.
The research is admittedly not objective or scientific; but, my current conclusion is that Lou Dobbs is a biased, bitter non-journalist.
Next step, O'Reilly and Hannity and Colmes. I figure they will even out with Dobbs.
2 comments:
Dobbs biased, bitter? I'm glad someone else noticed it and was willing to hit the nail on the head.
It's hard to complain about Fox being so biased when CNN does at least as poorly with Lou Dobbs.
His ranting on illegal immigration is so out of control that it makes me, who supports better control of our borders, want to put him on permanent mute.
Hi Dave, Thanks for the comment. Your news experiment reminds me of a project I did back in college -- I had to choose two issues (I chose two candidates in the presidential election at the time) and track newspaper stories about them for two months. I monitored the content/tone of the stories plus any associated photos. I did an actual count of positive versus negative words and if the photos were flattering or not. I'll never forget it because overall newspapers were not biased, but merely reflecting the flow of public opinion as it unfolded leading up to the election. I was surprised by what I found. Thanks so much for being one of the better blogs I've seen.
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