I was in the same room as a lit television on Wednesday evening.

[Jenne]

Oh yeah, LKL is not anything but a waste of time.  You'd probably dig CNNI if you like Lehrer Newshr, Kai.  BBC cracks me up because it tries HARD to be both froth and substance.  When they get to the frothy pieces I just tune out.  We do watch BBC America most days.

Al-Jaz Eng is annoying--it's CCN, basically, just a, uh, different "cast"...

[Bruno]

Newsworld International was pretty good before Al Gore shat all over it.

[Kai]

Oh yeah, LKL is not anything but a waste of time.  You'd probably dig CNNI if you like Lehrer Newshr, Kai.  BBC cracks me up because it tries HARD to be both froth and substance.  When they get to the frothy pieces I just tune out.  We do watch BBC America most days.

Al-Jaz Eng is annoying--it's CCN, basically, just a, uh, different "cast"...

I happened to be at a motel when the tv was on, had to stay over night somewhere for my research assistantship. My advisor was there and watching CNN, and I realized it was /exactly like Fox/, just with different people and opinions. Then LKL came on and I just out and said I HATE television news. My adviser asks me, where do you get your news then? I say, several locations on the internet, because at least I can READ it, I don't have to listen to the talking heads.

I don't think he believes I'm well informed. :/

[Cainad (dec.)]

I refuse to turn on television news until someone informs me that a "Spider Jerusalem News Hour" exists, and what time it's on.

[Cain]

I don't see the problem in not having a "liberal" news station.

Far more of a problem is in having something other than an accurate news station.  FOX News wouldn't be half as objectionable if it could seperate opinion pieces from its factual reporting (which I realise is none, but that aside...).  I enjoy puff opinion pieces that flatter my political leanings as much as anyone, but what I really want is hard factual information about what is going on, which I can then make up my own mind on.  Liberalism's nominal alleigance to positivism, as opposed to the New Right's postmodernism, helps with that, but its not as good or as useful as it could be.

[Kai]

I don't see the problem in not having a "liberal" news station.

Far more of a problem is in having something other than an accurate news station.  FOX News wouldn't be half as objectionable if it could seperate opinion pieces from its factual reporting (which I realise is none, but that aside...).  I enjoy puff opinion pieces that flatter my political leanings as much as anyone, but what I really want is hard factual information about what is going on, which I can then make up my own mind on.  Liberalism's nominal alleigance to positivism, as opposed to the New Right's postmodernism, helps with that, but its not as good or as useful as it could be.

This. I can stand some news hours for the above reasons: 1) liberal leanings (more flattering)2) accurate leanings (more informative) 3) satirical leanings (the truth). Honestly I still prefer print (not newsprint, though, it's just more soundbites).

[Iason Ouabache]

The break room tv at work is always on either FoxNews or CNN-Headline News. 

[Reginald Ret]

make a cardboard hat that says LIAR and put it on the break room TV.

[MMIX]

make a cardboard hat that says LIAR and put it on the break room TV.

this

[Cramulus]

The bottom line is that TV-news is a form of entertainment. They present the story their viewers would most like to hear.

I was reading the local weekly paper this morning, which is extreeeeeeemely liberal. To the point that I don't trust its opinion because its agenda is taking down our county government by any means necessary. Which is a good cause! But feh, just the facts ma'am. I know you don't think I can be trusted to arrive at a conclusion all by myself, but quit spoonfeeding me your opinions under the guise of journalism!

Nassim Nicholas Taleb (author of Black Swan) says you shouldn't ever read the paper or watch the news. Because they're reporting directly on an event, you have no choice but to inherit their filter/opinions/framing. Much better to hear about the news from your friends, who have already aggregated what they think is important.

            I feel like I'm missing some key element of that line of reasoning... anybody?

[AFK]

I think we've all heard that idea that when two people are arguing or talking about a particular event, neither one is actually right and the truth is most likely somewhere in between.  So, I think if someone is going to get their news from TV, internet, newspapers, wherever, it is best to keep that idea in mind. 

Additionally, thinking about this through a Discordian lens....if we understand that the reporting we see is informed by the originator's reality grid, BIP, whatever, we can attempt to "filter" that out.  That is, discerning between the actual fundamental events of the story, and the part of the reporting that is the judgement/interpretation of the journalist.  And so if we are able to learn how to separate those two things from any source of news reporting, we're in fairly good shape to then make our own conclusions as to what happened. 

So when Fox News says Obama is screwing the US!  And MSNBC says Obama is saving the US!  The best bet, and probably most accurate take, is that he is treading water. 

[Cramulus]

true, but also seems to invite the middle ground fallacy

[Richter]

I refuse to turn on television news until someone informs me that a "Spider Jerusalem News Hour" exists, and what time it's on.

THIS.

The lunch room at work has a TV which is on CNN constantly.  I usually turn it off whenever I walk in.  No complaints from anyone else about this yet.

[LMNO]

            I feel like I'm missing some key element of that line of reasoning... anybody?

You have to take into account the context that it was made in; that is, related to Black Swan events.

If you read the newspaper as a way of predicting what is or will be important, you won't be able to be very accurate, as the news reports on the past.

Or something like that.  I was up late last night, and am a bit fuzzy this morining.

[AFK]

true, but also seems to invite the middle ground fallacy

Yeah, that is a good point.  Perhaps, the better way to think about it, is that the middle ground, if you can discern it, is the starting point.  It shouldn't be the conclusion because a conclusion would be where we stop, well we all know the rest.