[rhertz]

Rough Rider,

First I’d like to thank you for such thoughtful posts. I think it takes all kinds of people to make a good discussion, and this board seems to have wide variety of personalities (even a couple out of the old Wild West) I for one enjoy your posts even when I might not agree with every word each time. I believe that I still have an open mind and therefore I have an interest in such “intellectual” discussions. Hopefully they will stay that way instead of turning into right or left wing rants or arguments. I will try to do my part.

Where to get the "real news"? I know this is a vague question. I started to add this to another thread we were discussing, but figured maybe it could use a new one. I was talking before about how the politicians and people in this country seemed to have lost the ability for open debate on the subjects that matter in this country, WITHOUT having so much hatred for the opponent. seems any discussion is filled with 'labels', name calling, half truths etc etc etc..

Well I think I know what you mean by “real news” which I take to mean “non-partisan” as compared to “fair and balanced” news which offers (only) “both sides” and we know too well what those two sides are. I hope that you agree that sometimes both sides can be wrong.

I think the sad truth is that there is such a deep struggle between the GOP and DNC that it polarizes most if not all information presented to the public into black-and-white, or I mean red-and-blue. Maybe it’s out of the necessity to keep it simple for us simple minded peasants. Or maybe our two party system came out of the need to keep a 3rd party from “fracturing” the vote so to speak. But whatever the reason is, it’s been this way for a long time. I voted for a libertarian once and in the end I felt like I threw away my vote rather than standing for my principles. So now I choose from the lesser of two evils so to speak.

I hear some folks on this message board as well as elsewhere talk of the "left wing news media" and I guess the opposite of that is FoxNews and most talk radio ? They all appear to have their own agendas, everyone has their slant on the news.. One news source, nothing but how bad things are in Iraq. Another news source, telling you how well things are going in Iraq.

Well it’s like this country. Things are going well here, and bad here. It just depends on the “angle” of your story. Some people are enjoying much prosperity while others are suffering the effects of hurricanes (and politicians). A reporter can always find what they are looking for eventually.

If you try to quote a news story say from Fox News, well half the country will dismiss it as simply more propaganda from the right ? Try to quote a story from the New York Times or CNN and the other half of the country will dismiss it as left wing media bias.

I’m not so sure that isn’t intentional as companies seek “name brand identity” and try to spin and market their shows. The companies are driven by ever increasing profits, while the news personalities by ratings. Every one is an entertainer nowadays. If their ratings don’t make it, they may be on the street looking for another job. Even the unbiased journalist in Iraq will become biased in a big hurry after witnessing first hand the horrors of war.

But as these last 6 years or so have progressed, this country is as divided as it has ever been. with the two sides doing nothing but Name calling, labeling, slinging half truths around like it was nothing. our current administration has learned to work the media better than any administration before it, I suspect this will be the norm from now on.

Perhaps it all started with CNN’s ratings back during the first Gulf war. Since that time, our media coverage has never been the same. Or maybe since FOX news came on board. Now we have the red and blue channels 24/7/365 – two competing roosters in the hen house, always wanting to one up the other guy. Or maybe it was the Internet, which was the first time the public could really have a true form of “open debate” without having to “own the press”.

I miss the days when the possibility for an open debate had the possibility of ending in a positive solution, without the two sides making enemies of each other. I think Ronald Reagan was the last President to get this, he had the ability of reaching across 'both sides of the aisle' as it were.

Well you make a good point. I can’t say that Clinton or Bush had that ability.

I also miss the days of TRUE JOURNALISM. The media was meant to talk for the people, ask the questions that need to be asked. I'm not a democrat, and I'm not a republican. i am a patriot, and I love this country. I've voted both ways.

Here is one observation. One of my pet peeves is “mergers and acquisitions”. I don’t care if it is banks, radio stations, newspapers, ISP’s, or what it is, often times consumers get screwed, not always, but sometimes. Anyway perhaps M&A killed true journalism as the new corporate owners of the media are no longer individual owners or independent thinkers. If 1000 radio stations or newspapers turn into 2 or 3, surely this has an effect on “true journalism”.

LOL, but as Dennis Miller says, I could be wrong…… Thanks again for posting RR. Take care.