since everyone can choose to watch news that is tailored to their
previously-held positions. To expand this a bit, CNN was making the
point earlier that the proliferation of bloggers actually increases
the fact-checking to which reported news is subjected and may improve
the quality of the whole.
But as to your point, sure. The fact that I was watching CNN earlier
allows me to say, welp, it does appear that Dan Rather was wrong,
rather than waiting for my local paper in the morning.
A comment on this - the guy who did this did a real disservice to the
cause he was apparently trying to promote. I am guessing that he got
very frustrated over the lack of reporting on an issue he felt he knew
the truth about, and recreated documents to support his facts. But no
matter how true his facts may have been, he has opened this election
debate up to a further round of lies, lies lies, all lies I
say...rather than turning the debate to something thta actually
matters in my life.
Dana
Dana
----- Original Message -----
From: Robert Munn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2004 16:48:47 -0400
Subject: 24 hour cable news-good or bad for the body politic?
To: CF-Community <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
IMO cable news is good for the political discussion. Although it tends
to magnify and distort every little thing, the laser focus of cable
news in the current political climate is actually good for the
country.
Some commentators complain how many news shows don't even focus on the
actual candidates and their positions so much as they focus on
handicapping the horse race. How is it that political advisors become
TV personalities in their own right? These guys don't make laws, they
are backroom advisors. Whether it's Carville or Rove, they are
celebrities now. That is quite strange, to be honest.
Still, all of this attention around the horse race and the details of
the campaigning process is very educational to the American public.
People are learning about why ads run in certain states and not
others, about how candidates tailor their message at every stop, how
they have entire staffs to deal with media blowups, etc. What is
happening is that the public is getting savvy to all these tactics,
and they are losing their effectiveness. Maybe sooner or later
candidates will actually have to sit down and talk about their
positions. I think we have cable news to thank for putting people on
the inside of the process, and that's worth the price of the
bloviating and rancor that comes out of some of the format of many
cable news shows.
Opinions?________________________________
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