“Fair & Balanced” Really Implies a Balance Between News, Opinion and Entertainment
Posted In: Media by ChiefIf you believe that the media is “fair & balanced,” then I have some swampland in Florida I’d like to sell you.
Ever since the Big 3 TV networks lost their grip on the evening news and gave way to the 24-hour cable and Internet news cycle, the amount of objective news in the mainstream media has decreased dramatically to make way for a new brand of “infotainment.”
News is now a profit center, and the best way to make money in today’s crowded information marketplace is to take a point of view and sensationalize. So instead of Walter Cronkite saying “That’s the way it is,” we now have Glenn Beck calling President Obama “a racist” who “has a deep-seated hatred for white people.”
Just to demonstrate this point, I captured the front page of four major mainstream news websites and two political websites on the day that Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. A polarizing event like this allows us to instantly see the organization’s bias. Note that I had to erase identifying information from two of the screen captures, but otherwise these images are untouched.
Can you guess which site belongs to which organization? I will post the answers tomorrow. Here are the websites, in alphabetical order:
Match the website to the organization:
Website #1:
Website #2:
Website #3:
Website #4:
Website #5:
Website #6:
Please check back tomorrow for the answers!