Notes From the Cave

An Example of Media Bias

The one undisputable fact in a story today is that Prime Minister Tony Blair made a speech today to his Labour Party. Now for the bias.

First, read the account of the speech in today's New York Times Online.

Then, read the account of the speech in today's BBC News.

Reading both accounts, one would think that two entirely different speeches had been made.

The New York Times version of the story was very supportive of Blair, focusing on how Blair, although still supportive of the Iraq war, was apologetic for his mistakes. However, the BBC version approached it from the perspective that Blair, although acknowledging some intelligence mistakes, was "defiant" in his defense of the Iraq war.

This is but one example of the fact that there is no such thing as "fair and balanced" reporting any longer. The realities of the media business make it economically impossible to walk the middle path.

As a result, all of us who would like to get a "fair and balanced" view of world events need to review multiple sources with various points of view to make our own decisions about what is really going on.

From where I sit, it is very difficult to maintain any sense of balance any longer. It is just so easy, and comfortable, to stick with those news sources that agree with our pre-determined points of view. Staying truly informed is getting harder and harder each day.

Daily Show Audience a Bunch of "Stoned Slackers?"

It seems that Bill O'Reilly went on Jon Stewart's The Daily Show and commented to Stewart that he only had a bunch "stoned slackers" watching. O'Reilly mused about how concerned he was that the show could actually have an influence on voting patterns.

Well, Comedy Central didn't take too kindly to those comments. So, they did some checking. And, their preliminary results are that the viewers of The Daily Show are actually better educated than the O'Reilly audience and were more likely to answer political questions correctly.

I don't know about you, but I find this to be a very amusing story.

Click here to read the complete story in today's MSNBC Online.

Perhaps O'Reilly should change the name of his show from the "No Spin Zone" to the "No Education Needed Zone."