Photographer UnknownSarah Palin to Contribute to Fox News.
Former Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska has signed on as a contributor to the Fox News Channel.
This is not a post to rant about Ms. Palin or Fox News. This is a free country and as much as their views go against mine, they have a right to spew them. This post is about my supporting the news outlets I find of value.
The conservatives have Fox, Rush Limbaugh and many other broadcast or cable outlets. They also have numerous print and online offerings as well. Through these outlets, they are able to effectively get out their core message through simplistic sound bytes and yelling to their core audience and those sitting on the fence on many issues. By being the loudest and most entertaining, many viewers absorb and believe what they say. They come to believe that these are credible news outlets. As Ms. Palin said:
“I am thrilled to be joining the great talent and management team at Fox News. It’s wonderful to be part of a place that so values fair and balanced news,”
The progressives have the small radio group of Air America, which can be as vitriolic as Limbaugh and crowd. They like to do the shout down as well. I guess MSNBC also has a left lean and is an interesting sparring partner for FOX News. There are many left-leaning online and print outlets that are potential resources.
The problem though is that so many of these outlets take the issues the conservatives are raging on and fight back. That may be of value, but so much news is getting neglected by both sides.
Our country is getting too distracted by all the yelling and losing sight of the facts. The conservatives are the best at finding one little point and then blowing it out of proportion as a major speaking point. If someone disagrees, they are yelled down and labeled as "unpatriotic." I can also say the same things about the yelling liberal media as well, except the label is probably, "fascist." Why are we allowing ourselves to be distracted by the grain of sand issue at the cost of ignoring the whole damn beach?
Personally, I try to avoid these sources for that reason. I need more news, less viewpoints from pundits. Online, I like to read SLATE. It, and its sister sites, cover everything from news, culture, science, entertainment and politics. I also get a chance to read Doonesbury as well. They have a good news aggregator that collects the headlines to other news sources with links to the stories. My main source of news though is National Public Radio.
My local station is the San Francisco flagship KQED which provides both PBS (television) and NPR, radio. Through listening to NPR during my commute, I feel I am getting a liberally slanted news source that cares about the news. They do offer some analysis and opinions, but mainly news. I also appreciate how they also broadcast the BBC news so I can get a little bit more of a global view.
I am a pretty smart guy. I know I don't know everything, but I do know I need to learn more before forming my own opinions about things. Too many people listen to the pundits as news, not the news then the pundits, as their information resources. We need to learn the facts and sadly we aren't.
"..."Many may feel that this ignorance of issues does not affect them. It does. While so many are happy to watch Simon Cowel anoint the next idol we must worship, things are getting done by those who follow the news and use our distraction against us. So much of the sick stuff in the Patriot Act is buried in the language. The same goes for 2257 and other forms of censorship. Look at other personal rights issues and you can see so much happened "under the radar", but hey, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga are singing next.
This is why I just became a financial supporter of KQED. If I don't support what I ... err... support, then my words are meaningless. I just read Dr. L's post about the need for print media and how Carrie Leigh's Nude magazine is succeeding. I plan to subscribe to that as well. Information is not always free, I am proud to support it through work or money where I can. I suggest you do the same. If you find content that feeds your needs for information, support it so it does not disappear under all the yelling from the mainstream.
It's interesting we were both thinking about the media today, Karl. We need to think about it and understand it better. I am working on a story for NUDE about our fine art blogs. We have created a new form of communication, and I love this one! I learn so much from you, Lin, Stephen, and the many others I follow.
ReplyDeleteThank you for being part of the most uncontrolled and honest medium left to us, besides a print publication like NUDE, which does not belong to a corporation or depend on advertising.