Saturday, November 1, 2008

"I go to Fox if I want to get enraged"

An article in the New York Times yesterday interviewed liberals - who watch liberal news or conservative news, depending on their mood.

"Many liberal Democrats watch MSNBC, but some say it sounds too much like comfort food. CNN serves its election coverage with a stiff little chaser of doubt for Democrats, and many liberals say CNN and NPR are their regular evening companions. If they really want to rub the sore tooth of worry, they dial over to the 'Obama’s radical friend Bill Ayers' channel, otherwise known as Fox News.

"'Mostly I flip between CNN and MSNBC, but I go to Fox if I want to get enraged,' Mr. Downs [the liberal being interviewed] said."

I wonder if I might be guilty of doing the same thing - it's always easy to spot the bias in news that doesn't align with your own opinion. Do you usually look for news that aligns with your beliefs, but occasionally seek out the opposing side, just to see how wrong they are? Or do you try and read equal amounts of both sides, to get a balanced opinion?

How can an individual who is biases try and broaden their view, if the other side just makes them "enraged"? How can journalists monitor their bias, to make sure they are not catering to one side, or making one side angry - is it possible?


1 comment:

Kevin P. McGrath said...

Wow that is pretty funny that people actually watch the news to get upset. If people really want a rush maybe they should get off the couch. I think at the end of the day no matter what some bias will seep through, but I think now this article is just more proof to the audience controversy and bias in able to bring in.