Bangkok Post vs The Nation

[elef]

Up to you but I drink red wine every day and hot chocolate and tea 2-3 times every week but never coffee. Never mixed BTW.

[luckyfarang]

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Gee Dave, you've been in Thailand too long.

 

The correct phrase is "sucks a root".

 

Met you only once at Gullivers, but sorry to see you go anyway. Best of luck, and sorry to go off topic.

 

Carry on!

[Dali]

For the last couple of months I've been checking both papers' websites almost daily. The Nation seems to be a bit edgeier (is that a word?) and often beats the Post on controversial breaking news, but I usually go to the Post first because its website is more complete and a lot faster (life is too short to wait a minute for a page to download).

[McBif]

This post could as easily go into one of the "Global Warming" threads, but apropos of Khun004's thoughts, here is a pretty good take on news journalism, imo:

 

"Once upon a time, there were two modes of journalism, called tabloid and broadsheet. The distinction was clear. The first (tabloid), aimed at the more ignorant and credulous section of the population, was shamelessly sensationalist, and indifferent to its own track record. The second (broadsheet), aimed at the more intelligent and sceptical -- businessmen, especially, with money on the line. It cultivated greyness and sobriety, and was fixated on reputation. Tabloids were for fun, broadsheets were for information.

 

In my own lifetime as a journalist I have watched this distinction evaporate, and the unrestricted triumph of the tabloid ideal.

 

But at the same time, there has been a swing, among the class of people who staff the media. Where before they were generally short on academic qualifications, but long on street smarts, now we have a broad creamy froth of journalism-school graduates with zero street-smarts, but thorough indoctrination in the art of attitudinizing. Or to put it another way, the political outlook has swung dramatically from right to left."

 

Article

[..]

...the political outlook has swung dramatically from right to left."

While I agree with bulk of your post, the bit I quoted is a personal pet peeve of mine. Therefore, I issue the following challenge to anyone.

 

Maybe someone out there on the right could provide those things known as "facts" about the media being liberal. You don't have to provide many since they are so left leaning that examples should pop up like Republican Talking Points. Let's hear for those of you who have been supporting the right and complaining the media is liberal.

 

I'd say 50 current (last 6 years should do) examples of definitive liberal bias - with citations (for those on the right who never heard of a citation, it's providing names, dates, publication names and dates, references and any other pertinent information that can substantiate your claims so the rest of us can check your work) should allow conversion of the most hardened liberal to a conservative point of view. Since the media is SO liberal, there shouldn't be ANY problem with you providing examples.

 

Oh, and you can't use things like, "My Nascar Daddy says you're a bunch of liberals" or "Everyone knows the media is liberal."

 

Simple question for simple answers...show me the proof.

 

Cheers,

SD

[McBif]

Gosh, SD, if you want "50 current ... examples of definitive liberal bias - with citations" from me, you'll have to wait a long time. Google it.

 

I'm perfectly aware that lots of lefties regard the mainstream media as a right-wing conspiracy. My octogenarian mother (who still regards herself as a Marxist) snorted violently when she recently overheard some poor schmuck criticize some shite in the local rag as "leftist fantasy".

 

Ditto in reverse from righties. I don't personally know any righties, myself, btw. Do you? Thin on the ground, it seems, while lefties are coming through the windows...

 

I think this bias is something that appears to be so fantastically subjective that arguing over it is almost useless, unless one enjoys arguing for its own sake.

 

Anyway, are you saying that most people working in the media are NOT lefties? Or that they ARE mostly lefties but are so professional that they don't let their biases effect their work?

 

Or is the left viewpoint for you the default setting viewpoint? The only possible viewpoint?

 

I believe that polls of U.S. network news hounds (ditto with U.S. professors) show them voting Democrat at 80-90% levels. Does this make them biased? Would you think so if they were 90% Republican?

 

I've known some professional journalists. I even misguidedly took a couple university credit courses in journalism once. Nice guys and gals. All lefties or kept their mouths shut. Is that how you like it?

 

Everyone's shit stinks.