The website Media Bistro has reported that the following journalists were present at President Elect Obama's latest press conference:
Nedra Pickler of the Associated Press, Lee Cowan of NBC, Jake Tapper ABC, Chip Reid CBS, Karen Bohan of Reuters wire service, John McCormick of the Chicago Tribune, Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times, Candy Crowley of CNN, and Jeff Zeleny of the New York Times.
Take a quick reread of those names. Which news organization wasn't present? That's right, Fox News! It seems that there may be some bitterness between the Obama camp and FNC after a campaign season of what many consider to be unfair attacks.
In other media news, MSNBC is being accused of left wing bias -again- after a recent ad for the channel refered to "The Power of Change." Radio host Neal Boortz asked rhetorically on his blog "“could it get any more obvious?” Jeremy Gaines, a spokesperson for the network, denies that the tag is meant to convey a political message. "“ ‘The Power of Change’ is a line we’re using in an election week promotion campaign. MSNBC has been and will continue to be ‘The Place for Politics,’ ” Gaines claims. (full story at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/10/business/media/10msnbc.html)
Perhaps in keeping with the percieved bias, MSNBC has announced that it is signing a new four-year deal with Keit Olbermann, a commentator who has been very critical of Republican policies. "Keith Olbermann is at the core of MSNBC's current success," said MSNBC President Phil Griffin. "'Countdown' is our signature program and I'm thrilled that we're going to be able to bring it to Keith's loyal viewers for another four year term."
Both candidates had change in their campaign slogans. Every single McCain ad ended with "Change is coming." I don't see how "the Power of Change" favored one candidate over the other. I'm not saying MSNBC doesn't have a liberal bias--it's sort of the anti-Fox--I'm just saying one can't really cite that slogan as an example as it applies equally to both candidates.
"Never go with a hippy to a second location."
~Jack Donaghy
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
accusing MSNBC of liberal bias (I am preparing a longer blog post about what I percieve as foolishness in calling a network "liberal" or "conservative)
I was simply reporting what others are saying about MSNBC.
"when you hold a pen, you are at war" Attributed to Voltaire
Good point- McCain tried to hijack the whole "change" slogan from Obama, so you can't really use that alone to accuse MSNBC of bias. Regardless, they are. And so is FOX.
As skewered as this may sound, I think that FOX's motto that they're "fair and balanced" is perfectly true. They lean right, but since much of the media leans left, they act as a balancing factor. So, "fair and balanced" is an accurate description of FOXNews Channel when examined in the context of all cable news channels.
I wasn't accusing MSNBC of bias, simply reporting what people percieve as bias. However, I definately disagree with you on the "liberal media" argument you make. MSNBC may hire alot of leftist comentators (I mentioned Olbermann already, and there are others, especially Rachel Maddow)
All networks have bias, but in most cases they are not political. The bias is to make the biggest profit.
"when you hold a pen, you are at war" Attributed to Voltaire
Squee! I have a huge crush on Rachel Maddow. She has a sexy brain. And that's my bias.
"Never go with a hippy to a second location."
~Jack Donaghy
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
That's quite true, she does in fact have a "sexy brain." I really am begining to enjoy her show, much moreso than Olbermann's
"when you hold a pen, you are at war" Attributed to Voltaire
Just because a network has commentators that lean a certain way doesn't mean the NEWS is biased. Commentators are supposed to be biased. News cannot be, and for the most part, isn't.
That was an argument a friend and I had recently. She was under the impression that Olbermann is a biased journalist, and I informed her that he was not a journalist at all.
Actually, to me that's a big problem with modern media, there are so many comentators, and very few journalists.
"when you hold a pen, you are at war" Attributed to Voltaire