• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Do News Programs Have Too Much Opinion Reported?

ChristineES

ChristineES

Tiggerism
Premium Member
My husband watches Fox News almost constantly. The thing I have noticed is that most of the programs on this channel don't deal with news as much as they do with opinions of the news events. When I watch or read the News, I just want news, not a bunch of opinions.
They can have separate shows that are based on opinions, but they should not call it News. That is my opinion.

Do you think the News has too many opinions? Do you believe as I do, that good news reporting leaves out the reporter's opinions?
 
Alceste

Alceste

Vagabond
Fox - like all the other news sources whose main concern is putting advertisements in front of human eyeballs - gets almost all their "news" from AP or Reuters, who do not generate enough content to fill 24 hours of continuous broadcasting. So you get what could easily be a twenty minute summary of Reuters' and AP's entire output stretched out to cover an entire day of continuous blabbering. That means that 23 hours and forty minutes of the 24 hour news day has to be a bunch of idiots telling you what they think of the news.
 
Last edited:
Luminous

Luminous

non-existential luminary
Nah, they're fine. less boring that way. however, they should have more integrated (sensible) comedy.
 
Oneatatime

Oneatatime

Huh?
ChristineES said:
My husband watches Fox News almost constantly. The thing I have noticed is that most of the programs on this channel don't deal with news as much as they do with opinions of the news events. When I watch or read the News, I just want news, not a bunch of opinions.
They can have separate shows that are based on opinions, but they should not call it News. That is my opinion.

Do you think the News has too many opinions? Do you believe as I do, that good news reporting leaves out the reporter's opinions?
Click to expand...

While it might be more obvious on some neww channels most of them have an idealogical position which determines their interpretation of events and the content which they include or omit. News broadcasters are also competing with each other for ratings which is best accomplished by telling the public what they want to hear rather than what is happening. They also recognise that the public likes controversy and so even when it doesn't exist they give both sides equal time which serves to mislead the public who assumes that both parties positions are legitimate because of the way they are being presented.
 
Terrywoodenpic

Terrywoodenpic

Oldest Heretic
It has always been so ...
Some news papers have always worked at the level of Kids Comics. Others only gave factual reports. If you wanted Comment you read the editors leader.
news channels work the same way.
 
Penumbra

Penumbra

Veteran Member
Premium Member
ChristineES said:
My husband watches Fox News almost constantly. The thing I have noticed is that most of the programs on this channel don't deal with news as much as they do with opinions of the news events. When I watch or read the News, I just want news, not a bunch of opinions.
They can have separate shows that are based on opinions, but they should not call it News. That is my opinion.

Do you think the News has too many opinions? Do you believe as I do, that good news reporting leaves out the reporter's opinions?
Click to expand...
From when I used to watch news, there does seem to be a lot of opinion and bias. I don't have a problem with tv personalities having shows about their opinions, but I find it odd that they are coupled and associated with "the news".

I get most of my news online in text form now.

Luminous said:
Nah, they're fine. less boring that way. however, they should have more integrated (sensible) comedy.
Click to expand...
Sounds like the Daily Show. Or Jim Cramer with his money program.
 
AfterGlow

AfterGlow

Invisible Puffle
I think the Americans have to deal with far more biased and, frankly, made up news than we have here in the UK.

I watched something recently about some fool of a women trying to incite fear about radiation affecting America from the Japanese tsunami disaster. In spite of the experts telling her, to her face, that there was no threat, she continued to try and push her fear inspiring message. Truly sad for the American people.
 
LuisDantas

LuisDantas

Aura of atheification
Premium Member
Opinion is fine, and in fact welcome. It is valuable to have a grasp of how ideas are flowing in one's society.
 
dolly

dolly

Member
I'm fine with them airing opinion shows as long as they call them opinion shows. Far too often "news' programs are spouting opinion and propaganda. There is a reason why so many in the US worry about non-existent things like Obama being 'born in Kenya" or "death panels."
 
9-10ths_Penguin

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
ChristineES said:
My husband watches Fox News almost constantly. The thing I have noticed is that most of the programs on this channel don't deal with news as much as they do with opinions of the news events. When I watch or read the News, I just want news, not a bunch of opinions.
They can have separate shows that are based on opinions, but they should not call it News. That is my opinion.

Do you think the News has too many opinions? Do you believe as I do, that good news reporting leaves out the reporter's opinions?
Click to expand...
I think it's okay in principle for a "news" network to have shows that feature opinions about news, but IMO, a clear distinction should be made: no editorializing when actually reporting the news, and opinion pieces get their own segments or shows that differentiate them from the rest of the content.
 
9-10ths_Penguin

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
LuisDantas said:
Opinion is fine, and in fact welcome. It is valuable to have a grasp of how ideas are flowing in one's society.
Click to expand...
When opinion shows are done well, I think they can be really good... for example, The Agenda on TVO or The Lang & O'Leary Exchange on CBC News.

I think the secret to a good opinion show is to make sure that the opinions in question are actually informed. :D Four people arguing over what they just watched isn't two useful... OTOH, people with real knowledge of the subject matter talking about different ways to look at things can be very useful.
 
Magic Man

Magic Man

Reaper of Conversation
ChristineES said:
My husband watches Fox News almost constantly. The thing I have noticed is that most of the programs on this channel don't deal with news as much as they do with opinions of the news events. When I watch or read the News, I just want news, not a bunch of opinions.
They can have separate shows that are based on opinions, but they should not call it News. That is my opinion.

Do you think the News has too many opinions? Do you believe as I do, that good news reporting leaves out the reporter's opinions?
Click to expand...

I don't so much have a problem with the opinion shows. My problem is with the fact that channels like Fox News don't really differentiate between what's factual news and what's an opinion show.

It would be nice to have more news programs that just reported the facts.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top