Jake Tapper is a douchebag and MickeyMouse/ABC Spews shit

[PretzelWarrior]

Why are they even taken seriously as an organization anymore? Completely-outed conservative dinosaur, Charlie Gibson, is horrible. Tiny elfin Stephanopoulous is clearly a mean spirited fairy of doom toward anything progressive. Jake Tapper is taking gotcha sound bites and headlines to a new low.

I think we should all remind our relatives and friends how far that previously stellar news organization has fallen. No more Peter Jennings. No more Ted Koppel. It is barren of any news value.

[ginnyinWI]

1. I agree!

In addition to that, their nightly news broadcast consists mainly of fluff and human interest stories. Nothing substantive.

[PretzelWarrior]

7. I agree. They went "Katie" on us. You can tell who their audience is.

All they have is advertisements about adult diapers, acid reflux medicine, and Viagra. They are all drawing the 60 yr old and up crowd. Many women. All the 60+ guys are split between corporate crap on ABC/NBC/CBS and the ones who are saluting the flag while staring at their dog tags and being programmed with talking points by Brit Hume, Sean Hannity, et al.

[Radical Activist]

2. It was the last national news network I took seriously.

It was very sad to see it go down the crapper. I don't take them seriously and I don't watch. Tapper is Limbaugh disguised as a journalist.

[Thrill]

3. This is the first time, I've ever seen so many WH correspondents

get treated as experts. They are just supposed to report the news from the WH. Not offer and throw in their opinions on whats happened.

[Radical Activist]

4. They're allowed to have opinions if they attack Democrats.

If they give an opinion about Bush's its "liberal media bias."

[JamesA1102]

5. Tapper use to be a good reporter but

he soldout 10 years ago.

[TheMachineWins]

6. TV is an ongoing disgrace of 1 misdirected, tension-creating whore after the other

It's pure propaganda, both corporate and government.

[PretzelWarrior]

9. I agree. I killed my TV.

No satellite. No cable. No broadcast. Just get my news from newspapers, NPR, online, and periodicals such as The New Yorker, Harpers, and The Economist.

I'm able to stream The Daily Show, Steven Colbert, and Frontline...so I am happy.

[depakid]

8. The network that airs John Stossel long ago lost any credibility

[PretzelWarrior]

10. That douchebag used to keep his libertarianism under wraps in the 80's.

when Hugh Downs actually knew what was going on around him. Think of it. That was when Geraldo Rivera was still somewhat credible before his many melodramas and talk shows.

TV journalism in general was of a much higher caliber back then. Or at least that is my belief as I've watched over the years.

[depakid]

11. Demise of media regulation (including but not limited to the Fairness Doctrine)

Back in the 80's, a person who falsified data (repeatedly) would have been blacballed from the industry. Now it's par for the course in America.

Part and parcel to the culture of lies that's developed, where dishonesty isn't simply overlooked- it's actively promoted.

[PretzelWarrior]

12. exactly. They lie so hard on FoxNews that you don't notice as much when NPR is deceiving you

whether it's about something like gas prices or Israel. Who knows what to believe anymore? That's why I focus only on news that either directly affects me or is likely to have ramifications for me and my family.

[depakid]

13. It's not like that in other nations

but unfortunately, only people who've lived long enough to remember -or have spent enough time abroad understand that the current dreck is neither "the way it's always been" nor "the way it is everywhere."

Nope- among all the Western industrialized nations, America and hence Americans are quite uniquely handicapped by the practices of their "mainstream" mass media.

Actually, it's gotten so bad over the past 10 years or so to have become downright insulting.

[PretzelWarrior]

14. I agree. When I was still watching TV last year I saw CNN. then went to Europe

and watched BBC and obviously there was a huge difference in quality, accuracy, and focus.

HOWEVER, what was more shocking and insulting was the fact that CNN International was like what CNN used to be here. Way more topical, informative and crisp with the facts of the world's news. But CNN in America is nothing but stupid blowhards' opinions on whatever manufactured narrative they decided on the day or days before. No matter what of any actual import happens, they pimp their stupid canned bullshit. That is...until some 3 year old white girl turns up missing. or there's a photogenic car chase. Or BREAKING NEWS about Obama having the GALL to play golf on his Memorial Day weekend AFTER he gave a speech at Arlington and delivered wreaths to various national cemetaries.

It is sick. WHY OH WHY DON'T THEY MAKE INTERNATIONAL travel a requiement to be a US citizen past the age of 25. It is so stupid that people here don't even have a frame of reference to realize how shallow and vapid their lives are. And how they're being lied to and seduced into quiet consent.

[depakid]

17. I'd be just as happy if other nation's news was simply allowed onto a cable channel

It's not like there aren't tons of useless spam channels in the states. People might recognize that- hey, those Aussies: they get healthcare- and people don't shot all the time- and those Europeans we love to hate, they get paid vacations. And a lot more than Americans usually do.

The list goes on. Yep, some perspective as to how others live would a real good deal for folks.

[asphalt.jungle]

19. but the BBC isn't the proper way to compare and contrast with cable news

If you watched Sky News while you were there you wouldn't have noticed much difference between them and American cable news. Same bullshit just with different accents.

try searching for Newswipe with Charlie Brooker on youtube or something, it's a comedic British news review and you will see they are in the gutter as well. And if they aren't quite as low as we are, they are fast approaching.

[PretzelWarrior]

21. which is why I compared US CNN vs. CNN international. please read more slowly

I specifically mentioned I had expected a contrast with BBC and discounted that. It would be like comparing FauxNews to PBS news coverage like Jim Lehrer.

I was upset with CNN International clearly being marketed as real news over there. But apparently we in the US aren't judged as mature enough to care about actual news.

[ginnyinWI]

26. I watch BBC's half hour broadcast on PBS

It's also topical, informative and crisp, as you say. Not the BBC America one though--just the barebones PBS half hour. As for American broadcasts, PBS Newshour has far more information than any of the networks.

So that's my current mix: Newshour and BBC, and then one or the other of the MSNBC evening shows for the liberal take.

[asphalt.jungle]

16. What about England?

I think they are the worse. It doesn't get much worse than The Sun, The News of the World, The Daily Mail (Heil), The Telegraph (Torygraph), etc. Rupert Murdoch used England as a right wing propaganda testing ground before setting his sights on America.

[depakid]

18. Nah, the British tend to know the difference between "tabloid" and "hard news"

They (like the Aussies) they enjoy their tabloids- but recognize what they're all about.

Americans on the other hand- much of their their news (espeically TV and radio) has been morphed into tabloid form- to the point where it's tough to tell the difference.

[asphalt.jungle]

24. yeah the sun and notw are tabloids, but what about the rest?

the telegraph, the times and the daily mail aren't tabloids, they are suppose to be "hard" news. the daily mail is lou dobbs in print format and they reach a larger % of their domestic population than lou could ever hope for in america. the times is murdoch's original attempt to have a non-sleazy fishwrap in his portfolio. the right wing papers are the best sellers in england.

[PretzelWarrior]

20. they are laughed off in England. while in England I've never seen tabloid masquerading as news

like here in the U.S.

They hand out tabloid newspapers free every day in central London. But you know what you're getting.

[otohara]

22. Stossel Flaunts His Bias

such an asshole.

and who can forget the absolute worst presidential debate in history.

[PretzelWarrior]

23. next to the definition of "Simpering" in dictionary is a picture of fucktard, Charles Gibson

[Blue_Roses]

25. John Stossel...

:puke:

I can't stand him...

[quantass]

15. Ah yes

I remember them fondly in the primaries...god help us