[Shannonnn]

In Houston, media seems to be a lot less biased and much more fair when displaying varied views, even in the red state that I live in. I can open the paper's Outlook section and see a spread of different articles all voicing different opinions. The front page is just the news, no slant. I wish it was all like this...

How is the local media (newspaper, news programs) where you live?

[Kylie]

You have the Houston Chronicle where you live, correct?

In my hometown, my local newspaper is mainly filled with news from the area, and the state/national/international headlines get buried in the middle, except for major news events (i.e. the VA Tech shootings). Even those major news events, they try to put a local spin and find a way that someone from the area is involved in news event. All in all though, the editoral sections and the state/national/international coverage is okay, and I feel like they select good articles from the AP that are well-rounded. We do have a local reporter for the newspaper who likes to stir controversary, and nobody really likes him, so you do see a slant to his stories. Most of the other reporters try to get a fair balance.

As far as local news, you get the news, and that's it. No slant, no bias, as the news should be. If you want more topical shows, our local PBS station has stuff that we can watch, but the local channels really don't have a lot of that.

[Shannonnn]

Yeah, we have the Chronicle. Very good paper. National headlines always hit the front page, which I guess can be attributed to Houston's size. Smaller towns and cities keep it more localized, it seems. Anyway, it's the straight facts, along with the news programs. Plenty of good funding and resources, too. It's a small model of what all media should be like, to me.

[The Immortal Goon]

I always read the Willamette Weekly and the Portland Mercury on line every week. They're both left wing, though rarely - if ever - as left wing as I tend to be.

Those are the major ones. I know that some people were trying to start a conservative one in Portland - I would be surprised if it lasted at all.

In Cork, I don't really read local media.

-TIG

[Abood]

In Kuwait, the media is crap. For example, there was a Filipino woman who said she was tortured in jail. All the media said was that the government "claimed" no such thing happened, and that's it. There's no further investigation, nothing.

[Kylie]

You don't even read the Evening Echo. Bah, the weather page comes from Accuweather.


Anyhoo, I'd much rather get news stories online, newspaper, and local media as opposed to CNN, Faux News, MSNBC or whatever. I'd rather have straight news where I can form an opinion. I want the facts, then I'll read the biases on both sides and make up my own mind.


Edit: I was talking with a friend as the big screen tvs were showing some random car chase on fox news, and he used to live in the LA area, and he said that car chase would totally have color commentary, like a sports event. . Weird!

[QatzelOk]

Montreal's local print news - even its independent weekly youth rags - are owned by multinational chains.

This is one reason why people don't read them anymore. They have become predictable and uniformly biased.

But maybe it was the Internet that really ruined them, turning them into second-rate media sources.

[Praetor]

In Kuwait, the media is crap. For example, there was a Filipino woman who said she was tortured in jail. All the media said was that the government "claimed" no such thing happened, and that's it. There's no further investigation, nothing.

That's how autocratic regimes work, Abood. Although your autocratic regime is shit… The fact that they are not censoring your bash of Kuwaiti media means they are slacking. I should have a firm talk with the Emir and tell him that he shouldn’t even let you know about allegations of torture.

[QatzelOk]

That's how autocratic regimes work, Abood.

Correction, Pra. That's how all technocratic regimes work, including our western non-autocratic ones.

Efficiency is defined as the most predictable growth economy. And whatever has to happen to media to ensure this consumer response, happens, whether that involves media concentration, propaganda, or state censoring of alternative non-economic-growth-promoting texts.

[Abood]

The fact that they are not censoring your bash of Kuwaiti media means they are slacking.

They probably allow it because they know it's too insignificant to make a real difference.

[Citizen J]

The Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News are alternately conservative or liberal leaning depending upon the reporter who wrote the piece. Everything about buiness seems to be pro automotive and pro big business. Not as much for small business.

I only read it for the comics and editorial page - which can be more informative than many of the articles. The slant there is expected, therefore it's the only part where it does not bother me.

When I was a kid, I used to read US news and world report. But then I caught them writing biased articles too. I dropped my subscription 20 some years ago and never bothered reading it since.

[Praetor]

They probably allow it because they know it's too insignificant to make a real difference.

It all adds up... First you've got one person talking on an internet forum, then the whole country is talking on internet forums. They get exposed to ideas, and overthrew their oppressive monarchy.