Aaron62

TVLee

I'm a registered independent so I can make fun of both sides PBS is as left leaning as FoxNews is right leaning. Not just because of politics, but in this day of age with so much media available, I'm not exactly sure why we should use federal tax dollars to help support PBS or NPR.

But to answer your original question, I don't know. I'd be curious as well.

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"What we got here is a failure to communicate."

TonyT

That's what all independents say.

I've always thought that PBS offered programming and news in a much different way than cnn, fox, or any other network. Some of their focus has been more on what's wrong with America over the past few years. One has to remember that most of the PBS channels are owned operated from the engineering department's of universities across the country. I'm not saying that universitys are liberal, you can draw your own conclusion with that, but I would however expect to see rosey stories about Al Gore, President Obama, and maybe even Michael Moore, before, say, how great Rush Limbaugh and red meat is.

Piggie

PBS does their news and commentary shows in a much different way. I believe if they were censored into doing shows a certain way they may as well go off the air.

The person and persons making the allegations are far right individuals that find even a centrist or moderate Republican a liberal. I know because I have friends, relatives, associates that are very far right. They consider me a liberal since I resigned from the Republican party and became independent. Yet I am very physically conservative but have always been socially liberal. The party became too liberal in spending while becoming more conservative in social issues, hence I no longer fit in their agenda nor did they serve me.

But I wonder in specific examples how is PBS liberal? I find their shows do in depth investigative reporting revealing faults from both sides of the isle.

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The more I understand, the less I know.

Aries

A better question would be: "Does the common man even care?", if I don't like what I see on TV, I either change the channel, or switch it off. I don't scream and moan about a slant towards whatever wing.

Piggie

To me this begs the question worth considering of which I will ask not judging what is right or wrong, but keep the conversation exploring.

1) I think most people I know don't watch PBS not to much because it's above their understanding, but they would rather not learn watching TV to relax.

a) But a corollary to that is how often I point out to different people that PBS has shows that are solely entertainment, and even have them ask me to remind them when they are on. One the most common shows of this type are the music shows. But a lot of people get hooked on Nature. Not so much anymore but a decade or two ago, it was the best place to find British comedy.

b) The Create Channel now has my son watching (a chief) watching PBS that was solely was a Food Network fan finding Create fills a lot of gaps in cooking that shown on Food Network that is often more entertainment than content on how to cook.

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The more I understand, the less I know.

bicker

I think a lot of the criticism three and four years ago was due to the fact that the people doing the most "wrong" happened to have been Republicans at the time. I'm a fiscal conservative and a social liberal (so basically I'm both a Republican and a Democrat, or neither), and from my perspective PBS is pretty even-handed, typically. They do tend to highlight injustice and inequity, which seems to make them anti-Republican, because Republican perspectives often lead to situations that foster sensationalistic accusations of lack of compassion; PBS is not immune from covering that which will attract viewers more. Is this bias? Well there are some members of this forum who have chosen to label standard, respectable Republican (typically, fiscal) perspectives as categorically incompassionate, but I bet those posters would vociferously deny a political bias to their comments in that regard. So a lot of this depends on where you stand.

1inxs

Journalist all get their liberal leaning attitudes from their educations. I don't believe a neutral professor remains any where in the Country. All news casts with the exception of Fox have a liberal leaning bias. Fox makes a good effort at getting both sides opinions out during their various programs, but still lean one way or the other. Personally, I would start watching network news again if the anchors would keep their political tendencies to them selfs and report the news. They aren't supposed to be the news, they are supposed to report the news.

As for you that have gone Independent (Liberal), you cannot be a Conservative and be socially Liberal. The whole purpose of conservatism is to help others, help themselves, not give them what they want or think they need. As Conservatives we help each other. We don't rely on the Government to take our money and help others. You call yourselves Independent and vote Liberal. At your core you are Liberal That's my opinion, and the opinion of much of the US population.

The fact that Republicans were doing the most wrong? Back up your statement with facts, Bicker. Or did you mean to say, the perception was Republicans were doing the wrong?
Utah is the most conservative State in the USA and probably the most compassionate.

bicker

However, I think the implication the correlation between being educated being liberal in perspective does a disservice to conservatives. It still might be true that education leads people to more liberal (more "compassionate") perspectives, but I think that's a might big leap.

I find that Fox generally leans right, and MSNBC generally leans left; while CNN is fair and balanced. However, increasingly, I've found CNN leaning towards "little guy bias" -- they tend, now, to take whatever side resonates most with their viewers' often-paranoid suspicion of large institutions, as long as it doesn't patently represent a lean to the left.

That never was the case, and never could be the case. The only way to have news unaffected by the bias of those reporting it is to have no reporter, with cameras simply recording events wherever important events may or may not be happening -- no editor to decide which camera footage to show (so the viewer would have to choose, without any indications of what may or may not be important, because that injects the bias of the person making that determination) -- and no camera operator, since even where the camera is pointed could inject bias.

Of course you can be fiscally conservative and socially liberal. To suggest otherwise is ludicrous.

That is not accurate.

The purpose of conservatism is to preserve. Fiscal conservatism, therefore, aims to preserve the current financial constructs. Social conservatism, therefore, aims to preserve the current social constructs.

The linkage of fiscal conservatism and social conservatism is a product of the Republican Party, not any necessary linkage between the two.

I vote for whichever candidate best supports my fiscally conservative and socially liberal perspective. I've voted Republicans into office in the past, and happily, most recently Paul Cellucci. I've also voted for Republicans for some local offices (though none of them won).

How would you feel if someone told you that "at your core you are" selfish or bigoted because of your political perspectives? I think it is best if you refrain from statements like, "At your core you are ..." Doing so is inconsiderate -- dare I say incompassionate -- and it isn't your place to pronounce such things with regard to others. Take such stands with regard to yourself, for sure, but those other folks get to declare what they "are" or "are not" -- not you.

I assume you're talking about the 21% of the population that is now willing to identify themselves as Republicans. 79% versus 21%.... which to worry ourselves about.

It is my opinion, and clearly not one you are in a position to refute with facts. (Besides, you left out the quotation marks about "wrong", so I wonder if you even understood the sentence that you made your reply to.) The reality is that the Republicans were in the White House and whoever is in the White House will always be the ones who are doing the most "wrong", because the others aren't in a position to do anything.

Most considerate, I'll gladly agree with. Some very nice people in Utah. The Unitarian Universalist Association of America just had its annual convention in Salt Lake City, and our delegates commented just how nice and polite everyone way, and how hospitable they were. That doesn't have much to do with what we're discussing though.

1inxs

In my attempt to keep the post on message. I don't think Government should be in the NEWS business. It seems like there is too much chance of a conflict of interest.
liberal does not equal compassionate

Throughout history the Government has shown their lack of self control. You can't have it both ways. Conservatives believe in taking care of their own, not the Government.
Conservatism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Social conservatism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Welfare state - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Your words taken from here Social conservatism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia show us there are certain points within social conservatism not linked to fiscal, but overall it leads a Country down the same path. Though I don't know how you attribute this to Republicans?

This sounds like the many of your other posts on the internet. When you feel uncomfortable with another's opinion you politely ask them to refrain from giving one. You ask how I would feel. I wouldn't feel, I would realize you didn't know me

I think you have mistaken. I never mentioned Republicans. I was speaking of Conservatives. What did you pull these numbers out of? Here are the real facts. I would say you're a little out of phase on your facts.
?Conservatives? Are Single-Largest Ideological Group



And now you resort to correcting my grammar. Very mature

Utah ranks #2 in the USA for it's conservative values. It's relevance is in response to "They do tend to highlight injustice and inequity, which seems to make them anti-Republican, because Republican perspectives often lead to situations that foster sensationalistic accusations of lack of compassion; PBS is not immune from covering that which will attract viewers more."

What is the most conservative state in the USA? -- A Grupthink Topic