The Weekly Poll
Results
The 'Talking Heads' Edition (No, not the band, ya weirdo...)
Which TV network do you view the most for national/international news?
(Feel free to cite individual programs/personalities that you particularly like)
1.) CNN
2.) MS-NBC
3.) FNC
4.) ABC
5.) CBS
6.) PBS
Hoo Ha! A grand turn-out and that's a fact! Read on and enjoy...
1.) CNN (zip... Sorry, Ted...)
2.) MS-NBC
The landslide winner with 9 votes! The following responders voted without comment: mrbracewell and barbfarm (twice!) Responders who commented were as follows...
Chipshot in Tyler, TX...
I get my news on the Internet, but I prefer NBC News on those rare occasions when I watch the TV news. I'm also a big fan of Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow's shows on MSNBC, just because they make it a point to demonstrate what a bunch of loons make up the cast of right-wing nut jobs at Fox "News."
To get a true perspective of the "mainstream media" though, I rely on John Stewart and Stephen Colbert, both of whom cut through the bullshit and keep me entertained while telling me what a fucked up world it sometimes is.
On a related note, my ex-wife was in town recently visiting for our grandson's high school graduation. During a visit to my place, she tried to flip over to Fox, only to find that I have it blocked. I had a flashback to why we are divorced when she blew up just 'cause I wouldn't give her the parental control code to unblock it. She just has to have her daily fix of O'Really, Beck and Hannity, but she ain't gonna get it here unless she wants to watch Olbermann show them for the idiots they are.
Sandra in Bangor swooned...
i heart rachel maddow!
MAM wrote...
I watch MS-NBC's 'Countdown' with Keith Olbermann and 'The Rachel Maddow Show' with Rachel Maddow. I realize that these are both slanted, but they are slanted the way I like them slanted! And that they are also not strictly 'news' but often commentary and opinion. But I like them both.
MD likes Rachel...
I only get my news from the best dyke on television...
Leo, short and sweet, said...
MS-NBC. I like both Brian Williams and Lester Holt.
(I like Lester's 'presence'...)
Joe S. answered...
I watch MSNBC almost exclusively. I very seldom miss Keith Olbermann and I watch Rachel Maddow often. I would watch Ed Schultz if I had the chance but I'm seldom available for TV during his time periods. I'll tell ya who I don't like on that network though. I don't like David Gregory, although he's mostly on NBC now, and I don't like David Schuster. Joe Scarborough? I can't stand that right-wing, mush-mouth, smarmy, smug bastard. Good thing I'm usually sleeping when he's on. I'm not really wild about Chris Mathews either. But I do love Keith, and I love his rants.
I try to watch some PBS, but they're (the commentators) mostly too namby-pamby. The rest of the networks are crap. Listing to them you'd think the republicans won the election, or at least the republicans are doing their level best to save is from the evil Obama. Listening to that right-wing crap makes my skin crawl.
3.) FNC (zero... I'm shocked! Shocked, I'm tellin' ya! Haha...)
4.) ABC (zilch... Sorry, Charles)
5.) CBS (nada... You, too, Katie)
6.) PBS (a distant second gets 3 votes)
Charlie sounded almost reluctant with...
About the only actual news show I watch with any regularity is 'Newshour', on PBS... And even at that I don't really endorse it.
PBS is also good for Bill Moyers, but that is not, I don't suppose, strictly speaking, a "news show" in this context. Going beyond strictly news programming in this sense, C-SPAN is by far the best network for political programming and analysis. I used to spend a lot of time in bookstores and the library looking for sources of real news, but nowadays I mostly use the web (as do most of us, I suspect), my most visited news site being the BBC.
(You and me and the BBC! At least twice a day fer me)
SallyP(al) averred...
Without a doubt, #6, PBS. While I enjoy most of their news shows, BBC News is my bible. I want news WO commentary, opinion, or celebrity claptrash! Here in the NYC area, "Gossip" shows have replaced much of the "Primetime" news! And, the news itself is so slanted - Fox, "Fair and balanced" my ass! Last night I wanted to see how they covered the parade, and while reporting on the Puerto Rican Day Parade, the camera focus is on a few beer bottles in the gutter, and some teens who looks as if they MIGHT belong to gangs - this out of the million of Parade watchers, most of whom were cute-as-a-button kids and boring-looking (as myself) people! Gay Pride? Get that few guys in drag - in lieu of the thousands of likewise boring folks. How about focusing on the NEWS why don't you?? Plenty of cheeky, monkey press to go around, and I don't want it in my news - thank you very much!
I head a comedienne the other day saying that if the news wants more viewers, have "Jon & Kate" read it to them via their "Reality" TV show. It wasn't even funny, it was so close to home.
rdmcd voted PBS without comment
7.) Other/None of the above (responder inspired, gets 3 votes)
Adam in Noho goes with...
Comedy Central. Jon Stewart is the best interviewer on television. Pointed questions and follow-ups! I still don't understand why Bill Kristol ever went on The Daily Show a 2nd+ time.
TV news is an oxymoron. For TV, the news is an entertainment commodity as much as any sitcom or Jon&Kate+8 (this was not always so, but changed through the 80's- due in part to the rise of Cable TV). If you get useful information in passing, it's purely accidental.
I listen to NPR for the majority of my news. It's not perfect, either. At 75% overall accuracy, NPR is better than TV (50% at best), but it's still only a C. Between that and the bullshit detector that is the blogosphere, I feel about 90% properly informed.
DC Madman questions...
No none of the above category? We cut our cable and went total Internet. Google News and blogs do news quite well.
(Mea Culpa! Shows just how 'programmed' I am, I'm thinking now. I'll consider myself properly chastised, as it were. Thanks!)
Carla agreed with...
Hi! You should have added a 7th category: none! I get my news almost exclusively from progressive radio and the Internet, except for local news from the little town paper that comes out twice a week. I gave up on TV news long ago except for an occasional event like when the bridge fell down in Minneapolis or there's a big weather or traffic event which affects my area. I do still watch the weather channel occasionally. I still subscribe to some current events periodicals (The Progressive, The Nation, Progressive/Populist News, etc.).
I just can't bear the shallow, plastic people on TV news nor the way the news is presented, with all the busy screens and intrusive sound effects. I would like to have an intelligent, mature, trustworthy person in a plain setting telling the news, like back in the days of Cronkite, Huntley/Brinkley, etal. I guess by now you can tell I'm an old grouch!
Well, Poll-fans, I gotta say I'm not a 'regular' of any program or network. I tend to favor NBC Nightly News, but will flip to ABC in an instant. I like Jim Lehrer, but the time it comes on can be bad for me. I catch Keith and Rachel, occasionally. I enjoy his 'Worst Person in the World' segment. As Charlie noted, I, too, mostly rely on the 'net fer my news... A BIG thanks to all responders! Yer the best!
BadToTheBoneBob
New Question
The 'Eye for an Eye' Edition...
The recent domestic terrorist murders of Dr. George Tiller in Wichita, Kansas, Army recruiter Pvt William Long in Little Rock, Arkansas and security guard Stephan Johns at the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. occurred in jurisdictions that have the capital punishment. Prosecutors of these crimes will, no doubt, consider asking for it due to obvious premeditation of the perpetrators.
Are you in favor of Capital Punishment?
Send your response to
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said:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Suggestion
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Hey Marty -
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Thanks, Michelle!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
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Sunny morning, overcast afternoon.
Hospital Donation
Pitts
Brad Pitt and his siblings have given $1 million to help a Missouri hospital open a new pediatric cancer center that will be named for their mother.
Pitt and his siblings' families, Doug and Lisa Pitt and Rob and Julie Neal, gave the money to St. John's Hospital in Springfield, Mo., on Saturday in honor of their mother's passion for children's issues.
The hospital is opening the Jane Pitt Pediatric Cancer Center this summer in the town where Pitt and his siblings grew up. The donation will pay to hire the only pediatric oncologist and hematologist in the southwest Missouri region.
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Pitts
No Vandalism Charges
Jessica Alba
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Police never interviewed the 28-year-old co-star of the "Fantastic Four" movies, "Sin City and "Good Luck Chuck." She is in Oklahoma City shooting a movie, "The Killer Inside Me."
Knight said it is typical not to pursue vandalism charges when property owners don't want to prosecute.
Jessica Alba
Pushes Back Start Of Fall Season
Rupert TV
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Rupert TV
He's Back
Captain America
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Captain America
Makes Peace With Coldplay
Yusuf Islam
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He says, "I stand by what I said. They did copy my song but I don't think they did it on purpose. I have even copied myself without even knowing I have done it. I'll write down what I think is a good melody and realise it's the same as something I have already done.
Yusuf Islam
Book To Auction
'The Federalist'
A rare leather-bound book that played an influential role in America's early history could bring a windfall for a soldier training for his second tour in Iraq.
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'The Federalist'
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Bloomsbury Publishing
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc on Monday denied allegations that author J.K. Rowling copied "substantial parts" of a book by another children's author when she wrote "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire."
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In an earlier statement, Jacobs' estate said that it had issued proceedings at London's High Court against Bloomsbury Publishing Plc for copyright infringement.
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Bloomsbury Publishing
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Rayfield Dupree
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He will be eligible for parole after serving 20 months, but until then can take medical parole for health reasons if necessary.
Public defender Amy Allen said Dupree suffers from an irregular heartbeat.
Superior Court Judge Paul Lyle ordered Dupree to report to jail by June 22. Dupree has been free on bond since shortly after his November arrest.
Rayfield Dupree
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`The Beast'
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The series, which premiered in January, starred Swayze as Charles Barker, a rogue undercover FBI agent teamed up with rookie Ellis Dove (Travis Fimmel). The series was filmed on location in Chicago.
Reviews for the series were mixed and its audience averaged 1.3 million viewers through the 13 episodes, which concluded their run in April.
`The Beast'
Bottom Line Rules
TV Guide Channel
The TV Guide Channel is laying off 38 staffers, including presenters John Fugelsang and Teresa Strasser, as part of a downgrade of three existing series by the network's new owners.
The weekly talk show "TV Watercooler," featuring Fugelsang and Strasser, is going off the air starting June 22.
The daily entertainment newsmagazine "Hollywood 411" will become a weekly show starting June 26. And the weekly TV-centric series "Infanity" will continue as specials starting June 26. No executives are affected by the layoffs, which mostly affect production staffers and temps.
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TV Guide Channel
Fraud Trial
France
A French prosecutor on Monday recommended a Paris court should dissolve the Church of Scientology's French branch when it rules on charges of fraud against the organization.
Registered as a religion in the United States, with celebrity members such as actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta, Scientology enjoys no such legal protection in France, where it has faced repeated accusations of being a money-making cult.
The Church's Paris headquarters and bookshop are defendants in a fraud trial that began on May 25. Summing up her views on the case, state prosecutor Maud Coujard urged the court to return a guilty verdict and dissolve the organization in France.
The trial centers on complaints made in the late 1990s by two former members who spent huge sums on Scientology courses and "purification" sessions.
France
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