catapult magazine

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discussion

A thread for credibility

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Adam
Mar 19 2003
11:00 pm

Okay, there’s always bias in the media. It’s impossible to tell history completely without bias. But this is getting ridiculous! It is becoming so hard to get a straight word on this war I’m about ready to scream. As laurencer has been complaining for some time now, the two sides are so polarized it’s extremely frustrating to make heads or tails out of it. To me, it seems clear that war here is a bad thing. But so many things are hazy because everything I read is so obviously either anti-American or pro-war, I feel like I learn nothing when I read the paper, watch the news, or surf the net. All I hear are unbelievable claims from both sides. Props to laurencer and jasonvb on their latest posts in “saddam’s oppressed masses.”

SO, what if we dedicate at least one thread to posting things we find about the war that are intentionally non-biased? By this I mean alternative news sources; ones that present different perspectives rather than just Bush=Devil or War=Good, OR pieces like the following . . .

Perhaps some have seen this or have heard about it: this is a link to the Project for a New American Century homepage. Though reading this does incite a strong reaction in me, I’ll let you read it for yourselves without giving my opinion:

http://www.newamericancentury.org/statementofprinciples.htm

To be sure, this is a biased source. BUT, it’s an unbiased EXHIBIT because . . . well . . . I think you’ll understand when you’ve finished reading the statement and noticed the names of the founding members found at the bottom. It’s getting these men’s policy on the war from their own mouths—a policy they would have no reason to lie or hide the truth about, and a policy they agreed upon in 1997.

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dan
Mar 20 2003
08:54 am

I’m opposed to this bias toward non-bias :)

Anyway, I’m not sure why you feel like this piece is an unbiased exhibit, Adam. Is it because the authors are being honest about their bias? Should every journalist’s article be accompanied by a little statement of faith? Might not be a bad idea, actually.

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Adam
Mar 20 2003
11:26 pm

Right. I should have realized I wasn’t being clear. Here it is:

To me this is basically an unabashed manifesto for American Imperialism. Frankly, it scared me very much to read it and find that there has actually been a public alliance of very powerful politicians who state in rather clear terms that they want the U.S. to govern the world. As an American citizen (living in Canada), I didn’t want to believe previous articles that merely claimed that this was the case, since most of such articles came from leftist and/or foreign sources. Now I have credible reason to believe that many of my governing officials want to make my country into something of a world ruler. And I don’t like it.

That’s why I consider it to be a un-biased “exhibit:” Because it proves that the imperialist agenda really does exhist, and it can’t be dismissed as leftist or anti-American propaganda, because the left didn’t WRITE it; Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Jeb Bush, and company did. It’s not a persuasive article, it’s a statement of purpose that really gives me insight into the way some of these men think. And the way some of these men think makes me want to do what I can to see them out of power.

That said, my original point is that I’m sick of hearing polar opposites. I want to know the truth without the editorials. I can’t deny the content of the aforementioned article, but show me opinion polls, or something that a writer for some political magazine wrote, and instantly my red flags go up.

That is why I’m becoming a big fan of SOME alternative news sources. Many of the places I look tend either not to give enough info or to give the typical rants instead of news.

Perhaps “non-biased” is too much to ask. But different, more rounded perspectives, like the one laurencer offered, are the ones I appreciate most.

Since we’re on the topic:

Where do you members get your news? I ask not because I question anyone’s credibility but because I’m hoping to expand my somewhat limited list of sources.

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dan
Mar 21 2003
05:10 pm

In my opinion, the two best television news programs in North America are PBS’s ‘The News Hour with Jim Lehrer,’ and CBC’s ‘The National with Peter Mansbridge.’ I watch The National often and am impressed nearly every time with the insight offered by some of North America’s best correspondents in the context of an interesting news format.

In print and internet media I like the Economist, salon.com, British newspapers, the New York Times, and the Globe and Mail.