Ashlee wasn’t on that list, but Kelly Clarkson is… same difference 
“Hash Pipe” is a great song… do you know what it is about?
Actually my wife and kids tell me Kelly Clarkson is very talented, although I don’t think she is my style.
I don’t think I do know what Hash Pipe is all about.
I think this top twenty list suggests hope for the quality of music in the US.
Hash Pipe is told from the perspective of a transsexual prositute.
Let’s face it…the news in the US are just crap!
There is no depth, no background on most stories, it’s amazingly US-centered (nothing happens in the rest of the world…then go wonder why many americans have no clue about the rest of the world), they often show maps with BIG mistakes…recently saw a map of Europe on CNN with Switzerland written over Austria and with Checoslovakia (ooops…does it matter if they splitted)
There is stuff all over the screen so you can’t follow anything which is probably a reason for misinformation.
And this pertains to all the mainstream networks.
I agree. This is why much of our foreign policy is also crap. And has been crap for centuries, if you look into it. To say that in general Americans are misinformed and/or uninformed is an understatement. It’s a generalization, but it’s true, just like saying Americans are fat … Now I’m ***not ***comparing our media and foreign policy with other countries. I don’t want to get into that … I’m just saying the U.S. media in general does a poor job, Americans do a poor job listening/understanding/caring and thats part of why we support (or know little about) policies that don’t always help our country move forward.
I hate to agree with this frog bashing of the US, Francois, but, sadly, you have this one about right.
There is just no point to watching TV news anymore. I get all my news off the net. At least then I can control what I read and dig deeply on things of interest.
Watch CBS and read Newsweek. Much more credible journalists. They always check out their sources.
“I agree. This is why much of our foreign policy is also crap. And has been crap for centuries, if you look into it”
Like our foreign policy or not, it isn’t the way it is because of news reporting. (Also saying our policy has been a disaster for “centuries” because of our media is just laughable)
There are other reasons why Americans are less informed about the rest of the world. You can start with the fact that most Americans never travel to any other country. Those that do, go to Mexico and Canada for vacations. It’s not like Europe where you can just drive for a couple hours and hit a couple countries. Stand in America and look left or right and you get oceans, not 14 other small countries. We are considerably more isolated by geography than most European countries. We are also have a tradition of being considerably more self sufficient than a lot of Europe which, by reasons of space, has to share a lot of resources. we also haven’t been occupied or have shifting borders like much of Europe has had over the last few centuries.
On top of all this, I’m not so sure that Europeans are as informed as they would like us all to believe. Informed about Europe, sure. Informed about Africa or Asia or South America, maybe not so much. Even informed about the U.S., not so much all the time.
My main point is that the news isn’t the reason for American policy or for Americans not being completely in tune with what’s going on several thousands of miles away.
Oh but reading is soooo much harder, because you have to get the news yourself, they are not fed to you with a spoon.
As far as I could see last summer in France, we are following on the CNN/MSNBC/Fox model, with superficial stuff everywhere and nothing done in depth…
How can they for instance summarize the middle east situation in one script line at the bottom of the screen…
Information is knowledge, but information does not equal to a simple little fact about something happening in the world, you need to understand the context, etc.
Funny to realize that we have several channels providing news 24/7, but the content is close to nil.
Man, AJ and I agreeing! Where is this world going???
***Like our foreign policy or not, it isn’t the way it is because of news reporting. (Also saying our policy has been a disaster for “centuries” because of our media is just laughable) ***
… My main point is that the news isn’t the reason for American policy or for Americans not being completely in tune with what’s going on several thousands of miles away.
I’ll make this quick because I have to mow the lawn I mostly agree (look at our poor schooling as well): You are right about how history influences our perceptions.
But on some points I politely disagree. From the books that told evryone American Indians are savages and needed to be dealt with brutally to the yellow journalism and the sinking of the Maine and the Spanish American War to the media during the McCarthy era all the way through now, the media (all media, books, papers, TV news, etc.) has had a huge impact on what U.S. citizens believe about issues and hence our foreign policy.
One recent example is the media’s very uncritical and unquestioning portrayal of the situation and possble pitfalls before the Iraq war. Now, yes, O’Reilly is right and 99 (or whatever) abu Ghraib stories on the front page of the NY times is not great either. I would simply argue the media really pushes the direction of the War on terror (just one issue) and continues to influence it, for better or worse. The SSI debate is another example.
Bingo… Francois
I prefer to read news from the internet… while it to can be bias… at least I can get a better understanding of all the different biased reporting.
US News (in general) is just crap and waaaay overly US centric.
As to Fox being “fair and balanced”… well, let me think…
It seems someone did some marketing research and found out (drum roll please)… Fox was considered un-fair and un-balanced… Go figure!!!
So… being the good marking firm they are… they come out with a slogan - Fox News “Fair and Balanced”.
Sound like marketing hype? {sarcasm}…Ya’ think {sarcasm}?
Fox “News” is mostly tabloid entertainment … nothing more. And, it seems a certain segment of the public like that form of entertainment… afterall, why is it that the National Enquirer makes a good profit.
FWIW Joe Moya
What do you read? I try and go to Washington Post and Foxnews.com, and toss in some WSJ when I can. From time to time I try NY Times, but I can’t stand how NY focussed their site is (shocker). I’m so biased against NYC that I can’t deal. But I try and make sure I am myself “fair and balanced” in seeking sources that slant a little left and a little right.
I love NewsHour on PBS, I don’t think you can get a much better source of news for my money.
I read cnn.com, NY Times, Wash. Post editorials, WSJ and the local Ft. Lauderdale paper. I also read a number of blogs that change from month to month. I have actually found them to be the best. They go where the media does not bother, and they deal in depth. I have found them to be very accurate since the moment they wander, they get instantly corrected by their readers.
Actually, as I go through the list, it is all “liberal” publications except for the WSJ editorial page (not the news sections) and the blogs.
“But on some points I politely disagree”
Well that’s certainly not in the Lavendar Room spirit.
“From the books that told evryone American Indians are savages and needed to be dealt with brutally to the yellow journalism and the sinking of the Maine and the Spanish American War to the media during the McCarthy era all the way through now, the media (all media, books, papers, TV news, etc.) has had a huge impact on what U.S. citizens believe about issues and hence our foreign policy”
I don’t think these are the same issues. The complaint here was that news today is simply not much of anything substantial, and hence, Americans are out of touch. The examples you gave were mostly examples of poor reporting or corrupt news organizations being used by politicians or moguls to influence public opinion. I certainly don’t think that is a distinctly American problem.
Give the people what they want.
While I think the press has pretty much given up its responsibility to ask and answer important questions, and do the investigative digging that is supposed to keep everybody on their toes, they have largely given up on it, mostly because of money. You could also argue that the current Administration has been the least friendly to the press in 30 years, alternately reviling them and using them as a propaganda tool.
But at the end of the day, I think it’s about money. A large foreign bureau network is expensive to maintain. 24 hour news is expensive to maintain. And the average American consumer, as we’ve pointed out, being largely immune or indifferent to world events, cares less about what is happening abroad and more about whether Angelina Jolie broke up Brad and Jen. I think the ratings pretty much confirm that. You have more Access Hollywood than Walter Cronkite going on here. I mean really, how many women go missing every day in this country? Do we really need to spend a few weeks talking about one runaway bride?
And if you look at who has been successful in the news category, it’s been the hybrid programs which are less about news than punditry and excessive spin - O’Reilly, Hannity, Limbaugh, etc. I give credit to Fox for being smart - they’ve been able to carve out a niche in creating these shoutfests which combine news and entertainment, while also effectively conveying a rather distinct political view. The fact that their audience seems interestingly uncritical only bolsters their bottom line. Apparently people would much rather see guys screaming nonsense at each other than see old guys quietly analysing and discussing.
While I think the success of these characters is sort of depressing - nobody watches these programs and comes away at the end knowing more than at the beginning, but they are a sign of our times.
I wish I could say I think there will be a “flight to quality” as they call it in the bond markets, but I don’t. I think the lowest common denominator works, and it may be awhile before the American consumer rebels and somebody comes along to offer what will ultimately be an expensive product - non-glamorous, well thought-out and reported, useful news.
Mind saying what blogs? I don’t read any because I’m unaware of any that don’t do the whole “Side A sucks, side B is the only valid viewpoint” deal, which I can’t deal with.
Right now I am reading captainquartersblog.com and powerlineblog.com. I used to read Drudge, but he seems to have lost his edge.
I used to read instapundit and andrewsullivan, but they have gotten boring.