Fair & Balanced?

I guess it depends on your point of view. People are suckers for advertising. That's why Budweiser is the number one beer and more people drink Coke than Pepsi. But when people are so swayed by a news organization's claim of being fair and balanced, I have to wonder.

I have been a news junkie for years. I can't seem to get enough coverage of what's happening in the world around me. I have to watch CNN, Fox News, Headline News, The Weather Channel and I also seem to find myself reading news online most every night and sometimes during the day. If I'm in the car at the top of the hour I find myself tuning in WGHC...not because I prefer CBS radio news over ABC...but because CBS radio news is six minutes in length where ABC radio news is only four minutes.

But what gets me is when I talk to people about national events, the stories that we all seemed to want to watch, people seem to go into some sort of pitch for Fox News...they all say..."Fox news is fair and more balanced!" They say it like they really believe it.

As a news junkie and one who has followed news for years, and as someone who really understands that way reporters report and the way they go about getting stories, no one can really report news for a long time and not let their personal feeling color a story. Some reporters are better than others at being objectionable (is that really a word?) but no news organization is perfect and no news organization is truly in the middle of the road.

Fair and Balanced is Fox News' way of trying to sell their news to you. And congratulations...you bought into the ad campaign. Now it's time to load up on all the Bud and Coke you can get and watch your balanced news shows.

AJ