ABC's 60 Minutes is absolutely not fair and balanced

Grok Headline matches for ABC's 60 Minutes is absolutely not fair and balanced

Fair and Balanced?

Fair and Balanced? 10/28/2003 11:07 PM

Bill Gates recently got together with Steve Mills from IBM and demonstrated some web services interoperability between our two companies' products.  It has taken awhile to get to this point, from the initial hype to the point where some of these key scenarios work without smoke and mirrors; so it is nice to see a "status report" like this.

The first response I saw came in the form of this shrill attack piece run on CNET.  The author seems stuck in the last century, when people still bought the big lie about "write once run anywhere".  He fails to explain how "runs only on Java" is significantly different from "runs only on Windows", and completely misses the point that most enterprises have to support both types of systems (and many more) and therefore place a high priority on interop.

The attack piece brought back fond memories of the days when Bob Metcalfe and Jai Singh (now managing editor at CNET) were together at the helm of Infoworld.  Then I saw another analysis in CNET, covering the same interop event, but surprisingly balanced, at least in comparison to the first piece.  Finally, I found yet another analysis on CNET, again covering the same event; and this one is positively glowingly accurate!

What to make of it?  A single presentation by Bill Gates inspires three different pieces in CNET which cover the whole spectrum of opinion.  Can't complain about that.

~

Tragically, politics shuts down John Poindexter's data mining program.  It seems that only Safeway is allowed to collect that sort of information about U.S. citizens.

Fair and Balanced

Fair and Balanced 05/04/2004 09:16 PM
Read this Editorial titled Leader: iTunes ain't what it used to be from Silicon.com. If you're like me you'll see many glaring errors. Let's start...

"Fair and balanced" polls

"Fair and balanced" polls 06/25/2004 01:34 PM

Fox New: Is "Fair and Balanced"
"ridiculous"?

Fox New: Is "Fair and Balanced"
"ridiculous"? 07/18/2004 06:39 PM
"Is 'Fair and Balanced' ridiculous?" So opened the FOX News Watch segment examining Robert Greenwald's film, OutFOXed. And astonishingly, the uncontradicted view of FOX News Watch was "yes"! As Neal Gabler put it, "To say that this network promotes the Republican view ... is like saying that the Pope is Catholic. It's self-evident ... pretty much undeniable." But, he asks, as if he hadn't actually seen the film, "So what?" So what? Well first, start with the question that opened the segment: Fox says it is "Fair and Balanced." If it is "self-evident" that it is not, then I guess we agree then that it is "ridiculous" to say that it is. And second, "obviously" media critics get this about Fox. Anyone who critically watches Fox gets this about Fox. But as one questioner at the San Francisco opening put it, for those who aren't media critics, and for those who don't actually watch Fox, just how "ridiculous" Fox's claim is is something significant. My bet is that a cross-section of FOX viewers would be surprised just how false Fox's claims actually are. The discussion opened with Jim Pinkerton of Newsday calling the film "dull and didactic." He then asserted that the film says that media networks are "either worse than the Mafia that ran Cuba in the 1950s or worse than the Soviet Union." When I heard him say that, I understood why he saw the film as "dull and didactic": if this is his view, he didn't really watch the film. The opening allusion to the Mafia comes from Robert McChesney, where he compares how the Mafia carved up Cuba with how the government carves up media ownership -- nothing to do with the media being "worse than the Mafia." The allusion to the Soviet Union, also McChesney's, again had nothing to do with Pinkerton's claim. McChesney's claim was simply that propaganda is most effective when the audience is unaware -- unlike in the Soviet Union. The other simple fabrication of Pinkerton was that the film comprised "two or three disgruntled employees." That's true if by "two or three" you mean seven (four listed here; three requested anonymity). But the more fundamental fabrication is the suggestion that the film's claims are based on nothing more than the word of "two or three disgruntled employees." The film has five independent sources for its "self-evident," as Grabler puts it, conclusion: (1) former Foxies, (2) Fox memos (unmentioned by anyone on the show), (3) independent studies of Fox viewers, (4) media commentators, and (5) clips from Fox shows. Cal Thomas -- who was one of the people in the film -- found the film flawed because it "ignored the many Democrats I've had on my show." Again, not true. The movie never asserts that there are no Democrats, or liberals on the show. It just asserts -- not denied by Thomas -- that the "balance" is "unbalanced." Indeed, in one of the best parts of the film, Greenwald reports a media group that studied months of Brit Hume's "Special Report" and found over 80% of the guests on that premier show were Republican -- and that most of the Democrats were centrists. Not balanced, and not a fair picture of the facts reported. Thomas goes on (with his wonderful announcer voice -- I love listening to him) to say something extraordinary however. Here's the quote:

"I think the reason that this network looks so Republican ... is by contrast on [sic] what the others do. If you went and did -- as the Media Research Center has done -- clips of what is said on the broadcast networks ... you would find an enormous tilt to the left. So by contrast it looks conservative."

I think we need more Media Research Centers on both the Left and Right and -- imagine this -- even without a political agenda! But I've not seen that they've put together "clips" as Greenwald has. And again, the film is comparing what Fox News actually is to what Fox News says it is. Jane Hall (Who? She's an assistant professor in the School of Communication at American University) complained the film was flawed because it left "out any evidence to the contrary." There were plenty of liberals on Fox she said -- for example, she said, she was a liberal. She also mentioned Jeff Cohen, cofounder of FAIR, was on Fox News Watch "for five years." Jeff Cohen? Actually, the movie not only doesn't ignore Jeff Cohen. He is one of the most critical interviewees. And again, the film doesn't say there are no liberals on Fox. The show instead reports Clara Frenk reporting that the "quality" of the liberals was far less than the quality of the conservatives -- in the sense that the liberals were either "unknown" or "weak." Hall also repeated the total non-thought that has been framed around this film -- that somehow the film is weak because it didn't get Roger Ailes to respond. The film in fact has Roger Ailes stating Fox News was to be a fair and balanced news program. It also has Roger Ailes stating Fox News failed its viewers on election night by allowing George Bush's cousin, on the basis of extremely weak data, to call the election for Bush. But even if it didn't twice include Roger Ailes in the film, the idea that before you release a film critical of someone you must include their comment is inane. I've had many critical reviews of my work published, some very intelligent, some others not. Never has anyone asked me for my comment on their review before they publish it. Indeed, to do so would be unethical. But my favorite part of the whole show is the contrast between segment one and segment two. The review of Outfoxed was in segment two. Segment one was about -- I swear -- "Media bias." For a full segment, Fox News Watch focused on a single statement by Newsweek's Evan Thomas. As Media Research Center quotes him,

The media want Kerry to win. They’re going to portray Kerry and Edwards as being young and dynamic and optimistic, and this glow is going to be worth maybe 15 points."

This single quote by a single editor at a single magazine apparently proves, according to the show, that liberal "media bias" exists. Yet a film gathering (1) former Foxies, (2) Fox memos, (3) independent studies of Fox viewers, (4) media commentators, and (5) clips from Fox shows is, by contrast, "not that fairly put together," said Eric Burns, the show's host. I guess they would know. They're the trademark holder for the words "Fair and Balanced" (at least until the challenge to that trademark gets resolved).

Fair and balanced, at least 27 percent
of the time!

Fair and balanced, at least 27 percent
of the time! 03/14/2005 06:14 PM
A new study crowns Fox News Channel the king of biased reporting.

A Fair and Balanced Review of the Mac
Mini

A Fair and Balanced Review of the Mac
Mini 02/05/2005 09:16 PM

Mac Mini: The Emperor's New Computer: Attention: Before you rip the living hell out of this guy, please remember that he went to DeVry. And he has an MCSE.

The Mini boots up into a stripped-down operating system which Apple calls OS X, similar to the stripped-down WindowsCE OS found on many handhelds. The mini OS is going to be a significant hurdle for many buyers who are used to Windows or have favorite Windows software packages they need to use. Think of it more as a first computer for your daughter or niece than as a machine to get any serious work done and you’ll get the point of the Mini and its target market. It might also be the perfect computer for grandmothers or autistic children, for example.

Now your cell phone can be fair and
balanced, too

Now your cell phone can be fair and
balanced, too 07/23/2004 04:52 PM

Outfoxed: How Murdoch's network gets so
fair and balanced

Outfoxed: How Murdoch's network gets so
fair and balanced 07/12/2004 07:22 PM

balanced and fair: Geist on copyright
reform

balanced and fair: Geist on copyright
reform 06/16/2004 03:46 AM
Michael Geist's latest column in the Tornoto Star maps a sane process to realizing balance in IP. Help spread the sanity.

Making American Forces Radio fair and
balanced

Making American Forces Radio fair and
balanced 06/24/2004 08:07 AM
As Rush Limbaugh cries foul, the Senate moves toward loosening the right-wing propagandist's stranglehold on the military's airwaves.

Dingell Joins Republicans to Protest
CBS's Mini-Series "The Reagans": Demands
"Fair and Balanced" Portrayal of 40th
President

Dingell Joins Republicans to Protest
CBS's Mini-Series "The Reagans": Demands
"Fair and Balanced" Portrayal of 40th
President 11/02/2003 03:12 AM
Congressman John Dingell .. and much more .. his letter .. letter

house.gov/dingell/10-29-03.html
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Ex-Verizon Wireless Employee Stole
Minutes... Many, Many Minutes

Ex-Verizon Wireless Employee Stole
Minutes... Many, Many Minutes 08/13/2004 05:45 AM
An ex-Verizon Wireless employee has been charged with ste aling and reselling $20 million worth of prepaid cellular minutes. Since the minutes were activated via the numbers on some cards, he just copied down all the numbers. Interestingly, while the report says he stole $20 million worth of minutes, there's no indication how much he actually sold them for (or how many were actually used). Also, he continued to have access to the computer which stored the numbers after he left Verizon, which sounds like a major security screwup on Verizon Wireless' part.

ABC's 'Lost,' Wednesdays 8/7c

ABC's 'Lost,' Wednesdays 8/7c 09/23/2004 01:12 PM
'Lost' .. Lost

abc.go.com/primetime/lost/index.html
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ABC's 'People of the Year' - Bloggers

ABC's 'People of the Year' - Bloggers 01/01/2005 12:30 AM

ABC's Koppel Leaving 'Nightline' (AP)

ABC's Koppel Leaving 'Nightline' (AP) 03/31/2005 12:16 PM
AP - Ted Koppel, who has anchored ABC News' "Nightline" since its inception a quarter-century ago, said Thursday he will leave the network when his contract expires at the end of the year.

ABC's Jennings Discloses That He Has
Lung Cancer

ABC's Jennings Discloses That He Has
Lung Cancer 04/05/2005 10:24 PM
Peter Jennings, the sole anchor of the ABC's evening newscast for the past 22 years, will work as often as he can during his course of treatment.

ABC's 'GMA' Putting Heat on 'Today' Show
(AP)

ABC's 'GMA' Putting Heat on 'Today' Show
(AP) 04/18/2005 11:16 PM
AP - For 487 weeks, viewers have made NBC's "Today" show team of Katie Couric and Matt Lauer their favorites in the morning. The steady rise of ABC's "Good Morning America" is threatening that dominance.

"ABC's probably phony Republican
'talking points' memo"

"ABC's probably phony Republican
'talking points' memo" 03/24/2005 01:51 PM

Right-Leaning Media Barons Black Out
ABC's Airing of War Dead

Right-Leaning Media Barons Black Out
ABC's Airing of War Dead 04/30/2004 12:07 PM

The Sinclair Broadcast Group has joined the broadcasting Hall of Cowardice with its craven decision to prevent its customers from seeing tonight's Nightline broadcast, on which anchor Ted Koppel will read the names and show pictures of the American service men and women killed in the current Iraq War. On Sinclair's home page today is a statement about the company's reason for this move: a claim that the Nightline show is a purely political act. Let's assume for a minute that this is true, and that -- as the statement implies -- the motive is to cast a bad light on the war -- even though Sinclair's statement doesn't begin to make such a case. Does this mean Sinclair will start blacking out the flagrantly pro-administration Fox News programming? You will not be even slightly surprised to know that the various Smiths who run this company are HUGE donors to George W. Bush and the Republican Party, according to the always-valuable Open Secrets database of political influence-peddling. See this and this, in particular. Who's being political?

Absolutely No Forking

Absolutely No Forking 11/06/2003 12:23 PM
EBay removed this auction, depriving the world of an hour of intimacy with a total stranger on the Internet. "There's nothing I like better that a nice spooning," says Ron Jon. "Let me spoon you." (11-06)

Absolutely Pre-Fabulous

Absolutely Pre-Fabulous 05/17/2004 11:56 AM
My friend Guy is considering the purchase of a stylish prefab home. He pointed me to FabPreFab, a mind-blowing clearinghouse of prefab dwelling design.

"Predominant mass-market housing programs such as project homes or tract housing largely fail to meet the desires of people who appreciate a modernist design aesthetic. Custom-designed modernist architecture is beyond the financial reach of many people and so prefab is viewed as a design and production ideology that has the potential to deliver affordable modernism."

Some of these abodes can be ordered online and delivered on several trucks. Others are airlifted onto rooftops. Don't miss the transformed shipping containers either! Link

Absolutely. All you have to do is Go to
the Apple menu on th

Absolutely. All you have to do is Go to
the Apple menu on th 09/15/2004 10:58 PM
TechTree Sep 16 2004 2:29AM GMT

"an absolutely devastating attack "

"an absolutely devastating attack " 07/30/2004 09:12 PM

Hypomanic? Absolutely. But Oh So
Productive!

Hypomanic? Absolutely. But Oh So
Productive! 03/22/2005 03:22 PM
Mental health experts are exploring the upside of frenzied emotional heights.

Netbeans 4: Wow... absolutely smashing

Netbeans 4: Wow... absolutely smashing 03/14/2005 04:47 PM

Joseph B. Ottinger: So far... "Wow" and "Well, it's okay."

I found the installation to be a breeze, which isn't too much of a surprise. It found the various JVMs on my machine, including 1.5, which was good, I suppose.

It looks absolutely smashing. (That's good.) The development pane is easy to understand at first glance, also good (although note that I'm not a rank newbie to Netbeans, so my prior experience may factor in here.) It's pretty fast, too, which is good to see. Maybe this will help shut up the SWT hordes.

Lately, I've been working on making the switch to Netbeans 4.X (I'm using both 4.0 and 4.1-beta). My expectations were pretty low due to my past experience with Netbeans 3.X, but Netbeans 4.X is great. It's a whole new IDE, the Ant integration is awesome, and 4.1 adds the refactoring I need to make the switch. Plus, it's fast. I have to agree with Charles Ditzel, the tables have turned and now both Netbeans (and IDEA) seem to be faster and more responsive than Eclipse.

Unfortunately, my Eclipse addiction is still not entirely under control. The one area that needs work in both IDEA and Netbeans is the source-code control integration, I still have to fire up Eclipse when I need to synchronize with the CVS repository. I feel like I'm flying blind without Team Synchronization view.

Balanced Passion

Balanced Passion 01/16/2004 11:33 AM
What is more important in business today: Spirit or sobriety?

The Balanced Scorecard

The Balanced Scorecard 06/17/2005 03:20 PM
CIO Jun 11 2005 7:42AM GMT

Can the Internet Stop Hijackers?
Absolutely!

Can the Internet Stop Hijackers?
Absolutely! 08/18/2004 02:36 AM
By Signing the 'Declaration of Agreement to Resist the Enemy' ordinary citizens can publicly pledge to fight back. [PRWEB Aug 18, 2004]

Absolutely, The Universe Could Be
Funnel-Shaped

Absolutely, The Universe Could Be
Funnel-Shaped 04/16/2004 10:16 AM
Big Bang Glow Hints at Funnel-Shaped Universe

newscientist.com/news/print.jsp?id=ns99994879
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Shark Tank: When it absolutely,
positively shouldn't go UPS

Shark Tank: When it absolutely,
positively shouldn't go UPS 02/14/2004 01:10 AM
Things aren't working well for the shipping part of this manufacturing company's ERP system -- but when a new freight payment system is rolled out, it works too well.

Bush gets checked and balanced

Bush gets checked and balanced 06/29/2004 08:43 AM
The Supreme Court rules against indefinitely locking up detainees -- and deals a mortal blow to the president's vision of his own limitless power.

Efficiency must be balanced with
security

Efficiency must be balanced with
security 05/27/2004 09:35 PM
Computer Weekly May 28 2004 1:07AM GMT

Promote Your Website in Google
Absolutely Free

Promote Your Website in Google
Absolutely Free 07/20/2004 02:38 AM
Free SEO help. The SEO Book helps charities promote their websites in Google, Yahoo!, MSN, and other major search engines. The recently updated number one ranking SEO Book is now available to charities free of charge. [PRWEB Jul 20, 2004]

Super Science Fair Projects: Complete
Guide to Science Fair Projects, Topics
and Experiments

Super Science Fair Projects: Complete
Guide to Science Fair Projects, Topics
and Experiments 05/24/2004 06:24 AM
Super Science Fair Projects: Complete Guide to Science Fair Projects, Topics and Experiments
http://www.super-sc ience-fair-projects.com/

Today your teacher announced that your school is going to have a science fair and students are responsible for exhibiting their projects. What do you feel? Enthusiastic? Despondent? Dreadful? Fearful? Excited?" This statement opens the Super Science Fair Projects site. Actually, whether student or parent, science fair projects, while great ways to get students actively involved in learning the scientific method and problem solving, can be tough assignments. This site may help you with one of the hardest parts: coming up with an idea. The site does a great job of walking the visitor through the steps needed to plan and implement a project, from Choosing a Topic, the Scientific Method, and writing the Project Report. There are even tips on displaying your project, rehearsing, winning over judges, and what to expect the day of the fair. This is definitely a great tool to tap into when planning a science fair project.[From The NSDL Scout Report for Math, Engineering, and Technology, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2003. http://scout.wisc.edu/]

Precariously balanced atop Öolong

Precariously balanced atop Öolong 03/14/2005 06:29 PM
Peop le of the pancake: "I see within us all (myself included) the replacement of complex inner density with a new kind of self—evolving under the pressure of information overload and the technology of the 'instantly available'. A new self that needs to contain less and less of an inner repertory of dense cultural inheritance—as we all become 'pancake people'—spread wide and thin as we connect with that vast network of information accessed by the mere touch of a button." Writing on the Edge, Richard Foreman and George Dyson speculate on a 'thin-client' view of the self where most cultural processing occurs not only somewhere else, but by something else! [reality checks provided by Kevin Kelly, Jaron Lanier, Steven Johnson, Marvin Minsky and Douglas Rushkoff, among others :]

"Tony Blair making absolutely no sense
whatsoever"

"Tony Blair making absolutely no sense
whatsoever" 09/27/2004 02:37 AM

"Absolutely amazing 360° panorama of
Times Square NYE 2004"

"Absolutely amazing 360° panorama of
Times Square NYE 2004" 01/03/2004 10:00 PM

absolutely... when u start playing and
play past 3 weeks

absolutely... when u start playing and
play past 3 weeks 08/11/2004 06:50 PM
TechTree Aug 11 2004 11:37PM GMT

Guys use Opera 7.5. its the best browser
money can but but its absolutely free.
Tey it. Its definitely the bes

Guys use Opera 7.5. its the best browser
money can but but its absolutely free.
Tey it. Its definitely the bes 07/10/2004 05:43 PM
TechTree Jul 10 2004 8:44PM GMT
Grok Description matches for ABC's 60 Minutes is absolutely not fair and balanced
GrokA matches for ABC's 60 Minutes is absolutely not fair and balanced

ABC's 60 Minutes is absolutely not fair and balanced

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