6 ms·

The idea that cnn or the washington post are "left wing" outlets is factually wrong.

by ahoy 7y ago

malvosenior 7y ago
If you're going to state that a widely accepted opinion is "factually wrong" you should probably expand your argument. Why do you think they aren't left wing? They are certainly not pro-Trump for instance.
- IfOnlyYouKnew 7y ago
  See https://www.adfontesmedia.com https://www.adfontesmedia.com and their methodology section.
  - malvosenior 7y ago
    I really don't think someone's blog is a canonical source on media bias: https://www.adfontesmedia.com/about/ https://www.adfontesmedia.com/about/
    - jasonlotito 7y ago
      > Why do you think they aren't left wing? That was your questions. Someone else answered that question as to why. You've simply dismissed this using some baseless criteria: your opinion. Your being disingenuous at best. This is HN, not some random site. Try to do better.
    - IfOnlyYouKnew 7y ago
      Oh, so 30 minutes ago and three posts up you thought "Google could definitely do something to democratize this valuable real estate, but they don't." But, suddenly, you realise the importance of large media brands and their reputation?
      - malvosenior 7y ago
        That's actually a good point! That doesn't mean every independent source is equally valid though. In this case, I asked for an argument as to why CNN and the Washington Post weren't left wing and got a link to a blog with instructions to read the methodology section (which I did and wasn't impressed).
- jasonlotito 7y ago
  > They are certainly not pro-Trump for instance. No, they are pro-fact/source based. The news presented there are generally backed up by information from sources. That this would be seen as not pro-Trump is not surprising. Does this mean they are right 100% of the time? No. No one is. But that also means they aren't just knowingly making stuff up without a care in the world. Again, this might be seen as anti-Trump for obvious reasons.
- Aaargh20318 7y ago
  > They are certainly not pro-Trump for instance. The media is supposed to report the truth, they aren't supposed be 'pro' anything else. To quite Stephen Colbert: "Reality has a well-known liberal bias".
SteveGoob 7y ago
The "left" and "right" political descriptors are often problematic in this sense, since they are relative terms. If you ask my conservative parents where CNN is, they'll describe it relative to their own placement on the spectrum. But an eye-of-the-beholder center is problematic for communication, so how should one determine the middle? A mean? Median? Something else? But that doesn't even address a dependent problem of the quantifiablilty of a political ideology. You can't boil a belief into a number; why do we pretend that polotical ideologies fall on a soft numberline? A libertarian may "lean left" on marijuana legalization, but "lean right" on gun control. Indeed, the left-right dichonomy's inability to house non-linear opinions or ideas leads to a lot of confusion, especially so in journalism. Where does a factual, source based news outlet lie on the spectrum?

The idea that cnn or the washington post are "left wing" outlets is factually wrong.

by ahoy 7y ago

The idea that cnn or the washington post are "left wing" outlets is factually wrong.

If you're going to state that a widely accepted opinion is "factually wrong" you should probably expand your argument. Why do you think they aren't left wing? They are certainly not pro-Trump for instance.

IfOnlyYouKnew 7y ago
See https://www.adfontesmedia.com https://www.adfontesmedia.com and their methodology section.
- malvosenior 7y ago
  I really don't think someone's blog is a canonical source on media bias: https://www.adfontesmedia.com/about/ https://www.adfontesmedia.com/about/
  - jasonlotito 7y ago
    > Why do you think they aren't left wing? That was your questions. Someone else answered that question as to why. You've simply dismissed this using some baseless criteria: your opinion. Your being disingenuous at best. This is HN, not some random site. Try to do better.
  - IfOnlyYouKnew 7y ago
    Oh, so 30 minutes ago and three posts up you thought "Google could definitely do something to democratize this valuable real estate, but they don't." But, suddenly, you realise the importance of large media brands and their reputation?
    - malvosenior 7y ago
      That's actually a good point! That doesn't mean every independent source is equally valid though. In this case, I asked for an argument as to why CNN and the Washington Post weren't left wing and got a link to a blog with instructions to read the methodology section (which I did and wasn't impressed).
jasonlotito 7y ago
> They are certainly not pro-Trump for instance. No, they are pro-fact/source based. The news presented there are generally backed up by information from sources. That this would be seen as not pro-Trump is not surprising. Does this mean they are right 100% of the time? No. No one is. But that also means they aren't just knowingly making stuff up without a care in the world. Again, this might be seen as anti-Trump for obvious reasons.
Aaargh20318 7y ago
> They are certainly not pro-Trump for instance. The media is supposed to report the truth, they aren't supposed be 'pro' anything else. To quite Stephen Colbert: "Reality has a well-known liberal bias".

SteveGoob 7y ago

The "left" and "right" political descriptors are often problematic in this sense, since they are relative terms. If you ask my conservative parents where CNN is, they'll describe it relative to their own placement on the spectrum. But an eye-of-the-beholder center is problematic for communication, so how should one determine the middle? A mean? Median? Something else? But that doesn't even address a dependent problem of the quantifiablilty of a political ideology. You can't boil a belief into a number; why do we pretend that polotical ideologies fall on a soft numberline? A libertarian may "lean left" on marijuana legalization, but "lean right" on gun control. Indeed, the left-right dichonomy's inability to house non-linear opinions or ideas leads to a lot of confusion, especially so in journalism. Where does a factual, source based news outlet lie on the spectrum?