Hello:

Or do Americans listen to the one who yells the loudest? There is an argument over whether media REPORTS the news, or SHAPES the news. Whaddyu think? I'm purposefully limiting your choices, however PLEASE elaborate in your responses.

I suppose, by the way I framed the question, that my views are apparent.

Vote once. Your vote WILL be public.

excon

I'll go with the media shaping public opinion. You can't really "shape" a monsoon flood in Pakistan, but you can cite surveys and activists to make it appear that it's either a tragic accident or the inevitable result of global warming. I do try to listen to both sides and hope I can get a coherent view somewhere between Fox and NPR and between Politico and Drudge. Like most polls, neither answer fits my view.

I am of the same mindset as Catsmine.

Outside of disasters and the course of regular "newsworthy" events, In my opinion, when you have someone doing anything other than simply reporting what is going on in the world, I view it as an attempt to shape my viewpoint.

There are 2 questions here and only one poll.

1st the poll. Of course media shapes opinions. Almost all news reporting has an element of editorializing even if it's just in the selection of what is reported ,or the subtle wording of an alleged straight news presentation.

Next ,the question in the header .
I don't accept the spectrum. I put liberty on one end of the spectrum and totalitarian on the other . Given those parameters America is mostly on the liberty side.

Under the faulty spectrum often used ;I would have to ask compared to what ? When you compare us to other Westernized nations then yes we are center-right .

Of course media shapes the news. They decide what to report and how to report it. Would we have known about McCrystal's views if media hadn't decided this was news.

Right now in Australia we have a small political problem, which party should govern but it is being turned into a constitutional crisis by media who have begun to say a new election is needed and the Governor-General( our equivalent of President) should recuse herself, or stand down, from any selection of the party to govern because she is the mother in law of one of the party king makers who appointed the current Prime Minister. Who would know about such detail if not for media. It was not news when Bill Shorten, a federal member, married the G-G's daughter, and it wasn't a reason for Shorten not to contest the election.

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Originally Posted by tomder55

When you compare us to other Westernized nations then yes we are center-right .

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I would place you a little further to the right than that. Who do you consider on the far right? We have no Nazi Party to compare you with so we would have to place Al Qaeda and the Taliban there but who else would go to war on the excuse of WMD or dictate to another country

Clete you fall into the false spectrum trap I was talking about.

In that scenario the far right is national socialists and the far left are international socialists . I think they are on the same side of the spectrum far away from liberty and closer to the totalitarian side of the spectrum I prefer to see politics in.

BTW ;they are talking here about a Florida 2000 scenario for the Aussie elections. Both sides are reported here as scambling to pick up Greens and independents to form a weak governing coalition.

What is happening?
The major news here barely covers it ,and I have to wait for later tonight for Mary Kissel of the WSJ to report and update. She has been in my view the best reporter covering Aussie and Asian news in the States.

The media shapes the news.

There is a lot of hidden agenda going on with the news. Like they don't tell you that most all of the murders in the united states are within a 100 square miles. Yet they have everyone believing that the united states is crime ridden to an extreme.

Yes I have to say that I believe that the news reported is in most cases slanted to the reporters own beliefs and also influenced by the management/owners of the reporting media, possibly with an agenda.

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Originally Posted by tomder55

Clete you fall into the false spectrum trap I was talking about.

In that scenario the far right is national socialists and the far left are international socialists . I think they are on the same side of the spectrum far away from liberty and closer to the totalitarian side of the spectrum I prefer to see politics in.

BTW ;they are talking here about a Florida 2000 scenario for the Aussie elections. Both sides are reported here as scambling to pick up Greens and independents to form a weak governing coalition.

What is happening?
The major news here barely covers it ,and I have to wait for later tonight for Mary Kissel of the WSJ to report and update. She has been in my view the best reporter covering Aussie and Asian news in the States.

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Another case of my answer disappearing off the face of the Earth but I will answer you again, Tom. This is not like Florida 2000, there are no disputed returns here but we did get a 6% invalid vote, which is deliberate, or donkey vote.

The Liberal(conservate) polled 44% primary vote and the Labor (Socialist) 36% but because of our gerrymandered electoral system which favours the socialist part of the spectrum we have Labor suggesting they have a mandate to stay in office because they have the support of the Greens who took a large percentage of the vote away from them. In my own electorate we saw a 8% swing to the conservative and that was mirrored in NSW and QLD( a large part of eastern Australia) where Labor governments are on the nose and headed for the dustbin. This will all come down to postal and absentee votes in marginal electorates which is ridiculous. I expect Abbott to get up but there is some bad blood between the Nationals and the independents making life difficult
Here's some local news http://www.smh.com.au/federal-electi...823-13d2g.html

As to being in a false spectrum what I can tell you is you guys are a long way to the right of our conservatives whether you see national socialists as leftist or not. A socialist regime can be totalitarian or it can be democratic but hard right often becomes totalitarian

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Originally Posted by califdadof3

most all of the murders in the united states are within a 100 square miles. .

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Within 100 square miles of what? NY? LA? Would you care to elaborate?

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A socialist regime can be totalitarian or it can be democratic

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A socialist regime ,democratic or not ,is closer to totalitarian than liberty.

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Originally Posted by tomder55

A socialist regime ,democratic or not ,is closer to totalitarian than liberty.

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Are you talking about liberty or anarchy?

No I am not talking anarchy. One has to assume some kind of social compact even in societies where governments have completely collapsed. Even in your Aussie Mad Max post Armegeddon Sci-Fi scenarios there was a degree of order imposed by the most powerful. In other words; anarchy cannot exist in a society where people live together.

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Originally Posted by tomder55

No I am not talking anarchy. One has to assume some kind of social compact even in societies where governments have completely collapsed. Even in your Aussie Mad Max post Armegeddon Sci-Fi scenarios there was a degree of order imposed by the most powerful. In other words; anarchy cannot exist in a society where people live together.

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Hi Tom I thought Mad Max was some sort of commentary on america, the only people who will survive armaggedon here are abos, you know, one bandicoot to the acre, or maybe you don't. Maybe you also don't know abo society is socialist or even marxist in orientation, very rigid, no private property

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Originally Posted by paraclete

within 100 square miles of what? NY?, LA? would you care to elaborate?

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A study I saw that showed where most murders occur. Like Los Angeles, New York, Chicago etc. If you combined the total area (red zone) its less then 100 square miles. But the total United States is around 3,717,792 square miles. But all the screaming in the media you would think that murder and crime are rampant.

Looks like everyone believes the media shapes opinion.

I can't imagine anyone would be naïve enough to think it doesn't.

BTW excon, I never answered your title question: "Is America center right?"

No. If it was, Obama would never have gotten even close to being elected.

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Originally Posted by speechlesstx

Looks like everyone believes the media shapes opinion.

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Hello steve:

Ceptin me...

Having been somewhat politically aware since I was elected den chief, I've HEARD that the media was liberal... So, I listened to the nightly news very carefully, and I couldn't for the life of me, detect a bias. To me, it was just the news... Yeah, I'm talking about Huntly-Brinkly, and Cronkite, and Ed Murrow kind of guys...

Then, in 1989, for the first time, I heard Rush Limbaugh. He was the first libertarian I'd ever heard on the radio, and I loved him. Then he went from being a good libertarian that I could get behind, into a hypocritical drug using, lock the OTHER drug user up - but not me, right wing neocon bastard...

All the other right wingers and FOX News owe their existence to the drugster...

So, my stance on my question is thus: The media shapes the news if you LET it. So, it doesn't shape the news for me. Does it for you? I guess so. That ain't good.

Then again, FOX News and it's minions, are the ones who ginned up this phony mosque controversy, and it's involved me... So, maybe it DOES shape my news.

excon

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Originally Posted by excon

my stance on my question is thus: The media shapes the news if you LET it. So, it doesn't shape the news for me. Does it for you? I guess so. That ain't good.

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C'mon now. Don't poke the bear! The poll choices were: "I believe that.... a. "media shapes the news" or b. "media reports the news". It isn't "I believe that the media shapes the news for me", as you now suggest it does. LOL!
How about if I break it down this way? You said, "The media shapes the news if you LET it." I don't know about you, but I certainly don't have control over how the media reports the news!;)