Ted Coppel is naive. The classic example of why we need Fox News is happening right now. Who else is reporting the scandalous BS coming from the administration about the Terrorist attack. A video caused it? BS, only the ignorant believe that. Could it be that Obama looks bad because his "be nice" policy has not worked. Let's lie to the ignorant. Thank God for Fox.

I ccould not believe the puff piece I saw on Rock Center last night. I don't normally watch this show but friends told me it going to be a debate between Ann Coulter, Bill Maher,Bill O'Reilly and others. Far from it! Koppel interviewed the guest as if there were equivelency of hatred and lies on these program. In my experience, Fox News reports lies as facts all the time. Fox News espouses hatred of the left and President Obama and encourages all the most repugnant factions of the right. While MSNBC is obviously biased in favor of Progressives, I find it totally more honest than Fox News. The shows are not nearly as shrill and hate mongering as Fox News. Generally when something is reported incorrectly on MSNBC, the host will correct the record, usually on the next program or in the same program, unlike Fox News which will never make any statement admitting to a mistake. There is no equivelency at all. Both are biased, but one network is honest and one is not. Bill Maher tried to make this point. Also, alot of the MSNBC shows do longer segments on issues like Mass Incarceration, Voter Suppression, Immigration, Womens' Rights, etc.

Do NBC and
the rest of the mainstream media truly think that because we (the people) finally have an alternative, unbiased look at
current affairs that the pendulum needs to be swung in their direction
again? Their direction isn’t right……excusing
the pun! The so called “silent” majority
isn’t settling for inaccuracies or half truths, or “no” truths, because we are
able to think for ourselves and are breaking through the maze created by an
outdated state of frustration and inaction.

Why should
we accept reporting/reporters that are not doing their jobs, i.e., the
execution of our Libyan ambassador and being told by all that this attack was because
of a “video”???? If they didn’t have all
the facts yet why didn’t they just say that?
The rest of us were certain that this attack was planned for the
anniversary of 9-11. The Libyan
officials told us it was terrorists, but the WH didn’t accept that. What we shouldn’t accept is the fact that our
ambassador did not have protection/security needed to keep him and the others
safe. Why?

To have the
USA apologize while our flag is being ripped and burned and our citizens are
being killed is reprehensible. ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, & CNN all give us the
same dribble. You might all have
different names, but the face is the same!
FOX and similar radio/cable hosts ask questions and from what I’ve seen,
also back it with facts. You talk about
“rudeness” of TV hosts……Maher is one of the most rude.

There are so
many more examples of inadequate investigative reporting, if that’s what it is
now (reporting). No, we don’t need to
scream at each other, we don’t need to be rude, but what we need desperately is
fair, unbiased reporting and that is why most are turning away from the usual
mainstream.

What about
the whistle blower of Acorn’s voter fraud practices?

We are broke. Why do we continue giving
financial aid to countries that hate and attack us….burn our flag? I guess they have that right……….Americans
have the right of free speech and we don’t want that right questioned or face
the possibility of that right being jeopardized! After the auto bail out, why is 70% of
vehicles being built in China? Why? We are asking questions……….why aren’t
you?!!!

Sorry, NBC remains leaning heavily to the left. Bill Maher is asked for his opinion without challenging him on his comments pointed toward Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann? Give me a break! Every point that Ted Koppel and Brian Williams tried to make showed that they are in the tank for Democrats and that translates into Obama. The two should do some investigating to find out how vile Bill Maher can be when talking about Republican. Just go to Youtube and search for "Bill Maher on Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann". There is enough there to fill an entire hour of a show on how uncivil the left has become. Frankly, I am happy with FoxNews and to those who claim they lie, cite some examples. NBC edited the Trevon Martin 911 call. CBS Dan Rather fabricated a letter about GWB that was false and claimed that the story was worth more than the truth. So I ask in closing, are the news anchors at NBC, CBS and ABC really proud on their products?

Thanks to Ted Kopel for last night's commentary reminding us what we have lost when looking for objectivity in news programs. It was a powerful reminder of the need for our own responsibility to decipher what we hear, what we will believe and always consider the source of information.

Romney's father had it right. In response to Barry Goldwater asking why he didn't support him in the '64 election: "Dogmatic, ideological parties tend to splinter the political and social fabric of a nation, lead to governmental crises and deadlocks, and stymie the compromises so often necessary to preserve freedom and achieve progress". It appears the apple has fallen far from the tree.

What could be more laughable than the Obama Network, NBC and their ugly step-sister, MSOBAMA, doing a show about degenerating politcal discourse, and using Bill Maher, who was only exiled from network television, but also cable televison, and now must be his vile self on PAY television!

Maher said. "One side is screaming facts and truth. One side is screaming their version of truth, which is religious-based nonsense." This is certifiable INSANITY!

This reminds me of the conversation between "Tingles" Matthews and David Corn on MSOBAMA where "Tingles" said to Corn, "I don't know how those "crackpots" (TEA party) keek winning elections."

My first image was of two patients at a maximum security mental institution staring blankly through the bars, saying to the other, "why are all those crazy people out there waling around free while we're locked in here!"

And Ted Koppel? "The NY Times is a pretty good paper." Really? The same "Times," that after the Keystone Kops in the admin insisted for a week, despite the evidence to the contrary, including from the interim Libyan president, all of the mayhem was because of some obscure video, when they finally had to fess up, with Carney saying that it was "self-evident" it was a terrorist attack, did not print a SINGLE word about the debacle! That NY Times, Teddy!

Is it any wonder that Gallup released a poll a few days ago showing that Americans distrust in the media hit a new high this year with 60% saying they have little or no trust in the mass media (NBC) to report the news fully, accurately, and FAIRLY!

And unsuprisingly, highest number of those approving of the media were the guys with whom the media sides, the Democrats at 58%, with Ind at 31% and the "enemy" the Repubs at 26%!

Did Koppel, Williams, or Maher happen to mention that poll!

It is disappointing that Brian and Rock falls into the false equivalence of Ann Coulter and the far right. This is not your father’s republican party and Fox is not MSNBC. I used to be a republican and today I can only watch MSNBC. CNN pretends to be balanced but gives the same time to religious zealots or climate change deniers than to evidence and science for the sake of spectacle. Bill Maher is right; the have moved so far past the line that the line is a dot to the far right (paraphrasing Joey in friends)

Thanks for the report. But this is such a deeply embedded topic, we need a lot more reporting on it. I'm saddened to see that the comments to this echo exactly what the subject matter for this piece was all about. Well, it seems these days all comments sections of news reports turn vicious. And that's a deeply engrained, learned and addicted response we have to the news now. It's really become an addiction to the emotion you feel, and sharing that emotion. Unfortunately that emotion is nearly always outrage, outrage that the viewer never actualized themselves, it's a fed outrage, and we want more and more. You honestly can look at it like a drug. And nobody seems to want to give it up, and nobody wants to self examine the problem.

But I'm still hopeful.

I have recently viewed Ted Koppel on Brian Williams' Rock City program and find the comments complex. First, this upcoming election will be very crucial because I see that people's thinking in today's world is so influenced by evident changes in morality compared to a quarter century ago. I am a Christian and an independent voter. For our news updates we watch NBC, MSNBC, but primarily Fox News. I am also a conservative because I believe that less government and capitalism have worked better than what socialism would bring us in the future. I also find it difficult to digest the democratic platform of gay marriage and abortion on demand. This Sandra Fluke was an embarrassment to women and not at all a high point to what this upcoming election is about. I can't say that Fox News is 100% right in all their reporting nor can I say that the network stations are 100% true to the facts. However, I DO know that the latter is in President Obama's corner. I DO know that Mitt Romney's 47% statement in a private home for a fundraising engagement was misconstrued. It isn't that he doesn't care about people who are given government help: but if people would listen for once, he was talking about his campaign strategies...and what he said is true. I work with people (getting paid under the table) who are on disability, and they aren't disabled yet receive monthly disability checks. Obviously, they want nothing to do with Romney since he may take away what is being given to them. As unbiased as I can be, I feel strongly that the network news programs, the late night talk show hosts and the late night "comedy" shows are lost to what was once sacred and good. I am not judging any of them personally as they, too, do what they do for profit. Yet, they too often compromise factual truth on behalf of their own political preferences. Andrea Mitchell is a perfect example of spewing untruths when, in fact, most of us have been given the real facts some hours later. Possibly, I may like all of these people in the entertainment industry should they be my neighbor or to know them personally, but I am allowed to disagree with issues that go against God's absolute truths. Romney is being bashed unfairly...one last point to make. Jesus said "If you aren't with Me, you are against Me"...that simple. God will not be compromised with. Romney is not a Christian, but he stands on principles that are important to the continuation of the America we love. If anyone watched the Republican convention, they would have seen just how much he cares for others. A family man, true to his values and intelligent. He wants to preserve this country for us and generations that will follow. I wish that people would set aside the spewing hatred during the next month and a half and ask yourself what God would have you do.

Listening to “Rock Center” the other night when you were covering partnership in the media I agreed with almost everything you said – until you defended the New York Times against Ann Coulters attacks. Anyone who thinks the “Grey Lady” is still “the paper of record” is off with Alice in Wonderland. It gave up having any claim on that title over 30 years ago – assuming you want a fair record. Its bias probably helped in the creation of the “right wing” media (FOX and Talk Radio) and your inability to see how bad it is just shows how “off center” you are.

“For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: …” Enjoy the “breeze” you and the rest of the “mainstream media” created. Edward R. Murrow would have fired all of you.

"We're not just screaming at each other," Maher said. "One side is screaming facts and truth. One side is screaming their version of truth, which is religious-based nonsense."

Mayer's comment above is biased and the religious comment silly. The whole interview was one sided.

When mainstream media leave out critical information about a news story, that is a half truth. NBC has been caught doctoring tapes to sway public opinion. And it is obvious, even to my Democratic friends, there is a slant in this upcoming election for Obama. The public doesn't have trust in mainstream media anymore.

MSM news lost its mind when it began tilting toward one side or the other to advance a viewpoint. Loss of neutrality will always place you on one side of a battle or the other, leaving you with a choice to either advance to win or retreat with tail tucked twixt the legs.

Beieve it or not, most intelligent people know when they're being spoon fed detritus. These are the folks that have strong minds and did not succumb to the brainwashing propoganda spewed forth from the government lefties and righties.

It's gotten so bad that I've come to depend on pundits like Colbert and Stewart to actually put news in an honest light.

What happened to those folks that dug out all the facts before reporting news to the masses? Lose your shovels? Or are you in too big of a hurry to scoop the other guys?

Plain and simple, opinion news is just that, opinion. Everybody has one just like everybody has a waste orifice and most of them stink. Opinion only matters to the presenter of that opinion. If you boil it all down to the most comon denominator you'll find that we all share one opinion. "I like me best"

I was stunned watching Ted K on The Factor, esp. when he said that in the "old days", you wouldn't know what political ideology a newscaster had. In 1968, I was 10 years old and I remember asking my mother, "why does Walter Cronkite hate republicans?" Her answer, "those news shows are all Democrats!"....So Ted, if a 10 year old can recognize it...it was there...stop fooling yourself!

Having graduated in 1980 from Stanford with an undergraduate degree in Broadcast Communications gives me an advantage in this discussion of the current state of the American news media. Having worked at radio stations and television stations gives me another advantage. I have been "behind the veil" and I have seen the "illusion" as well as the "illusionists." There is no single truth to be told or to be believed because there are always many sides to every story and the truth is hidden somewhere in all the rhetoric. It is our job as the "viewer" to find what rings true and then realize that it may only be true for the purpose of a newscast and has no value in your own set of truths. What's true for news organizations is that they are "in business to make money." After all, money isn't everything, it is the only thing! Truth be damned if it's more profitable to "fudge the truth."

At one time, according to a document known as The Fairness Doctrine, radio and television stations could only be owned and operated by American Companies. And in fact, a company could only own a given number of radio or TV stations. And yet now, an Australian named Rupert Murdoch owns Fox News. Congress gave that opportunity to him. Murdoch lobbied and Congress caved. If you or I wanted to own and operate a news station in Australia, "Forget about it." Australian law prevents it. So why do we offer up our citizens to the likes of Rupert Murdoch? Ask your Senator or Congressman for that answer.

As far as I can tell Fox News and hemorrhoids have much in common. Both are inflammatory "pains in the ass." Fortunately for all of us, we have the ability to change the channel and to buy lots of Preparation H.

No Swheet, my premise is that all television stations are biased and there's no way around it because human beings are biased.

I simply find FOX to be very divisive. If you pledge allegiance to the flag and the United States of America, then you must remember the section that says, One Nation, under God, INDIVISIBLE, with liberty and justice for all. FOX News is more interested in polarizing America, not uniting it! Right now, Unity seems to be what this country needs most.

Ted Coppel with strong negative opinions of Fox News doesn't know who Bret Baier is? That's doing your homework! Typical Liberal credibility? What else is he ignorant yet biased about?

Congratulations, Ted, arrogant and ignorant. Well done. Criticizing Fox News without knowing who Bret Baier is. He's merely the anchor of their 6 PM (EDT) newscast. The good news, however, your arrogance will protect you from being embarrassed. And finally, here's a news flash --- not everybody in the world (outside the Upper West Side of New York City, of course) shares your opinion.

I miss Ted Koppel---good piece on the craziness of the media during the election.

This week NBC news runs a series called "Education Nation" which they try to protray as straight news, but they never disclose (which they should every day) that the sponsors of "Education Nation" are for-profit companies that stand to make a huge bundle if the public schools are privatized. At least with MSNBC, I know where they stand (and frankly they document well and are usually quite courteous). NBC News seems to want to pretend they are "objective" when in fact they are really pushing an agenda of companies that have much to gain - without ever telling us. Mr. Koppel ought to be doing an expose about his own network - not somebody else's.

What's interesting is that this conversation is much more nuanced and informed that the utterly predictable one that Koppel and company delivered. There's a whole lot of disagreement here, but plenty of information. Americans can handle disagreement...we do it all the time (we all have families.) There is something wrong when a retired 'broadcaster' has to come back to television to bore us with his arrogant self-regard. And the anchors and executive producers swim in a delusional sea of their own self congratulation. Their elitism killed the golden goose, by distancing themselves from ordinary Americans. Rush Limbaugh was not the first, merely the best. Remember Joe Pine? Morton Downey Jr? Clever men who exploited the anger of those preached to by those big city faux intellectuals who told stories about middle America but had little respect for it.

Poor Ted. He's a preacher without a church.

But really people? Fox and facts? Really? A million people at the Tea Party rally? This liberal is ready to share your disappointment with the hypocrites at CBS, NBC and ABC. YOU ARE CORRECT! But the toxic resentment and envy that fill Rupert Murdoch's pockets with billions is not doing our shaky democracy any favors

Koppel is not able to provide a critique of the press. He does not have the perspective of a skilled critic. Just because you were a network news reader does not mean that you can provide appropriately deep analysis of society to justify the title of "critic." Opinions are not critique. Not a good use of TV minutes.

Free Press: [www.freepress.net]

Media Matters: []

FAIR: [www.fair.org/index.php]

On The Media: []

...good watchdogs - they are all good to read and consider when following the press.

I also like Project Censored: [www.projectcensored.org]

And anything that Robert McChesney writes: [www.robertmcchesney.com]

You have to be informed to follow the press. FAIR is the most biting for both sides, McChesney the most thoughtful. Project Censored always has a piece or two that stops me in my tracks. Free Press has done a lot of educating on internet issues. On The Media is easy listening; I get them Saturday's on NPR. What kind of voyeur am I when I am watching those who are watching? Ha!

In my opinion all Bill O'Riley is trying to do is bash politicians by calling the quote on quote, " pinheads". Coulter is right politicians vote on both sides of the fence when talking about certain issues for the fact that they don't agree with the leader of that party. David Carr is right about one part of his statement, " They aren't interested in pieces of fruit". The other half of that statement " It's bad television to watch" I don't beliieve that to be true.

It's hard to find a completely objective news programs--some would say impossible. However, if we, as viewers, want completely objective sources then that's what the networks will give us. They're just trying to sell their product, and we cannot condemn them for trying to make money. It's us as viewers that are at fault, allowing the networks to pander to our short attention spans and thirst for conflict and need to feel right. If we want change, we have to change.

It is hard to find a completely objective news program--some would say impossible. However, if we, the viewers, want a completely objective news program, then the networks will give it to us. The networks are just trying to sell their product, and we cannot fault them for trying to make money by pandering to our need for validation and thirst for conflict. It's our fault, as the viewers, the consumers of their products. If we want change, we have to change.