Who do you trust more in this election; comedians or Journalists ?

[Elgalad]

Honestly, I don't use either. To me, the talking heads are as unreliable and biased as the comedians, and the comedians are as pointlessly inane as the talking heads. My opinions are formed from personally listening and watching the candidates themselves in the debates and their campaign ads, reading newspaper opinions (editorial and reader submitted), discussions with friends/work colleagues/family/other sources <like CFC!>, and my own research on the internet of their respective websites and party platforms.

Anyway, the only Talking Heads I ever respected were these folks..



Warning, '80's lyrics follow!




Television Man
(Talking Heads from the album Little Creatures, 1990)

I'm looking and I'm dreaming for the first time
I'm inside and I'm outside at the same time
And everything is real
Do I like the way I feel?

When the world crashes in into my living room
Television man made me what I am
People like to put the television down
But we are just good friends
(I'm a) television man

I knew a girl, she was a macho man
But it's alright, I wasn't fooled for long
This is the place for me
I'm the king, and you're the queen

CHORUS

Take a walk in the beautiful garden
Everyone would like to say hello
It doesn't matter what you say
Come and take us away

The world crashes in, into my living room
The world crashes in, into my living room
The world crashes in, into my living room
The world crashes in, into my living room

And we are still good friends...(Television man)
I'm watching everything...(Television man)
Television man...(Television man)
I'm watching everything...(Television man)
Television man...and I'm gonna say
We are still good friends...and I'm trying to be
Watchin' everything...and I gotta say
We are still good friends...You know the way it is
Television man...I've got what you need
We are still good friends...I know the way you are
Television man...I know what you're tryin' to be
Watchin' everything...and I gotta say
That's how the story ends.




-Elgalad

 

[Clito]

I just watched on the news in my country that Americans more and more watch comedians (Letterman, Leno, Borrowitz (?), etc.) to form their opinion on the candidates on the coming US Presidential elections.

I find this hard to believe.

You guys are the closest thing I have in American sources, so I ask you:

Who do you watch / believe in forming your opinion ?

"I abstain/I'm not American"

That's a rediculous thing to say. I have American news channels here in Ireland and I am following the election campaign.

I have CNN, Fox and a few others...

 

[Rik Meleet]

"I abstain/I'm not American"

That's a rediculous thing to say. I have American news channels here in Ireland and I am following the election campaign.

I have CNN, Fox and a few others...

What is rediculous? That I include a seperate option for non-Americans since I'd like to know the Americans point of view, not that of people who receive most of the American TV-shows, but are not in America thus don't experience the "feeling and mood of people on the street or at school / work" ?

 

[Clito]

What is rediculous? That I include a seperate option for non-Americans since I'd like to know the Americans point of view, not that of people who receive most of the American TV-shows, but are not in America thus don't experience the "feeling and mood of people on the street or at school / work" ?

You asked a question about two different types of media and which influenced people more.

You never focused your thread on the "feeling and mood of people on the street".

The elections in America have a significant influence on Irish people, and other countries too I'm sure.

Why should our concerns be discriminated against?

American presidents have played major rolls in Irish politics over the past 40 years (Kennedy, Regan and Clinton). We can't vote, but we do care.

 

[Rik Meleet]

@Clito: I've made the choice to only have Americans voting as I want to verify the news-story in my country that Americans tend to watch / believe comedians more than news-programmes for these elections. Having everyone in the world voting in this poll will not give me the confirmation (or the denial) that I want.
I agree that the US presidential elections influence many. If you, as a non-US, want to express your opinion and vote in such a poll, fine; open a thread and post a poll. I've made the choice to exclude non-Americans because I want to verify this news-item.

And now let's forget this side-path and step back on topic. If you want to sidestep either open a new thread or PM me.

 

[classical_hero]

What is rediculous? That I include a seperate option for non-Americans since I'd like to know the Americans point of view, not that of people who receive most of the American TV-shows, but are not in America thus don't experience the "feeling and mood of people on the street or at school / work" ?

I am with Clito. Maybe you could have had two options for Non-Americans and compare the two. I voted for Comedians, but didn't bother to look at the last option. You could have made it obvious in the poll options, like Americans:Comedy or News , Everyone else:Comedy or news, and then don't care and radioactive monkey. Why don't you have a radioactive monkey option?

 

[Ayatollah So]

I do trust comedians more. You know they will be biased and how so it is so easy to compensate you can do it unconsciously.

Exactly. The journalists' pretension to neutrality actually deters them from covering issues that could upset the major factions - i.e., the news. So they prefer to "inform" us of the latest press releases and spin doctoring by politicians, corporations, and institutions. The founders of the USA must be spinning in their graves.

Comedians have no such restraint. They're not afraid to call a spade a spade. It's the one bright spot left that makes freedom of the press still worth a darn in this country.

 

[El Justo]

Who do you watch / believe in forming your opinion ?

certainly not those knuckleheads (letterman/leno, etc). i'll read the paper (both rightish and liberal), watch the tellie, websites and at times, books.

i would think that lay people would rely on comedians for their political inclinations.

 

[FearlessLeader2]

Neither. Comdeians are entirely unqualified to comment on politics, and journalists are sleazy liars looking to inflate their audiences with stunts and 'exposes'.

I prefer to do my own thinking.

 

[Mark1031]

The only source of fair and accurate news is the Daily Show (comedy). There are only 2 other sources of information in this country outside of the internet. The right wing propagandists (Fox, talk radio, Washington Times etc.) and the establishment propagandists (CNN, NY Times CBS, etc.) It is a pretty damning indictment of information transmittal when majorities of people believe things that are factually incorrect about major world events (eg. Saddam was behind 9/11). THis is because the role of establishment propagandists is to simply repeat the words of those in power be they true or false. It is considered biased to investigate the accuracy of our leaders statements in any detail or in more than a supoerfical manner and especially when the majority of people support/feel good about the lies they are being told (eg. the war rationales).

 

[FriendlyFire]

Daily show

Articulate, entertaining and highly informative.
(Thou sometimes the guest Jon has on is boring and stale. Not my taste )

 

[gael]

Its hard to differentiate sometimes.

 

[Zarn]

I trust neither, Rik. I balance my sources from liberal comedy to fairly center papers to conservative news sites, etc...

A balance is key to being informed, and that includes even foriegn sources.

 

[Rik Meleet]

In my country in election time the combined networks often work together to have evening-long election information programmes. Since the background and political preference of the people organising the TV-shows and presenting it is versatile it is not (or at least less) biased than a 1 comedian's or 1 journalists's opinion.

The candidates are asked about their points of view and if they don't answer the question, the host will tell the politician that (s)he isn't answering the question. Also the public can call in by phone and email and the audience in the studio can ask questions.

The comedians in my country are mostly known of what political party they favor, so the jokes made by them are usually based upon political preference, but this is known by the public.

So In my country people trust journalists more than comedians.