When I first became aware of international news services, they came to me via shortwave radio. I quickly learned that one of the least biased or censored sources for international news is Canadian Broadcasts' International.
American TV has been captured and held hostage to the political bent of its big-name "newscasters." Note, I did not call them journalists. I reserve that title for journalists--people who have a serious stake in reporting facts.
CBC must feed their broadcast journalists Fact-Serum. They rarely wander into speculation and opinion-shaping commentary. They also balance the coverage of different factions or sides, to present an accurate representation of a "story." Ratings do not seem to have any influence in which story gets attention.
It would seem to me that a responsible journalist would realize that a "story" is an actual occupancy in the life of a real human being. We seem to have few responsible journalists in this country, and it's getting worse.
Now that Fox Broadcasting has a "Fair and balanced" approach to the news, 24 hours per day, the state of American Journalism has reached a new low. Their (apparently) star newscaster is a man I once had a modicum of respect for, in past days.
His Name is Brit Hume. I would love to ask him whether he misses the respectability he once had, and has lost through association with such a
biased and right-wing, cynical and ratings-driven approach to information. I would like to hear the answer of a man who chooses to be a big fish in a small pond, rather than a responsible journalist. I suspect I would get spin and bluster from him. Water does, after all, find its own level. In his last days as the White House correspondent for a US Broadcast Network, his biases were quite obvious to me.
There is hope, however. Now that the US viewers are able to access CBC's International by satellite, there should begin to be an obvious contrast. Via the International, I am able to find a wealth of real, unbiased information in a half hour now. Previously, I often watched all three US Broadcasting Network newscasts, to try to "box" the truth.
Wouldn't it be wonderful, if the US public developed some discrimination of the info they pack into their pointy little noggins?
This concludes another Rascal Ranger Surly Tirade. We return you to your life, which is already in progress.
aving a satellite dish has truly expanded my horizons. I have actually--you will need some convincing here--been able to reduce time spent in front of the TV.
Robert Marcom is currently the administrator of "The Writers' Room," an on-line writer's community.
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