held to the fire for what & by who...?...

There are people who understand that every media outlet has a bias & then there are those who only think FOX News has a bias. No minds will be changed by this story. Those who support CNN will claim this is an attack by "Faux" News. Those who understand media bias will be put in a position of looking like they support FOX & not CNN even though they watch both networks with caution. It's easy to see FOX is biased to the right because on television they've become the first with a right leaning bias. However, spotting bias to the left seems harder to find because people have been told for decades that the mainstream media (meaning the three networks, cbs, nbc, & abc) have no bias. Then along came CNN & reinforced that view. people who cannot or will not see that bias exits on all media outlets & on all sides is likely blinded by their own bias.

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http://thecourier.typepad.com/rightonthemark/

"To educate a man in mind but not in morals is to educate a menace to society." --- Theodore Roosevelt

Allow me to add...

Before Fox came along, the public didn't know how left the media was because there was nothing to compare them to...You couldn't see the liberal bias because there was no "sounding board" you can throw views at...Everything appeared the same...

Just as if everything in the world was dark, you would have no idea UNTIL you saw an example of light....THEN the differences can be seen...

Murdoch was right when he said "I wanted to find a niche audience...50% of the country."...

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"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd

For what?..surely you jest!..I will hold their feet to the fire and so will everyone who saw this debate for what it was,SPAM IN A CAN..I have known that CNN leans left for many years.However..this is a new low even for these bottom feeders..:

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"Destiny must be shaped and not left to mere chance."..Spencer Collins ..

I guess my point was that most casual news watchers won't know they did anything wrong. The only segment of the population who understands that CNN did something wrong understands media bias in general. I know people who still watch nothing but the three major networks (cbs, nbc, abc). And, they don't believe they're getting any bias at all.

Spencer, you are exceptionally intelligent --- & I'm not just saying that to butter you up --- you also make it a point to educate yourself & I'm going to guess you watch, read & listen to several news outlets with biases all over the political spectrum. I'm also going to guess you take it all in & think the information through logically.

The sad reality I believe is that most folks don't really care. Sure, we can all point this out to people we know but the info they'll get from their mainstream media is that we're "FAUX" News minions who are more nuts than Ron Paul supporters or those who listen to COAST TO COAST AM WITH GEORGE NOORY.

While I agree with you that CNN should be held to the fire & they may well be by a handful of folks --- the reality is that I don't believe no matter how obvious this is that this story will not likely change any minds.

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http://thecourier.typepad.com/rightonthemark/

"To educate a man in mind but not in morals is to educate a menace to society." --- Theodore Roosevelt

You see...I think it's WORSE than that...

It's all about disclosure...

With Fox, you KNOW what you're getting...There's no need to be coy or hide anything...

But CNN tried to make it LOOK like there was objectivity...That's by design...

Of course, the correct thing would be to skip the whole plant idea and keep the debate real, but in the route they took, they should've been at least HONEST about it and say the people who asked the questions were actually NOT "undecided voters in the Republican primary" and ACTUAL DEMOCRATIC SUPPORTERS...

Making these questions come across as "Republican questions" enforces the stereotypes that Democrats have towards Republicans...

Do you think a majority of Republicans CARE about the Confederate flag?...No...

Do you think a majority of Republicans CARE about whether or not a presidential candidate takes the bible in a literal sense and not an allegorical sense?...No...

Do you think a majority of Republicans CARE about "Don't ask; Don't tell"?...No...

They may be issues, but they are so far down on the scale of importance that I could think of 60 questions off the top of my head that are more important...

But CNN framed the issues to reinforce Republican stereotypes...Confederate flags...guns...bibles...

No questions on Iran...No questions on Pakistan...No questions on appointment of judges...

Just God and guns...

Notice the guy who asked the question on the bible?...

They wouldn't use a question from a minister or someone who looked presentable...They chose a guy who looked off his rocker...giving the public the implication that people who talk about religion are nuts...

Notice the guy who asked the question on the Confederate flag?...he wasn't some guy in a three piece suit or someone talking about southern tradition...He came off as some slack-jawed yokel...

Which is EXACTLY what CNN wanted this guy to be...a slack-jawed yokel...

They purposely didn't pick thousands of presentable people to ask pertinent questions and instead presented Republicans that 99% of other Republicans think are wacko...

But CNN wants America to think that's what mainstream Republicans are like...

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"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd

That's CNN's bet...

They know they'll get crap from people in the know, but the damage done to the Republicans outweighs it in the general public, so they're willing to take the short-term hit for the long-term victory of helping the Democrats...

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"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd

I have been a news junkie for many years and yes,all media has some bias.This event is not shocking but it is important! Here is what I think is wrong with the YouTube format. We like the idea of John and Jane Doe having the opportunity of asking the candidates a question.The problem is that the questions are canned or previously recorded as opposed to live questions. This creates the opportunity to shape or script the debate.Someone has to select what questions are aired and their own bias may deliberately or even inadvertently creep into the matrix.

The only network that I really believe to be unbiased is C-SPAN. What a wonderful national resource! Sure,I still have my daily dose of CNN -FOX and MSNBC and countless radio talk shows but I always return to C-SPAN. Certainly many of their guests are biased but not the hosts of the show.They have nothing to sell and they only promote dialog...

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"Destiny must be shaped and not left to mere chance."..Spencer Collins ..

CNN Defends Its Use of Democratic Supporters in Republican YouTube Debate

Update

After spending the day facing accusations it stacked the deck against the Republican presidential contenders by having Democratic backers ask video questions during its debate, CNN on Thursday responded that it doesn't know what the fuss is all about.


The cable news network, in collaboration with video Web site YouTube, hosted the Wednesday night debate that had more than 30 voters pose questions to the Republican candidates. It later turned out that several of those questioners are actively supporting Democratic candidates.

"The whole point of these ground-breaking CNN/YouTube debates is to focus on substantive questions of concern to real people and to throw open the process to a wider range of Americans all around the country. CNN cared about what you asked, not who you were. This was the case for both the Democratic and the Republican CNN/YouTube debates," CNN said in a statement issued late in the day.

"The issues raised during last night's debate were legitimate and relevant no matter who was asking the questions. The vested interests who are challenging the credibility of the questioners are trying to distract voters from the substantive issues they care most about. Americans are tired of that discredited low-road approach, and throughout this election campaign CNN will stay focused on what the candidates are saying about the pressing issues facing this country at a critical time in our history.

More?

FOXNews.com - CNN Defends Its Use of Democratic Supporters in Republican YouTube Debate

"CNN cared about what you asked, not who you were"..Really?..was this not billed as a Republican debate and were those questions posed by potential GOP voters? Perhaps CNN did not care about the fact that they were being manipulated as long as they were setting debate history in viewership. Oh yeah...that matters a great deal..

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"Destiny must be shaped and not left to mere chance."..Spencer Collins ..