Americanists....worldwide!

From Lugano to La Jolla....what a remarkable amalgam of ideas, insights, and perspectives. Welcome to this site. Mr. Izsa (TASIS) and Mrs. Shaul (LJCDS) invite you to join us in our conversations about the history and the realities of America's history and culture--from a decidedly international perspective.

Each month a new series of questions will be posted here by Mr. Izsa and Mrs. Shaul. Please click on the blog posts and write in your comments for the questions below, per your teacher's instructions.

Please make certain that entries are thoughtfully written (check for typos and grammatical faux pas), as erudite as you can make them, and appropriately worded for a school-related activity (note: students from other parts of the world may not share your same philosophies or your same sense of humor, so please be mindful of our differences).

With every blog session assigned, one or two can be direct responses to the questions, but at least one MUST respond directly to the students who have already written posts, answering one thread per question (more is welcome, this is the minimum requirement).Be specific. Explain why you might agree or disagree with their (his/her) opinions. Feel free to "debate" or "discuss" with your international counterpart. Make sure we can identify you with your name so you can receive credit for your contributions.


Friday, October 19, 2012

Question 4: objective news gathering

4. Where do you go/how do you go about getting the most objective information about the presidential election? Who do you trust for accurate information? How does the press covers the election build-up. In your answer, feel free to consider press bias (CNN vs Fox or BBC- TV, Al-Jazeera, etc.) Ultimately, where should you as an informed voter (someday) find the most objective, unbiased information?
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18 comments:

  1. AnonymousOctober 22, 2012 at 12:34 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. NicoleOctober 22, 2012 at 12:49 AM

    When I want to retrieve accurate information on the presidential election I go to seversl sources. I am aware that many internet sources contain bias depending on which side of the government the writer or company favors. I believe that reading different points of view helps you create your own opinion depending on what you read. If you only read one point of view, or one article, then your view on the oresidents might change innacurately, i believe that ere is no text free of bias since humans will unconsiously favor a side. Thetefore to be an informed voter it is good to search different links. The best way is to watch a debate or read interviews in which you can directly listen o read what the candidates are saying. This is exactly what they want you to hear, but it is important to listen to more than one candidate so you can compare and contrast.

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    1. Arianna SeguraNovember 5, 2012 at 2:20 PM

      I agree with this comment because in my own experiences I have found that even different newscasting channels are bias. For example on channel would focus more on the Republican candidate more than the other while, on the contrary, the other channel would focus more and go into furthur detail on the Democratic candidate.

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  3. UnknownOctober 22, 2012 at 12:53 AM

    (Kike Willson) [Venezuela]

    When is to get informed about such a controversial subject, one should see both sides of the coin. Both the opinions against and in favor would help having an accurate and educate decission at the time of voting. It is really important to be equally informed about subjects, it helps to the decission to be educate.

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    1. Brittany LevineNovember 19, 2012 at 6:50 PM

      I agree with Guillermo because I think an informed voter should see both sides of the argument, and not only listen to one source. An informed voter should listen to a balanced amount of sources from the democratic and the republican side.

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  4. AnonymousOctober 22, 2012 at 1:24 AM

    Honestly, I don't often search for information about the presidential election, but I still get them in history class and while watching the news on TV. However, when I do look specifically for them, i search on the internet for read articles from both sides, so not to get any bias. This is important, for each party will tell a different story depending on their interests.

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    1. Alex MarquezNovember 6, 2012 at 1:00 PM

      I am the same Angela, I personally don't like politics. So the only time I spend obtaining any information in in my history class or if it's any kind of assignment. I also agree that when I do look up this information I try to look up unbiased articles or articles of both sides. This is so I don't get pushed one way and have my own opinion.

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    2. UnknownNovember 18, 2012 at 9:46 PM

      I agree with both of you, it is hard to get unbiased information so I had to listen to different stations that supported one candidate and the other. It's important to remember to have an open mind and your own opinion.

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  5. UnknownNovember 5, 2012 at 8:24 PM

    I listen to a variety of tv shows. These shows range from extreme to extremely conservative to extremely liberal. CNN tends to be liberal, Fox tends to conservative. I try to listen to what makes sense to me, for as long as I can stand to listen to arguments. Neither end of the press tells the whole story, ultimately they only say what they want to hear. The only place to get real information when I begin to vote will be on a voters pamphlet.

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    1. Alejandro HussongNovember 5, 2012 at 8:49 PM

      Well said JJ. I think you're 100% correct. You really cant trust the media these days. Its very difficult to find a neutral news station. Another problem at hand is that if people watch a news station everyday, they're going to think that that news station is correct, even if they are extremely bias. Unfortunately, I think there are many uninformed voters that think they are informed because they watch a certain news station all of the time and believe what they say.

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    2. Jake MartelNovember 6, 2012 at 2:56 PM

      I also agree with Mr. Arnold and his spot on theories of objective news gathering. These days you never know who to trust, you can't even trust the news to be truthful. We automatically believe the news to be true even though sometimes it's either very liberal or conservative. Fox news is very bad about this and even CNN does it sometimes. You just have to keep your mind open to different things and trust in what you believe to be true. You can also research these things or voters pamphlet.

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    3. AnonymousNovember 13, 2012 at 11:32 PM

      Guillermo Willson

      This a very thuthfull statement. you are very right. Either side of the argument will tell the part of the story that is convenient to them. The news are always biased. the article one reads about these kinds of controversial subjects should be of opinion. But, if the real thing is to be seen watch a debate between both candidates.

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  6. UnknownNovember 6, 2012 at 7:15 AM

    Watching the news can be helpful, but no matter how awful some commercials might be, they can inform viewers on some of the pros and cons of the candidates. The only way to get a feel of the candidates true colors is to watch the debates. They show there positions on many of the problems in the US, while also demonstrating their personality. People that watch the debate can see how the candidates act, and there personality, which you can't get from watching biased news stations.

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    1. UnknownNovember 6, 2012 at 12:27 PM

      I agree on the fact debates are accurate on the personalities of the candidates, but it all comes down to what information the media decides to display. The media is so bias when it comes to presidential elections, which is why people shouldn't believe everything they hear or see.
      -chris.k

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  7. UnknownNovember 6, 2012 at 12:46 PM

    Bias is something that will always be present. Newscasters, writers, talk show hosts will always intentially or unintentially sway the conversation towards whichever topic or position they are in favor for. Finding objective information about the presidential election is a difficult task because of the inherent presence of bias.

    Various newsstations are known to carry out a particular viewpoint. CNN, MSNBC, and CBS are all known to hold liberal standings; whereas FOX is known to be very conservative. Newspapers, similarly, share the issue of bias; The New York Times for example is known to be a more liberal paper. Therefore, when watching or reading from these various materials one needs to be aware of the fact that the information these newscasters and writers are sharing are potentially skewed from what the actual truth may be.

    In this year's election there is little objective information available because the media is very pro-Obama. Another aspect of this is that Obama has the support of many important figures in the social scene and media. Many celebrities have voiced their support and took action in Obama's campaign. This, in turn, will help Obama gain the support of the younger voters who may not be as knowledgable about the actual issues at hand.

    One would need to tune in to the presidential debates to get the truth about each candidates goals, opinions, and policies they hope to apply. For objective information about the election in general it would be best to look at one's voter panphlet.

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    1. tiffany.November 18, 2012 at 2:25 PM

      I agree with Alexandra. I think that the media will always be bias because it is human nature to have some type of opinion on matters. News stations have different view points, like Alexandra said. When someone watches or reads newspapers from only one station, they will naturally lean toward the opinion of that particular material.
      People who are not properly educated watch these news stations and adapt to their way of thinking, and in this election, the news stations were more pro-Obama, causing more uneducated people to prefer him over Romney.
      The proper way to gain as much objective material about the election possible would be to watch the debates and view more than one news station or paper.

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  8. The Ebonic VernacularNovember 18, 2012 at 10:13 AM

    The only objective news source I know of is CSPAN. Coincidentally, or not, CSPAN is the least favorite news source of all my friends, myself included. Lackluster-ness aside, it is as objective objectivity gets.

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  9. UnknownNovember 18, 2012 at 2:50 PM

    I visited different news stations like Fox and CNN because they both said different things so to get both sides forthe story i need to look at different sources.

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