Extra Credit

The officer was stripped of his badge and dismissed as a officer from the police force. 

Dangerous Hatred in the US?

Racist- the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics orabilities specific to that race, esp. so as to distinguish it as inferior orsuperior to another race or races.

This article is about how the media was slow to report incidences of white hatred towards Obama.
How can a Iowa man compare Obama to Hitler? That does not make sense Obama is not a tyrant the way Hitler was, Obama is a honorable leader.

The real issue at hand is not necessarily health care reform but instead trying to discredit Obama as a capable leader due to his race.  I honestly feel that these racisct people need to take it easy and learn that race does not detrimen who a person is and what the person stands for.

I think people who are racists are un-educated and need to be shown how people are not evil or bad because of the color of their skin.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=631Fw2TBBeU

Final Blog "Is Hate Speech in the Media Directly Affecting Our Culture?""

Hate: to feel intense or passionate dislike for something or someone. 


Ok so we know what hate is, we also know what it feels like to passionately dislike something or someone. Now looking deeper into hate in America can "Hate Speech" in the media directly affect out culture? In the book Taking Sides, by Alexander Hanson this question is addressed. Hate speech is "meant to convey the deliberate bias toward and discrimination against persons that could be incited because of the form of hate speech" (256). Hanson gathered two different opinions Yes and No. The Yes argument written by scholar Henry Giroux addresses the question to how our society has become so mean spirited he also tries to explain why.  


The No argument gathers Georgie Ann Weatherby and Brian Scoggins research of web pages that have a hate message hidden beneath the general context. Hanson compares both of these views and both have valid points, however there is not enough information to make a general consumption that Hate speech in the media affects our entire culture. 


However I believe hate speech to have some impact on our culture, for example the rap or more ghetto cultures do get a major influence from singers and artists trying to show who is the top man or women by evil acts such as beating on a person. Hate speech is also derived from this. Hate speech in the media does effect our culture but by how much we will never know. 

Interim draft of research project write-up 11/18

Travis Conte

Patricia Andrews

Media, Politics & Society 

November 4, 2010

Research Project

 Is Obama a good leader?

Introduction

The beauty of a democracy is how people are free to share their honest opinions, thus always trying to improve society. Since the recession President Barrack Obama has been loved and hated by millions and millions of people. If one loves him or hates him this is not the goal of this research project. The goal of this research project is to determine the students of Notre Dame de Namur University’s view on America since President Obama has been elected to office and if he has positively effected the country. This is a quantitative experiment which will leave us the results not of opinion but of true beliefs of the students. Since the inauguration of President Obama do you feel America has improved? Has Obama improved America? This evidence will hopefully lead us to truly view if the president is looked at as a great leader in America. 

Hypothesis 

Since I have heard of Obama I have heard many things about him people love him, they hate him, and everything in between. I feel that even though we live on a democratic side of the country, we at NDNU are lucky to be small yet have so many different views of the president from all around the world.  It is like doing a small survey of the entire country however just on smaller level. The hope of this survey will be to determine if Obama as a leader has positively effected this country. I feel that Obama will be looked at as a positive leader overall. 

Survey Description 

When writing the survey questions I thought it would be best that the names of the students were left out to protect the students. When conducting the survey I used the good old fashioned method of walking. I will ask six questions and of these questions I feel that this will help determine if President Obama is a good leader in NDNU’s students opinions. I will only be conducting this experiment with undergrad students at Notre Dame de Namur University. I will conducting 25 survey’s from each grade level, so in total 100 students. This will give me 20% of the students and a good balanced survey results. Pervious before the survey I will determine what grade they are in to make sure I hit my goal of 25 students from each grade. 

BEGINNING OF SURVEY

I WILL Explain: My name is Travis Conte and I am conducting a survey that will help determine NDNU undergrad perspective of President Obama as a leader. I would like to ask you a couple simple questions which all answers will remain anonymous. May I ask you a few questions?

Questions:

1. Where did you move from to come and study NDNU?
1. In State
2. Out of State
3. Out of Country 
2. Do you like President Barrack Obama?
1. Yes
2. No
3. To which political party do you belong too?
1. Republican
2. Democrat
3. Other ___________________
4. Do you feel that the President’s “Universal Health Plan” is good for society?
1. Yes 
2. No
5. Do you feel that Obama’s  “Bailout Plan” is good for society?
1. Yes
2. No
6. Do you feel that President’s decision to remove are armed forces from overseas is good for society?
1. Yes
2. No

Next I need to gather data and then present it in a essay type presentation which will include graphs and also the raw data. all of the data will be analyzed. 

Graphs-to be made

charts-to be made

analysis of data to be recorded in the conclusion 

Blog 14 Does Media represent a realistic image of Arabs?

Does media represent a realistic image of Arabs? There are really only two answers to this question Yes or No. In the book Taking Sides by Alexander Hanson, describes both of the issues summaries. 

The Yes view describes how most of the Arab bloggers are challenged by stereotypes. The Yes view also deems the media to put a negative spin on the image of Arabic people. Now the opposite view written by Jack Shaheen, "He discusses how Hollywood's images influence politicians and citizens and contribute to public opinion. 

I believe that the media does not represent a realistic image of Arabs. Although I might not agree with all of the views of their culture I do not think they are all terrorists. People are people and I do feel that media distorts the image of them as regular people. Media does not down play or distort the image of Hindus or Buddhists or Christians as much as they distort the image of Arabs. I have come to realize even though I do not agree with all of their life style they are people and I should not lump them together as a general person or society because they are individuals who all hold different view points and feelings. So NO media does not present a realistic image of Arabs. 

Blog 13 "Does Media Cause Individuals to Develop Negative Body Images?"

Does Media Cause Individuals to Develop Negative Body Images? I think Yes. Media definitely does effect peoples opinion on how a body should look. It is in our nature to want to look good for the opposite sex, I feel like the media enhances perfect sexuality. The book is not exactly clear on what they think is yes and what they think is no. I feel like advertising wants to sell you a dream of what could be and not what is reality. Media enhances peoples opinions on what beauty is but is not the only factor so I guess I can agree with both opinions of the book.

RESEARCH PROJECT

Travis Conte

Patricia Andrews

Media, Politics & Society 

November 4, 2010

Research Project

 Is Obama a good leader?

Introduction

The beauty of a democracy is how people are free to share their honest opinions, thus always trying to improve society. Since the recession President Barrack Obama has been loved and hated by millions and millions of people. If one loves him or hates him this is not the goal of this research project. The goal of this research project is to determine the students of Notre Dame de Namur University’s view on America since President Obama has been elected to office and if he has positively effected the country. This is a quantitative experiment which will leave us the results not of opinion but of true beliefs of the students. Since the inauguration of President Obama do you feel America has improved? Has Obama improved America? This evidence will hopefully lead us to truly view if the president is looked at as a great leader in America. 

Hypothesis 

Since I have heard of Obama I have heard many things about him people love him, they hate him, and everything in between. I feel that even though we live on a democratic side of the country, we at NDNU are lucky to be small yet have so many different views of the president from all around the world.  It is like doing a small survey of the entire country however just on smaller level. The hope of this survey will be to determine if Obama as a leader has positively effected this country. I feel that Obama will be looked at as a positive leader overall. 

Survey Description 

When writing the survey questions I thought it would be best that the names of the students were left out to protect the students. When conducting the survey I used the good old fashioned method of walking. I will ask six questions and of these questions I feel that this will help determine if President Obama is a good leader in NDNU’s students opinions. I will only be conducting this experiment with undergrad students at Notre Dame de Namur University. I will conducting 25 survey’s from each grade level, so in total 100 students. This will give me 20% of the students and a good balanced survey results. Pervious before the survey I will determine what grade they are in to make sure I hit my goal of 25 students from each grade. 

BEGINNING OF SURVEY

I WILL Explain:  My name is Travis Conte and I am conducting a survey that will help determine NDNU undergrad perspective of President Obama as a leader. I would like to ask you a couple simple questions which all answers will remain anonymous. May I ask you a few questions?

Questions:

1. Where did you move from to come and study NDNU?
1. In State
2. Out of State
3. Out of Country 
2. Do you like President Barrack Obama?
1. Yes
2. No
3. To which political party do you belong too?
1. Republican
2. Democrat
3. Other ___________________
4. Do you feel that the President’s “Universal Health Plan” is good for society?
1. Yes 
2. No
5. Do you feel that Obama’s  “Bailout Plan” for America is good for all of society when it includes your tax dollars paying for someone else’s mistakes of poorly running a business?
1. Strongly Agree
2. Agree
3. Neutral
4. Disagree 
5. Strongly Disagree
6. Do you agree with the President’s decision to remove are armed forces from overseas back to home when there still is a terrorist threat? 
1. Strongly Agree
2. Agree
3. Neutral
4. Disagree 
5. Strongly Disagree
7. America has been in debt for years, since the Obama has taken office he has helped raise the debt by *5 trillion dollars, do you agree that with more spending?
1. Yes 
2. No

END SURVEY

*http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/debt-has-increased-5-trillion-speaker-pe

Conclusion 

*RESULTS WILL BE CONDUCTED AFTER SURVEY*

Blog 12 Do Video Games Encourage Violent Behavior?

In this weeks blog we come try to find the answer to every parents question about how video games effect their children, "Do video games encourage violent behavior?" In the book Taking Sides author Alexander Hanson presented two views YES video games do encourage violent behavior and NO video games do not encourage violent behavior. Hanson includes Craig Anderson's expert advice, "Based on extensive research, he holds the position that video games promt young people toward even more aggression and violence than do other media content" (pg 92). Anderson believes all violent video games leave aggression in the minds of video game players. Hanson also included Henry Jenkins view of NO, "Primary audience is not children, that violence is not increasing in society, and that concerns about isolation, desensitization, and violence are overblown"(pg 92). 
Both views do bring very good points, however both views are biased. I believe if survey's were done on video game players and their violence directly connected with the actual game it would find the true, just results. I believe that both sides have valued evidence, but I think if one where to play violent video games everyday it may encourage one to tend to be or accept violence as a normal everyday way of life. I wish there was more surveys and research done on this topic, so the good of the nation would know the risks or benefits that video games could possibly have on a individual. 


check out the link below I think it is very interesting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XtWV-tIeVg

Blog 11 "A Survey ~ Are Citizens Better Informed in the Information Society?~"

Travis Conte

Patricia Andrews

Media, Politics & Society 

October 26, 2010

Knowledge of 2010 

Governor Race Amongst NDNu Students

Introduction

After reading the book called Taking Sides, author Alexander Hanson asks the reader this question, Are people better informed in the information society? Hanson goes on to say there are only to sides to this question yes or no. Hanson writes about Linda Jackson who conducted an interview and Mark Bauerlein who also conducted an interview. Linda Jackson, "conducted a 16-month survey of Internet use by youth age 10 to 18 in low-income homes" (page 364).  She found that the youth who had internet had higher test scores and GPA's compared to students that did not have internet. Linda Jackson thinks yes, people are better informed in the information society. Hanson also wrote about the no point of view. Mark Bauerlein did a survey as well he thinks, "Youth spend much of their leisure time in front of computer and television screens, but the information age has failed to produce a well-informed, thoughtful public. Instead we have a nation of know-nothings who don't read, follow politics, or vote-and who cant compete internationally" (page 364). Bauerlein's view is no people are not better informed in the information society. After reading this chapter I was asked to conduct a survey which would encompass NDNU students and their knowledge of the 2010 California Governors State Election.  So I did just that. I asked the roughly 5% of the students 4 simple questions. 

Hypothesis 

I believe that NDNU students will feel fairly confident with themselves that they are knowledgeable about California's 2010 Governor Election.  

Survey Description 

When writing the survey questions I thought it would be best that the names of the students were left out to protect the students. When conducting the survey I used the good old fashioned method of walking. I walked around the campus and asked students 4 simple questions and personally recorded the results: 

1.How well informed do you think you are of CA State Politics?(1Low~10 Highly Informed), 

2.Can you name two candidates running for California State Governors race? Yes or No, 

1. When is Election Day? (Answer either YES, November 2, or No)
2. What are the different ways you can submit your vote in California? (Mail or Booths)

Question 1 Results:

Question 2 Results  **BLUE=NO and GREEN= YES**

Can you name two candidates running for California State Governors race? Yes or No, 

Question 3 Results 

Question 4 Results 

Conclusion 

After compiling all of the evidence together, I came to the conclusion that out of the 40 NDNU students interviewed most of them have some knowledge of the up and coming California Election. After averaging some figures I came to the result that the students feel more informed then less informed for question one of the survey, the mean was 6 out of 10 (10 being highly informed). As for the other three questions that were  Yes or No based,  most of the results were very similar. Question 2 had 24 yes’ and 16 no’s  (for naming two candidates running for the state race). Question 3 asks When is election day and if they knew the date they got a Yes, 19 students got a yes, and 21 got a no. Finally question 4 had 25 yes’ and 15 no’s, this question asked to name the two different ways one can vote for California’s state election.  

If I could do this survey over again, I would only ask students who are actual residents of California. I would also interview more students however also do the survey by grade level of student, 20 from freshmen, 20 from sophomore, 20 from junior and 20 from the senior class. Overall I thought this survey was fairly accurate for the amount of people surveyed and I am proud of the results. 

Blog 10 "Are People Better Informed in the Information Society"

Are people better informed in the information society? In the book Taking Sides author Alexander Hanson writes that there are only to sides to the issue. Yes or No. Alexander wrote about Linda Jackson who conducted an interview and Mark Bauerlein who also conducted an interview. Linda Jackson, "conducted a 16-month survey of Internet use by youth age 10 to 18 in low-income homes" (page 364).  She found that the youth who had internet had higher test scores and GPA's compared to students that did not have internet. Linda Jackson thinks Yes, people are better informed in the information society. Now Mark Bauerlein did a survey as well he thinks, "youth spend much of their leisure time in front of computer and television screens, but the information age has failed to produce a well-informed, thoughtful public. Instead we have a nation of know-nothings who don't read, follow politics, or vote-and who cant compete internationally" (page 364).Bauerlein's view is NO people are not better informed in the information society.  I think both have strong arguments to why people are or are not better informed in society. However, I think people are better informed. Today information is everywhere especially on the internet. People may not get the best coverage all the time but I do feel that as a entire whole society people are better informed and more connected in the information society. 

Blog 9 "Eye on the international press"

Some of the World's Major News Outlets 

I  had to take notes on one particular issue and the different perspectives one can perceive about that issue. So for my blogg I realized that there are so many different areas to focus on for the blog. I decided to do the recent Terrorist threats in Europe.


England
www.bbc.co.uk
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11460335

"US issues travel alert for Americans in Europe" "The US government has warned its citizens in an official travel advisory to be vigilant traveling in Europe, amid fears of an al-Qaeda commando-style attack." It talks about past attacks and also gives the public calculated guesses on what the terrorists are planning on doing to the public.

Russia
www.en.rian.ru
http://www.en.rian.ru/world/20101004/160815654.html

"U.S. security advisor to attend conference in south Russia"  This article talks about how they will work with US and secure their country.


Qatar
http://english.aljazeera.net
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/10/201010319449574267.html

"Obama 'following' Europe threat" This article talks about how Obama is "issuing its warning to Americans traveling Europe." It talks about suspect arrests and the drone attacks as well.

Australia
www.canberratimes.com.au
http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/europe-terror-attack-threat-high-20101004-1631m.html

The Sydney Morning Herald, had a article called "Europe terror attack threat 'high'" It quoted the US state department and warned europeans/all travels to be aware of their surroundings.

Japan

www.nhk.or.jp
NO STORY (will keep looking)

Vietnam

www.vietnamnnews.com
www.thanhniennews.com'

NO STORY(will keep looking)

Blog 8 "Fox primary: complicated, contractual"

"With Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee all making moves indicating they may run for president, their common employer is facing a question that hasn’t been asked before: How does a news organization cover White House hopefuls when so many are on the payroll?" (Martin, Hagey). This is a good question how does a organization such as Fox cover there potential candidates? The answer is difficult to answer however after analyzing the article "Fox primary: complicated, contractual" by Martin and Hagey one is led to believe that within the networks there are divisions and rivals. Within each network there are "ownnews division[s]" these divisions compete to show off their candidate the best within the network. They do this by spending lots of money and presenting the candidate as best as possible. To make it in politics today you need a lot of money. Sadly it is true, but in order to get your voice out there you must be able to some how air your opinions. One thing I can say I truly dislike about America today is how we vote for the president, there are electoral votes (which truly elect the president) and then there are our "popular votes" which do nothing to elect the president. This irritates me because they say go vote! However our votes do not count. As a country we should not have electoral votes at all. Only popular votes. I feel like there are many flaws in America but I still love this country. So its our jobs to fix these problems and vote. I say next presidential election DO NOT VOTE FOR A DEMOCRAT OR REPUBLICAN> Instead vote for a THIRD PARTY! Lets bring a little more balance to this democracy. I am not always in favor of either of these parties most of the time. 

Blog 7 Can Media Regain Public Trust?

Can the media regain public trust? There is really only two answers to this Yes it can or No it cannot regain trust. What is trust? Dictionary.com defines trust as, "reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing." Now what is trust in the media? To me trust is actual factual non-biased news. News that has no twists or hidden information. John Hockenberry worked for Dateline NBC, he says the "fear of corporate owners, of audience response, and of technology cripples authentic journalism" pg 150.  Now Hockenberry does bring up a valid point, the credibility of journalism is hard because there is such a large audience and a lot of pressure to "razel-dazel" the viewers. I personally think most media networks try to keep integrity however I do not like the late night shows. They are just not for me, nor have I ever willingly watched one before this class. Michael Schudson thinks Yes, media can regain public trust. Schudson argues, "that although news is essential for democracy, the behavior of journalists make them unpopular. Journalists' conflict orientation, obsession with facts and events, and 'in-you-face' interviewing are what make journalism effective and essential. And it is those behaviors that should restore faith in journalism" pg 150. I think Schudson has some truth to his argument as well, I do feel like I can trust some of the media like for 60 Minuets, they really do get "all up in people's business" It makes me feel like I can really trust what they broadcast. Trust takes along time to build and with one lie or bad choice you can loose all you credibility with someone. I don't think the media will ever regain its public trust, however it won't loose the trust it has now. It will remain the same. Some of the public will trust and put their faith in media and some will never trust it. Then there is always the people in the middle like me who sometimes trust the truth but can question it. 

Blog 6 The Race for the California State Governor

In class we have recently discussed how many ways a individual can obtain information. In blog six, I will be focussing on all the possible ways one can obtain information for the 2010 California State Governor Election. The only two candidates I will be referring to are Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman.  When I was first asked to find out information on this race and Judge which "source" had the best
unbiased  content I automatically assumed Wikipedia. Meg Whitman put out ads against  SLANDER AGAINST JERRY BROWN, Jerry Brown will soon put out slander against Meg Whitman. I was born here in California and I really do care for the future of this state. I would like to see a leader who wants to get us out of debt. I think that is very important. I believe Education is very important as well. California is consider a "leading state" it leads in many areas for example new "green laws" or "gay rights." Even though I might not always agree with such progressive laws all the time I think that it is very good that we are an always changing state. I feel as a state we do have problems however we do our best to voice our opinion in the general society of America and I like that. I have only been voting for the last 3 years of my life. I think it is important that there is a party balance in California, but typically when I vote i go to the public library and get their non-biased sheet of voting information on all the candidates. I vote for whomever is best for the job at the time not always for a certain party. When people ask me what I am democrat or republican I say neither, I am for whoever is best for the job.

I have put together a quick spread sheet explaining which source I go to for my information in order for a  election.

Blog 5 Will Evolving Forms of Journalism be an Improvement?

Will evolving forms of journalism be an improvement to society? To answer that question fully has taken much debate. After reading from the book "Taking Sides," I have came to the conclusion that people only can receive news by either reading or listening. This said how new is "evolving journalism." As a child 15 years ago, I always remember my grandfather reading the news papers in the morning. In present day he has an iPad. Now he subscribes to the same San Francisco Chronicle news paper it is just a "app" on his iPad. This is an evolving form of journalism in a few ways. The first way is my grandfather can now watch his news, or he has the option to read about it. He also has the option to look up past articles, dates and pretty much any article the SF Chronicle has in its archives. This is where and how journalism is evolving with such technologies as the iPad. The information is becoming easier to find with all the new networks out there. Humans can still only actually get information by reading or listing to it, now the only thing that is different in the last 100 years is how the news has been presented. It has came from bland news, to more of a talk show, man news stations are using something called a "hyper local"pg 205 which basically is focusing reporting news to the local community and focusing truly on  local news. Now many scholars would say that this is not an improvement to society take David Simon, "[he] testified in May of 2009 to a Senate Committee examining the future of journalism. his conclusion was that high-end journalism was dying in America and could not be saved by the Internet and/ or citizen journalists" pg 204. 

I feel David believes that the news should only be presented in a formal way, broadcaster or printed for the masses. I do not think he likes evolving forms of media such as YouTube or sites where users can display news how they want when they want and say what they want. I do not agree with Simon. I think it is good to have many different ways to receive information. The question still remains, will evolving forms of journalism be an improvement to our society? I say Yes. we live in a democracy where we have freedom of the speech and of the press. We do not need to listen to "big" news corporations anymore. We can report news to our fellow Americans. Real news not censored by the "board of directors of fox, or msnbc" I say evolving forms of journalism is an improvement. 

Meta Concepts

So for this bog I was asked to watch a clip of a "fake news show" and look at the meta concept of the entire clip. I ended up watching a clip from The Daily Show in this segment John Stewart talked about how Health Care and was auguring with a man on how there should be healthcare for all Americans. When breaking the clip down into even smaller segments I began to see that there was indeed three ways he tried to sway the audience to his point of view. The Substantive Coverage was very clear, he felt that all Americans should have a universal healthcare system. He talked about how the American Soldiers have a excellent government run system and he thinks America should just adopt the system for all the citizens. This is very expensive and is not an easy topic to debate. I think his side of the argument was very clear but he presented his arguments almost like a 12 year old kid would... Na huh!! I'm right! Stewart then went on to use hype and say how American's soldiers are doing fine with the system. The other man said that it was not a good idea. During all of this Stewart used humor and encouraged the crowd to laugh at the man with his point of view. It really was just a stupid scene. The man was trying to have a debate for universal healthcare but every time he shared a single opinion he was made a joke. I honestly do not get my information from any of these comical shows. I prefer a non-biased source of news. I would rather have a "dryer" show then here some guys opinion on what he believes is to be right. I would rather make the decision my self what is important and not important. Isn't that what America is about?

Blog 3 "Does fake news mislead the public?"

"Does Fake News Mislead the Public"

Did you know that about "40 percent of the public believe that news is biased in favor of one of the two parties... matched by 40 percent who say there is no bias" pg 174. With more and more Americans thinking that the mainstream media is biased, they have been turning away from the traditional media and turning to more comical sources such as "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart"pg173.  Shows such as that often do mislead the general public, I know this because some of the news that the show airs doesn't make it onto the BBC, NPR or non-biased media outlets. This link gives a quick glimpse into that area, please click the button --  Jon Stewart -- The Daily Show, Targets "groups mostly in the 18-35 year old range" link 1.  I feel that the show tells stories in very personable ways to sway the audience. The show does have factual evidence but throws in a lot of comical humor.  In some ways this could be considered fake news because there is "other parts" built around the news, now does it mislead all of the public I would have to argue no, it does not. I think if anything it prompts the audience to want to find out more about whatever topic is up for debate. Ted Anthony says "It makes you look into the eye of America through a different window.. He says 'its not a primary source of news but finds it a very very reasonable source of news and that's a reasonable conclusion" link2.  The question still remains does fake news mislead the public? I say yes in many cases it does mislead the public. However, when I watch any comical shows it does prompt me to get off my butt and look into a matter, such as health care reform. I have actually done research now only because I have been curious what is actually going on with that whole bill and reform. 

My general overall conclusion is in many ways yes fake news misleads the public, however I feel it must get audience's more interested in learning and researching a news subject themselves, so it is helpful to the country as well as entertaining.  I would not use a comical sources as my main means of news ever nor would I recommend it to any American. 

link 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiWWAZ785yQ

link2 Assistant Managing Editor, the Associated Press http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiWWAZ785y

Fox & MSNBC

I think broadcasting companies in America all share one thing in common to make money and get the most viewers possible. According to www.guardian.co.uk, they say that "most experts believe the fierce antagonism between MSNBC and Fox is less about politics and more about economics"link 1. I believe this website for two reasons, one it is a outside neutral source that is comparing the two broadcasting companies and two they do not have a American agenda, they are reporting news to the United Kingdom. Fox News and MSNBC are the two most watched broadcasting companies in USA today. I think it is very important that the Americans take the time out of their day to search out facts, not broadcasters opinions. Both News company do offer the same standard news, but they display the news at different angles. Thus trying to persuade viewers to a particular side.  Reflecting on our classes discussion and topic question "What would these guys do if money wasn't a factor". Now what I sincerely believe is the news would be more like the BBC, Not so much opinion but more just the facts. There would be no arguing such as Fox's Glenn Beck vs MSNBC's trio (Rachel Madow, Chris Matthew and Keith Oberman) news would just be news. Wouldn't that be nice? I think it would. Over the last ten years the way we receive news has changed a lot.  We now do not have to watch an entire news program that takes an hour, instead we can just log on to the Internet and literally search whatever news interests the viewer. This alone has carved out a new way for Americans to get there news anytime of the day. I wish the news companies would focus on more positive then the negative, to me one of the real problems is pessimistic people. We need more positive optimists in this world. 

link 1  http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jul/26/msnbc-fox-television-cnn-politics