Fox News Slaughters CNN, MSNBC; Hits Historic Ratings Milestone

[Scataphagos]

There is no question that FOX is heavily biased to the right, much as the MSM are biased to the left. There is one BIG difference. Even though news may be delivered with bias at FOX, at least it is delivered.

Disagree. Fox claims, "fair and balanced", & "we report, you decide". I don't see that as "right bias". Please provide examples so I may be enlightened.

 

[Tsing Tao]

Disagree. I don't see "right bias" in Fox. Please provide examples so I may be enlightened.

That's because you stand on the extreme right of the political spectrum. That's ok, but it will prevent you from seeing Fox as anything other than balanced.

 

[wjk]

Disagree. Fox claims, "fair and balanced", & "we report, you decide". I don't see that as "right bias". Please provide examples so I may be enlightened.

You may be correct on the whole. I'm thinking of the PMr's Kelly and Hannity. I can't watch O'rielly so I don't want to say regarding him. Smith and Baier don't seem so much. To be honest, I don't watch any of them very often, just when I'm flipping. I do, however, listen to Mark Levin everyday, and he's extremely biased....in favor of the constitution, which naturally biases him against most modern day progressives.

I should also say, I don't really have a problem if some of FOX's pundits are biased. It's an expected free market reaction to decades of left wing bias.

 

[Tsing Tao]

I can't watch Hannity anymore. It's not that he's so far right that I can't stand it, but he invites guests on, and when he disagrees with them, he rolls all over them and they can't get a word in edge-wise.

The liberal position doesn't need a counterpoint in many circumstances. It just needs someone to state it for all listening to go "yeah, that doesn't exactly make sense."

He should debate, but lightly. Let the people damage themselves.

 

[377OHMS]

I haven't been able to watch Fox for a long time now. I mean, I can switch it on to see headlines but I am unable to watch Hannity or O'Reilly et al.

I think O'Reilly is smart but his Levi-town sensibilities are like fingernails on a chalkboard.

I seriously cannot stand Alan Colmes but in all honesty Hannity is unwatchable without some liberal sitting next to him.

My dislike for Megyn Kelly has grown over the years and I regard her as a liberal posing as a journalist.

 

[CaptainObvious]

Brett Baier and his news hour are about as "fair and balanced" as can be expected considering the state of the media these days. The rest of FOX leans heavily right. CBS, NBC and ABC lean left. CNN leans left but not as much as the networks. MSNBC isn't even a news station. It's a leftist propaganda machine.
IMO, all of the media are failing their constitutional obligation to hold our government to account. That one thing, and only that one thing is their job. They have been given broad powers with the 1st amendment. The reason for that is they are responsible for asking the questions that the everyman is not in a position to ask directly. It is only the media which has the power to dig the truth out. Their only mission is to expose, not provide cover, excuses, any explanation for behavior. Just report the facts. Period! The media should never, under any circumstances, have a political agenda or bias. Their personal opinions are completely irrelevant. What we have today does not even remotely resemble what it should be. Of course, if you just report the news, then you have a good 23 hours of air time to fill. Therein lies the problem.

 

[Lucrum]

I'll occasionally watch The Five and or Outnumbered

For the legs, of course.

 

[Ricter]

Nah, the small part (in numbers of outlets) that is right wing is the only part that makes any money. That's all.

Sure, the more popular "left wing" wing media companies operate continuously at a loss.

 

[JamesL]

More Good News

Shilling just isn't that popular anymore.

New York Times Plans Cutbacks in Newsroom Staff
By RAVI SOMAIYAOCT. 1, 2014

The New York Times plans to eliminate about 100 newsroom jobs, as well as a smaller number of positions from its editorial and business operations, offering buyouts and resorting to layoffs if enough people do not leave voluntarily, the newspaper announced on Wednesday.

Arthur Sulzberger Jr., the newspaper’s publisher, and Mark Thompson, its chief executive, said that in addition to the job cuts, NYT Opinion, a new mobile app dedicated to opinion content, was shutting down because it was not attracting enough subscribers.

The reductions, they said, were intended to safeguard the newspaper’s long-term profitability.

“The job losses are necessary to control our costs and to allow us to continue to invest in the digital future of The New York Times, but we know that they will be painful both for the individuals affected and for their colleagues,” the note said.

The Times’s executive editor, Dean Baquet, sent a separate note to the newsroom staff. “I will use this as an opportunity to seriously reconsider some of what we do — from the number of sections we produce to the amount we spend on freelance content,” he said.

The Times is not alone in eliminating newsroom jobs. Newspapers across the country have slashed positions this year. The Wall Street Journal cut dozens of jobs this summer, USA Today eliminated 70 positions in September, and Freedom Communications carried out layoffs in January at two smaller local newspapers, The Orange County Register and The Press-Enterprise of Riverside.

Mr. Sulzberger and Mr. Thompson said that even with the cutbacks — 100 positions comprise about 7.5 percent of the newsroom staff — The Times would continue to expand and invest heavily in initiatives that supported its growth strategy, like digital technology, audience development and mobile offerings.

But they also said they had decided to wind down NYT Opinion because it had not drawn a substantial audience. And while praising NYT Now, a new app aimed at younger readers, they said that as a lower-priced subscription offer, it had not proved as popular as they had hoped.

The latest product, NYT Cooking, is not charging for a subscription but instead is trying to build a large audience before asking readers to pay. Mr. Sulzberger and Mr. Thompson said that by the end of September, just two weeks after its official launch, the product had more than a million unique visitors.

“They are all experiments, which we are determined to treat as such: to learn, pivot and, where necessary, make prompt decisions about them,” the note said. “We believe that this process of exploration and experimentation is essential to future growth at The New York Times and we will continue to support and fund it.”

The note also said financial results from the company’s third quarter, which ended Sunday, had improved from a difficult second quarter. Digital advertising is likely to show growth of about 16 percent in the third quarter, the best quarterly performance since 2010, and digital subscriptions are expected to increase by more than 40,000, the largest number of quarterly additions since 2012.

But the company’s profitability was lower than during the same period last year as costs increased.

The Times has made cuts to its newsroom staff several times over the last six years. The paper eliminated 100 newsroom jobs in 2008, another 100 in 2009, and 30 more senior newsroom jobs at the beginning of last year.

Despite those cuts, the newsroom staff has grown to about 1,330, approaching its largest size ever, according to the company, up from about 1,250 at the end of last year. Some of that growth is a result of adding jobs for digital efforts, like web producers and video journalists.

The buyouts and layoffs are likely to create anxiety in a newsroom that has had already had an unsettling year. In May, the paper’s executive editor, Jill Abramson, was abruptly dismissed by Mr. Sulzberger after less than three years in the job. He cited issues with her management of the newsroom and replaced her with Dean Baquet, the paper’s No. 2 editor.

“There is no magic bullet for the current financial plight of the news business,” Mr. Baquet wrote in his note on Wednesday. “But the journalists of The Times, with all of their creativity and belief in the future, have helped guide this company through even more turbulent times.”

Even more good news:

Turner to reduce headcount by 10%

Turner Broadcasting, the parent company of CNN, will cut its total workforce by about 10% in the coming weeks through a mix of buyouts, layoffs and other measures, the company said Monday.

The reductions are part of a broader effort to save money and refocus investment, known internally as Turner 2020.

The company said about 1,475 positions — out of 14,000 full-time positions worldwide — would be eliminated in the coming weeks.

Within CNN Worldwide, where the workforce totals roughly 3,500, about 300 positions will be cut, according to a person with direct knowledge of the plan, totaling 8.5%.

CNN Worldwide includes CNN's U.S. and International television channels, HLN, CNN Digital, and other ventures.

About 130 of the CNN reductions are being achieved through voluntary buyouts, the person said.

A buyout program for Turner staffers age 55 and older with ten-plus years at the company was announced in August.

The remainder of the CNN positions, about 170, will be cut through layoffs.

Along with CNN, Turner owns cable channels like TNT, TBS, and the Cartoon Network. The headcount reductions there will also come from both buyouts and layoffs.

The eliminations "are at all levels of the company's news, entertainment, kids, young adult and sports networks and businesses, as well as corporate functions, in 18 Turner locations around the world," Turner CEO John Martin said in a memorandum to staffers.

"Those whose jobs are impacted will receive every consideration and the respect they are due, starting with severance pay for transition," Martin wrote. "Whatever their job title, business unit or location, they have contributed to the success story that is Turner Broadcasting, and they leave with our thanks and sincere best wishes."

http://money.cnn.com/2014/10/06/media/turner-broadcasting-reductions/index.html

 

[Scataphagos]

That's because you stand on the extreme right of the political spectrum. That's ok, but it will prevent you from seeing Fox as anything other than balanced.

You're wrong about my being "extreme right". Just because one HATES the Leftists, doesn't make them a right winger.

I once answered one of those online "where are you in the political spectrum" questionnaires. It concluded I'm a "right-center Libertarian". Seems about right.