Reply #23: I quit watching what passes for "news" on TV in the US many years ago.

[BlueMTexpat]

When every news channel basically reported the same stale stories, even using the same words and phrases, while so many other events were unreported, I began to lose faith. When "news" was consistently skewed towards RW viewpoints, while anything or anyone else was discredited if it was reported at all, and yet the media were portrayed as having a "liberal" bias, I became very skeptical. Having been outside the US at the time of the 2000 election, where my faith in "democracy" was thoroughly shaken and where my information came from US cable news channels like CNN, MSNBC and Faux, I didn't even realize that there were protesters at Bush II's inauguration in 2001 or that there were massive anti-war rallies in the US until I saw the crowds in "Fahrenheit 911." I felt so alone - didn't even know about DU then. Had I been living in the US during those years, I would have gone stark raving mad by the end of 2001.
But I finally, absolutely, gave up entirely when the MSM "took down" Howard Dean in 2004 by deciding collectively to portray him as a maniac. I've never looked back and have been much happier since.
I find news here, at Buzzflash, at Common Dreams, at Truthout, at English-language newspapers such as The Guardian and The Independent and at many other sources. Even then I follow up with my own fact-checking on Google.
I am also wary of US print media, especially since flagship newspapers such as the WaPo and NYT led the charge for the war in Iraq and the NYT withheld information about wiretapping. There are some columnists in both that I read and admire, but I know that they are expressing opinion. For my facts, I verify as much as I can.
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You are not alone in your opinions. At all. Franklin and Jefferson must be dizzy from all the twirling and whirling they are doing in their graves. It is a tragic shame that our MSM has lost credibility for so many of us, when Jon Stewart's Daily Show, which is supposed to be for entertainment, is more factual than the "news" has been for many years.
Thank heavens for the internet.
And thank heavens for you and your "rants" - and the Duers who appreciate them - because you all make me realize that I am no longer alone - which helps to keep me at least semi-sane. :grouphug: