roundtable: Re: TCI buying MacNeil-Lehrer

roundtable: Re: TCI buying MacNeil/Lehrer

Re: TCI buying MacNeil/Lehrer

Jonathan Prince (aa078@seorf.ohiou.edu)
Thu, 5 Jan 1995 18:14:43 -0500 (EST) 

From: Jonathan Prince <aa078@seorf.ohiou.edu>
Message-Id: <199501052314.SAA13570@ra.cs.ohiou.edu>
Subject: Re: TCI buying MacNeil/Lehrer
To: roundtable@cni.org
Date: Thu, 5 Jan 1995 18:14:43 -0500 (EST)
In-Reply-To: <E1628ZVOJN8Q49*/R=FIRNVX/R=A1/U=DUGAST/@MHS> from "Terry Dugas 813-598-9737" at Jan 5, 95 03:39:24 pm


     M/L coverage shouldnt be seen as 'biased' toward 'one side', I
wouldn't say it was the worst program on TV these days.  Especially when
Mike Kinsley represent 'the left' - which is a joke an a half!

     The problem of M/L isn't that it does give 'both sides' but that
spectrum of 'left' and 'right' is so narrow (just like crossfire).

     The diversity of the guests have always been pretty narrow and
questions asked of them have been rather dry, predictable and not too
challenging.

     The role of PBS and M/L should (and once was at least more so) be
to give voice and attention to voices and opinions not generally on the
media-scape or not 'profitable' to present.  M/L has guests representing
the rich, powerful and almost always white and male.  Hardly what should
be the role of a PBS show.

     ALL in my humble opinion, of course.

-- 
   |"Civil Government, so far as it is instituted  |  Jonathan Prince
   |for the security of property, is in reality    |  Rural Action - VISTA
   |instituted for the defense of the rich against |  SEORF
   |the poor, or of those who have some property   |  aa078@seorf.ohiou.edu
   |against those who have none at all."-Adam Smith|  614-592-8506
    -----------------------------------------------
    gopher://seorf.ohiou.edu:2001/hGET/seorf.stuff/Com/xx004/.com-man.html


> I believe the characterization of M/L coverage of health care as 
> "one-sided" is mis-informed.  Through early December, the M/L program 
> aired 78 reports on health care covering a wide variety of options 
> and using a variety of reporting styles.  Two programs, on 2/8/94 
> and 10/19/94, specifically discussed the Canadian single-payer plan.
> 
> A quick search did not turn up anything under the headings of Decatur 
> or Caterpillar.
> 
> These searches only cover extended reports, not recaps of the day's 
> top stories.  Additional information on health care or the labor 
> struggle could have been in these summaries.
> 
> No news organization is perfect, and M/L has weaknesses which need to 
> be addressed.  But I reject the notion that the M/L organization 
> "controls" the news towards a particular ideological end.
> 
> A summary of each M/L report, along with summaries of other programs 
> airing on your local PBS affiliate, can be researched in the Public 
> File of your local station.
> 
> Terry Dugas
> Southwest Florida Public Television
> "Oh the thinks you can think up if only you try."
> <dugast@mail.firn.edu>

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