Article: Twenty Questions for MSNBC...

11. Why did MSNBC ignore Stephen Colbert at the White House Correspondents bash? This was definitely newsworthy and MSNBC didn't even discuss it from what I could see. That is really odd, isn't it? And they say the media has a liberal bias... Seems to be the other way.

12. Are leaders of large corporations (G.E., Westinghouse, Chase, Citibank, etc.) voicing concern that Bush is taking the country over the cliff with his talk of nuking Iran, and the disaster in Iraq? Are these leaders concerned that oil-producing nations are beginning to use the Euro instead of the Dollar as the currency for oil? Do the trillions of dollars in debt held by China and Japan concern business leaders of American companies -- and if so, why are they not speaking out?

13. Based on a premise that public access to all sides of an issue is critical to nurturing and maintaining the soul of a nation and creating an informed citizenry, would you support the re-activation of the Fairness Doctrine, in hopes that it might be beneficial in restoring the robust functions that media outlets once performed?

14. Why the deafening silence on the state of the electoral process in this country?

15. I feel that television news is trapped by its need to produce interesting images. The Natalee Holloway story, for example, is driven as much by her looks and her status as by the crime itself. Her story is unique, because she seems innocent, attractive, and disappeared at a vacation spot normally seen as "safe." But MSNBC has a 24-hour news cycle to fill, and in that time you could cover at least 7 other disappeared individuals a week. Just halve the time that you dedicate daily to Holloway, and devote the other half to someone else who has disappeared. Why not democratize it a little: talk about eight different missing people a week, one new one a day, with an equal amount of airtime to the missing person who is everything Natalee Holloway isn't? Except, of course, needed by their families.

16. I was wondering why Charlie Sheen, star of television's "Two and a Half Men," was not interviewed on MSNBC during primetime? The two questions he's asked about 911 seem relevant to today's political situation and appear to be in the public interest. I believe that Charlie Sheen's story could be an important piece for MSNBC, to help restore its integrity as a valid source for unbiased news and a commitment to impartial nonpartisan truth.

17. Why is the Friday "Hardball hot shots" segment always slanted to the far right ... Scarborough, Cosby and Carlson? Instead of trying to out-fox Fox, why don't you tap into the majority of cable viewers and move left? Americans are hungry for more shows like Keith Olbermann.

18. The questions I'd like to ask and have answered are: Why aren't there more reports about mishandling of taxpayers' money that is lost, or missing from Iraq? Why isn't there more on the signing statements, written by President Bush, and his reasoning that the laws aren't made for him?

19. If your responsibility is to inform the public, why don't we hear more about important policy-making groups such as the Project for a New American Century? With the ramifications of their decisions affecting all of us so profoundly, why are they allowed to function in secrecy?

20. Why doesn't the media correct the assumption that it is liberal? Why doesn't the media have any serious liberal voices?

This and other articles by Rory O'Connor are available on his blog.

Next Page 1 | 2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).