A thought...

Would splitting Today's News into 2 separate categories be a good idea? I don't mind reading and commenting on MSM reporting but also think we should encourage links to Alt. news sources. We would have to clarify what counts as MSM (RT anyone?)

Or perhaps just a Today's news and Alt news forum as some of the Alt news links may not necessarily qualify as Today's news.

rt i would not consider msm... msm is that brainwashing shite where it sounds like everyone is going "blah blah blah, blah blah, blah blah blah blah!" that comes on nbc, msnbc, cbs, fox, abc, cnn, bbc and the likes

I think we could consider RT part of the mainstream media if we were Russian, as they don't exactly produce a lot of negative content about the Russian establishment. But I don't think we have any Russian members.

wake_up_bomb wrote:
Все хорошо в России в любом случае.

Space Bandit wrote:
why yes, ill have a spot of tea mit zucker bitte (dont have no russian symbols on here, dont shoot me *puts hands in air* i know ur not german, crazy russians i ur vodka )

back on topic boys, continue with ur news discussion, im gonna go enjoy a shot of russian clear-tea-like beverages

Yes I know what you mean Oioioi. I'm just thinking that sometimes an article from an alternative news source can be added to a thread on an MSM news generated thread, effectively showing the different angles of an issue. In that case it's easier to have the one section.

It would be nice to see some critical perspectives, insights to the ideology behind or critiques of a story, writer or publication.
All we basically hear are empty slogans, "the mainstream media are brainwashing" all that, i've seen stranger and less factual information in the Alternative media, where there is definitely a tendency for hype and sensationalism, or copy pasting of something that fits in with the persons own opinion.

The recent example with Hungary is a good one i think, within a week there were a few alt media sites running endless stories about the "Romantic opposition to Globalization" of the RIght WIng Hungarian government, "hungary has thrown out Monsanto and the IMF" despite currently being in negotiations with the IMF and having various Monsanto offices and Seed outlets based in the country, just because it's "alternative" doesn't make it beyond criticism or somehow unbiased, but then you don't really see many people give examples of MSM bias or subversive propaganda, maybe because it's so invasive, so endemic, so much taken for granted that many alternative sites use the same techniques and line the same pockets as the MSM they take pot shots at.

We should start by being up front about what the vested interests of the alternative news source is.

Or at least be open to criticism of it.

For example I often look at this
www.zcommunications.org/zmag
and you can check out wjo they are and where they stand in order to place their output in context
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z_Communications

What I would wish to avoid is people pretending that their news source doesn;'t have its own agenda.

World Net Daily and FrontPage Magazine are wingnutty, let's not kid ourselves.