MSNBC rivalry, has CNN maintained its objectivity and credibility with viewers?
We did a study during the national election called The Color of News. What we found is that Fox and MSNBC look like mirror images of each other. Fox was more positive of its treatment of McCain and Palin and more negative of Obama than the media at large. MSNBC was the opposite. CNN’s coverage didn’t look like either one of them. Is there a “truth in labeling” problem for opinion-driven media? Through most of the history of journalism, news outlets have always claimed to be more fair, more accurate than the other guy. But people like to watch others who see the world the way they do. Nobody in the world of the news media is going to go out and market themselves by saying, “I’m more extreme. You should watch me because I inflame the passions of a small wing of a political party.” It’s like golf. Every marketing campaign for a golf product asks: Would you like to hit the ball straighter and longer? Would you like to sink more putts? Journalism marketing is the same. It doesn’t matter wha
