Aj's Blog

Anderson Cooper started his career in 2001 as a weekend anchor for CNN, and now has his own hour long newscast program, Anderson Cooper 360. Bill O’Reilly joined the Fox News Channel in 1996, and now has his own newscast program, The O’Reilly Factor. From what I gather from videos featuring Mr. Cooper, he maintains a neutral opinion and a very objective manner of reporting the news while never seemed detached from the stories. Mr. O’Reilly, on the other hand, heavily pours on his opinion on pretty much everything he speaks about. Anderson remained calm and respectful to guests while Bill constantly interrupted his guests in an attempt to exclude their opinions from the conversation. Example, O’Reilly discusses Obama’s health care plans with Ellis Henican (Fox News contributor), and frequently cuts him off as he’s talking, showing a lack of concern for a respectful, bipartisan approach to viewing important issues [see attached video]. Cooper’s unbiased approach to presenting the news is a very rare quality amongst the journalism community and should be valued as such. Anyone who hopes to make an honest living in this field, I highly recommend taking a cue from him. If you’re just looking for fame, without regard to how it’s gained(even through controversial means), then please follow in Bill O’Reilly’s footsteps, along with the rest of the occupants of Fox News.

In a world where the internet reigns supreme, the old fashioned newspaper medium seems to have faded from the forefront just as the radio has in lieu of the advancement of the television. Newspapers, in previous generations, provided information and entertainment to national, regional, and local audiences. Depending on how wide of an audience can be reached directly correlates how much bias is involved. National newspapers, such as USA Today, potentially could contain bias in order to gain and maintain any audience they can get their grubby hands on. Local papers, such as the Dundalk Eagle, have the freedom to be truthful to readers since only a small amount of people are reached, possibly generating a greater longevity for itself. Most modern newspapers are converting their formats to suit a modern audience, which entails creating a dedicated website duplicating the printed version. Hard-copy or web-based newspapers have the potential to provide highly useful information such as news from an international to a local level, financial news, sports news, classifieds, obituaries, and of course, advertisements. Maybe the comfort of holding the daily news in your hands is enough of a lead over the internet for now, but how long before everyone can become comfortable enough to happily curl up by the fire with a laptop in their clutch.