Must See Pundit: Campbell Brown

[RandFan]

Campbell Brown: No Bias, No Bull (http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/)

Ok, she's hot but that aside, she's NOT A :rule10'ING PARTISAN.

:clap::cheerleader4:cheerleader1:cheerleader2

I gave up on Olberman and I like Rachel Maddow but I keep asking myself, why does politics HAVE to be viewed through an ideological filter? Is there really no possibility of objective analysis? It looks like the answer is, there is a possibility.

I don't often use smilies but extraordinary situations call for cheerleaders and clapping hands. :)

[dudalb]

I agree on both counts.
I do not always agree with Campbell Brown but at least she is not blindly partisan on issues. You can not always tell in advance what stand she will take on an issue..and there are few commentators around you can say that about.

[Oliver]

why does politics HAVE to be viewed through an ideological filter? Is there really no possibility of objective analysis?



Because...

A: It's an American phenomena based on lack of political diversity
B: It's meant to stretch a topic rather than presenting the facts in a single minute

[Pantaz]

Weird coincidence: I had not heard of Campbell Brown prior to reading this thread... at the very minute her program started. :boggled:

... why does politics HAVE to be viewed through an ideological filter? Is there really no possibility of objective analysis?
That's always bothered me, too. I've always tried to compare issues on their merits, and people by their actions. Emotional bias certainly creeps in there at times, but I really do work to keep it in check.


A: It's an American phenomena based on lack of political diversity

It's far more than an American issue. I can't think of any political arena that is not divided by ideology.

[Oliver]

It's far more than an American issue. I can't think of any political arena that is not divided by ideology.



We're talking about Pundits who express their opinions regarding
political Topics in "Political News". That's unique to the US and it's
overwhelming 2 Party mentality. In Europe, "Pundits Opinions" and
political News are two COMPLETELY different things. Somehow, this
merged in all these US political TV-Shows for that reason:

A. Appealing to Republication Audience: Big Money
B. Appealing to Democrat Audience: Big Money
C. Appealing to the electorate as a whole: Risky
D. Appealing to third parties: Financial Suicide

[Policenaut]

I didn't agree with you on Maddow but I do like Brown. She is about as even handed as it comes these days. I like the concept of the "truth squad" but sometimes I find that I don't agree with their final conclusions. And speaking of CNN it seems they got rid of my favorite loony toon Glenn Beck and he's now going to be on Fox.

[Nyarlathotep]

I'll beleive it when I see it.

A Non-partisan Pundit strikes me as an oxymoron.

[dudalb]

I'll beleive it when I see it.

A Non-partisan Pundit strikes me as an oxymoron.


It is not so much that she is totally non partisan, but that she is willing to criticise both parties when they do something she thinks is stupid.
It's the whole "My Party Is Pure and Good, and The Other Party Is All Evil" attiude that gets to me.

[dudalb]

I didn't agree with you on Maddow but I do like Brown. She is about as even handed as it comes these days. I like the concept of the "truth squad" but sometimes I find that I don't agree with their final conclusions. And speaking of CNN it seems they got rid of my favorite loony toon Glenn Beck and he's now going to be on Fox.

It is sad what happened to Beck. When he started out, he actually tried to avoid being another Hannity/Limbaugh clone..he was conservative, yes, but he did not find it necessary to insult and ridicule liberals at every opportunity,and I sort of liked him despite disagreeing with him.
But he changed and is now a cut rate Hannity.
What is interesting is that Beck occasionally would take potshots on Hannity and criticise him for bullying his guests, but ,sadly, Beck fell into that trap.

[Giggywig]

I've had my eye on Campbell Brown for a while now, and it has nothing to do with her biases or lackthereof.

[dudalb]

And being a cutie does not hurt Campbell Brown.

[Nyarlathotep]

It is not so much that she is totally non partisan, but that she is willing to criticise both parties when they do something she thinks is stupid.
It's the whole "My Party Is Pure and Good, and The Other Party Is All Evil" attiude that gets to me.


That attitude gets to me too, both among pundits AND among the electorate.

[Corsair 115]

And being a cutie does not hurt Campbell Brown.Perhaps I haven't given her a fair chance, but of what (admittedly little) I have watched I saw nothing which led me to believe she's particularly talented enough to deserve hosting her own program. Not even a year ago she was just another middling CNN talking head news anchor. And now, for some reason, she's got her own show.

My theory is that it's simply her turn. Meaning pretty much everyone on camera at CNN will eventually have their own show, at least for a little while. (Anyone else remember Connie Chung's disastrous program on CNN?)

[Policenaut]

CNN right now is how MSNBC was about 6 years ago. They kept introducing new programs almost monthly, canceling them after a short time, then bringing in a new show that seems very similar to the old show but with a different host.

[Augustine]

Campbell Brown not partisan? No bias? :confused:

I find that hard to believe having seen her interviews with Lynn Forester de Rothschild, Tucker Bounds, Mike Duhaime, and others. Heck, even in her interview with Charles Barkley, it was hard to ignore what she didn't ask or challenge him on.

She does not have a poker face at all, and maybe I am jaded, but her attitude with some guests is so unattractive, her looks can't make up for it.

[Tailgater]

Robin in the morning is totally freakin hot.

[Cicero]

. In Europe, "Pundits Opinions" and
political News are two COMPLETELY different things. Somehow, this
merged in all these US political TV-Shows for that reason:


BBC1 and BBC2 are notorious for reporting news filtered through their liberal ideology. Tagesschau is a straight news program, but they only have 15 minutes of air time. But the only truly non partisan opinions on Deutsche Welle are the Mainzelmännchen.

[Policenaut]

Campbell Brown not partisan? No bias? :confused:

I find that hard to believe having seen her interviews with Lynn Forester de Rothschild, Tucker Bounds, Mike Duhaime, and others. Heck, even in her interview with Charles Barkley, it was hard to ignore what she didn't ask or challenge him on.

She does not have a poker face at all, and maybe I am jaded, but her attitude with some guests is so unattractive, her looks can't make up for it.

Have you seen TV recently? She's about as good as it gets (at the moment) unless you watch CSPAN.

[Skeptic]

The problem with TV news analysis -- apart from bias -- is that it's on TV, and TV by definition limits you to three-minute (at most) discussions. Also, the hosts of the "serious" program all must look good, or at least impressive.

So no plain-looking woman in her 50s, or fat man in their 70s, get to host a "serious" news show about, say, economic developments -- even if they're Nobel prize winners in economics. Instead, we get the views of the good-looking host (or hostess).

They may be intelligence and talented people; they may be doing their best to do a good job; but their knowledge of the subject they speak about is limited to a two-day crash-course before the show, and have five minutes to talk about it.

So I don't take such shows seriously -- for reasons that have little to do with bias. The very medium makes intelligent, serious discussion almost impossible. At most we can get people to think they're intelligently discussion the subject, or trying to do so. That's better than two fools shouting at each other, as are most "pundit" shows, but isn't much.

[dudalb]

I think the real damage Fox might have done to News TV is not that it is biased, but that it forced the other networks to become less news driven and more "Personality Driven".,,which I do not like.
I really lament what has happened to Headline news. I don't even know why they still call it that. It all talking head, and low grade ones at that. (Though Robin Meade in the Morning is freaking hot).
I miss being able to tune in on the half hour and being able to get the latest news.