April 04, 2007

Why I watch the News Hour with Jim Lehrer

The policy debate segments are actual debates. Just like cable news, they're utterly and completely predictable 95% of the time, with one liberal (more or less) and one conservative (more or less), but the two interlocutors actually talk with each other. There are serious, thoughtful objections and serious, thoughtful responses. It's not just brandishing talking points. And there's absolutely no yelling.

I also think the gender ratio of the talking heads is much less skewed than cable news. Women show up quite regularly, and not just when the subject is a `women's issue'. The other night, the pundits talking about the Supreme Court rulings concerning the EPA were both women.

Perfect? No. A head above cable news? Yes.

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