I love Brian Lamb, I really do, but...

[Catherine Vincent]

It really irritates me when he whines that people that disagree with Bush* are not Bush* supporters and are not calling in on the right line. I am listening to the video from this morning's Washington Journal and he has mentioned it a few times already. I know he divides the line as Democrats, Independents and Bush* supporters. Maybe, just maybe the Bush* supporters aren't calling in that morning and are real republicans upset with Bush*! If a republican does not agree with Bush* the last few months, what line does he expect them to call in on? It can't be the Democratic line because disagreeing with Bush* doesn't make you a Democrat. It can't be the Independent line because you can't be an Independent republican. So I take it he doesn't want those folks to call in at all? And if that happens, he'll constantly remind everyone that the Support Bush number have open lines. :eyes:

[Flubadubya]

1. The deck is stacked..

always is with MSM, even CSPAN. Brian Lamb can whine all he wants but as the anti-Bush voice grows louder his little artificially balanced "call in" structure is really going to topple. :grr:

[Catherine Vincent]

2. But you know he accuse the Democrats of doing this.

And most of the time, that is not the case.

[stanwyck]

11. You're right. There are rabid Repubs who always

call on the wrong line. It's funny how many say the same thing. They get the same emails or listen to the same radio. 'Now, I'm no Bush supporter.." and then they proceed to very vehemently praise Bush.
For a while, there were the "I've always voted Democrat, BUT...." and then the whole tirade from a person who never voted Democrat in their life.
This is a transparent ruse from the old Newt playbook.

[hexola]

3. What were the numbers this morning?

The website doesnt have the "support bush" language anymore...

http://www.c-span.org/homepage.asp?Cat=Series&Code=WJE&ShowVidNum=9&Rot_Cat_CD=WJ&Rot_HT=206&Rot_WD=&ShowVidDays=100&ShowVidDesc=&ArchiveDays=30

[0007]

4. Seldom do I listen in on Friday's. Brian leans to much to the right

for me.

[partylessinOhio]

5. I watch Washington Journal everyday but on Fridays I sometimes

flip the channel. Brian Lamb is very whiny and a grouch. He should watch one of his tapes and perhaps he would change his style. He is really loosing it lately.

[hexola]

6. It would be nice if they would highlight which line is "on"...

You can never tell what line a caller is on...the phone number graphic should change color as they cycle through the lines...

Some of the hosts announce it...but not consistiently.

This is my one gripe about C-SPAN...

[kentuck]

7. And he can continue to believe the country is divided 50/50

for Bush and against Bush...

[peacetalksforall]

8. I heard something at the end of the program that I had never heard

before - he said that there had been 73 calls. Made me think that they may have set up some quotas for themselves that they want to reach to make sure the calls don't lag. That could explain the feeling I have that they are way too quick to cut calls at times. I can see it for people who don't mute. But, it is prevalent. Some of their brusqueness is really rudeness and for Peter, it might be paranoia that he may have to speak to one too many Dems.

But, it must be a tough role to play all around. The majority of people just don't get to the point. They take up time as though they were at their corner coffee shop with other retirees.

A positive thing I can say about him is that he finally came around to the realization that the internet has news. He still doesn't quote a blog and he still always has to quote from the NY Post and Wash Times. At least he doesn't pretend that he is something he is not.

He has documented plenty of our history, turned us on to history, and covered some things I would not have wanted to miss. Sweet-sour.

[immoderate]

9. I thought the lines were "support democrats" and "support Bush"

Brian is aiming for balanced discussion. When Bush ratings were 70% favorable, wingers called and argued that they should have more time, and Brian resisted that.

His problem now is that it is obvious that Bush is a psychopathic maniac and he still wants to give him 50% of the coverage. That's ridiculous, he knows it, and he's stressed about it.

I know many around here think Brian leans right. I've looked for it, and I think he is as neutral as possible under the circumstances. Think of the observer. Strangely, the freepers think Tweety is a liberal!

--IMM

[Catherine Vincent]

10. I think he's neutral too.

And they really strive to be that way. I respect Brian and CSPAN wholeheartedly. CSPAN is his creation and he should be very proud of that.

[leftchick]

12. why do you love him?

:shrug:

[Gabi Hayes]

13. CSPAN is obviously, and verifiably biased

http://www.pensitoreview.com/2005/12/04/fair-finds-quantifiable-rightwing-bias-on-c-spans-washington-journal/

somebody linked this recently

''To test C-SPAN’s claims of fairness, Extra! studied Washington Journal’s guestlist, tabulating all 663 guests that appeared on the show in the six-month period from November 1, 2004 to April 30, 2005. Guests were classified by gender, ethnicity, party affiliation (if any) and occupation. The study also looked at the think tanks most prominently represented on the show.

Despite C-SPAN’s stated goals, Extra!’s study found Washington Journal skewing rightward, favoring Republican and right-of-center interview subjects by considerable margins over Democratic and left-of-center guests. The study also found that women, people of color and public interest viewpoints were substantially underrepresented.''