Does progressive talk radio give all the facts?

Question

I'm more interested in hearing from people who listen to people like Schultz, Franken, Rhodes, etc but others are welcome too. Do they provide you with a balanced view of complex issues?
Please don’t get sidetracked talking about the finances of Air America. Please keep your answer focused on the content of the shows.

Just to be fair I asked the same question about conservative talk radio too.

Answer 1

~What are "all" the "facts"? Clearly no one ever has all the facts on any issue. If you are going to rely on a single source for your information, plan to live in a state of jaded ignorance. You need to listen to the people whose opinions you disagree with as well as the ones you agree with, and take everything with several grains of salt. As long as you realize everyone has an axe to grind and will be biased, consciously or not, and can scrape away the bull, you have an outside chance of learning what some of the "facts" are. We call it thought and reason.

Answer 2

I have never listened to any of these shows so I could not give you an honest answer. I am familiar with Al Franken and I would imagine that Schultz and Rhodes are like ilk. From that reasoning, I would guess that none of them know what facts are but they know how to skirt the facts and tell lies, half truths and inuendos in order to spin the subject being discussed to support their political views.

Answer 3

I think Rhodes and Franken tell the truth but they are too one sided (at least recently, maybe it's because of the elections coming up). They are so anti-Bush that they don't look at the corruption of the democratic party. Ed Schultz is good and so is Lionel. While I think Lionel is more conservative, he generally doesn't label or group himself with conservatives or liberals, he's all about the truth.

Answer 4

It is by virtue about opinion - not news. It's exactly the same with Conservative talk radio. If it's about facts, then you should get it from the newspaper. If you want to listen to people preaching to the choir of your choice - that's what talk radio is for.

Answer 5

They give all the "facts" that support their opinions. The same is true for Rush etc. These are not, nor do they pretend to be straight news shows. Of greater concern are those who claim to be reporting the news but are distorting facts & propagandizing.

Answer 6

"...provide you with a balanced view of complex issues? "???

Uh, I don't really think that that is their intention, do you?

So - if they don't set out to do that, how could anyone be receiving a "balanced view of complex issues" from them?

Try Jim Lehrer's News Hour on PBS if a balanced view of complex issues is of real interest to you. THAT is a program whose sole purpose is to inform interested citizens.

Unfortunately, most people can't tolerate listening to real experts explain real complex issues. If you do watch it and like it, however, you'll find that it (or something like it) is essential to staying informed.

Answer 7

I've tuned into both progressive and conservative radio. Hands down progressive radio is less rude, mean, and more accurate, fair and balanced. Oh and funny and entertaining as well as informative.

Answer 8

All "talk radio" shows, from Franken to Rush, give their OPINIONS, not a balanced view. They are "talk" shows, not unbiased factual news shows. and they don't claim to be.

Answer 9

Name me one show that gives all of the facts. Name me one newspaper that gives all the facts. Name anything that gives all of the facts. You can't because nobody does. Everybody has some type of bias and that is going to influence what facts are presented.

Answer 10

Not hardly .
Everything is one sided and badly slanted .
I've found that even Rush treats things more fairly