When they don't bother to find out and then report the truth, but only repeat the rumors and ask people to respond to them, that isn't reporting. That is gossip. It's worse than opinion parading as news. But that seems to be much of the fare these days. On all sides.

If you listen to people like Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck who call themselves conservative republicans closely then you realize they are as much of the problem in our government as lobbyist because they are GOP lobbyists with radio shows.

Media is bought out with the acception of CNN who seem to remain unbiased towards politics period. American media is really a joke. They don't report fact or news instead choosing to report what suits there paying base.

You mentioned opinion? It's how you must take most news reporting especially when it comes to politics in our country. People speak badly of the National Enquirer but sadly that's what the majority of American news reporting is these days.

I like the system that exists (as I understand it, at least) in Britain (and, I believe, existed in this country 200 years ago). No one takes claims of "objectivity" or "balance" seriously at all. In Britain, there are "Labour" papers, and "Tory" papers, and others across the entire spectrum.

You can read just the papers that fortify your own beliefs, or you can read papers that present the opposite viewpoint. But, at all times, everyone knows what viewpoint they are reading and can take that into account.

But people tend not to read or even seek opposing points of view. And that's going to be a growing problem in the U.S. as traditional newspapers, which endeavor mightily but imperfectly to maintain a high level of objectivity, are replaced by new media outlets which don't share the same goal.

We the American people are the stupidest on the planet.

Ex: Some dumb Faux News commentator made the idiotic comment that Palin knows foreign policy because Alaska is close to Russia.

Most intelligent people took this as the typical idiocy of the right-wing. They in fact believe the public is so dumb, they are now having Cindy Mccain repeat the line with that blank, vacuous look she has.

So now I actually hear regular people repeating the line as if proximity confers experience.

This is how stupid we are.

So why would you expect us to know the difference between straight news and commentary?

Unfortunately, a lot of people in this country actually form their opinions by listening to Limbaugh, Hannity, and other right-wing blow-hards. Stepped on some toes there, didn't I?

In order to form an intelligent opinion one must consume information from all points.

This is something the current occupant of the Oval Office has never learned and never will, not that it will matter after next January.

Bob Stepp