If you have access to HBO either directly or indirectly such as through Amazon Prime, I strongly recommend the HBO-produced show, Newsroom.
It's one of my personal favorite shows because it's warm, touching, and informative of the attitude and approaches of mainstream news people -- both broadcast and cable TV as well as print media.
If you get a chance, watch the first episode of the first season. I was hooked from the jump.
I saw survey results yesterday about how Americans view the news media. Most everyone thinks it's important, but as one looks at the spectrum from Democrats to Independents to Republicans, the trust and satisfaction with the media tends to decline across that spectrum.
Conservatives tend to call the mainstream media liberal. So it's no shock that Republicans as a group will tend to have lower satisfaction and trust in the media. I tend to think that most mainstream news outlets generally report facts and tend to point out falsehoods.
Of course, I clearly recognize that some "news" outlets (Fox News) often broadcast propaganda, acting as a mouthpiece for the libertarian preferences of the uber rich such as the Koch brothers. Fox also broadcasts half-truth spin to discredit those with opposing perspectives. They also promote falsehoods either directly or by lending airtime to and not questioning the falsehoods of others.
If one watches HBO's Newsroom, one can get a sense of how objective journalists function. One will also get a sense of how a newsman (or newswoman) who is a registered Republican, can fairly question or oppose misleading statements by those who claim to be Republicans.
By the way, you do know that the Tea Party wing of the Republican party is not a grass-roots movement, right? If you don't believe that, read the book, Dark Money, by Jane Mayer. This will open your eyes and your mind (I hope) to the reality that the whole tea-party movement is a carefully orchestrated and funded movement by billionaire plutocrats -- all with the aim to dupe poor (not-rich) voters into supporting governmental policy and action that is in the best interest of the rich and not in the best interest of the non-rich (or the country or the world, for that matter).
I hope you enjoy Newsroom. It's one of my favorites.
