# the two reporters I trust the most **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 6, 2011, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-two-reporters-i-trust-the-most/577347 "2011-04-06T02:12:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![humanafterall](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/humanafterall/32/19654_2.png) [@humanafterall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/humanafterall)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-two-reporters-i-trust-the-most/577347/1 "2011-04-06T02:12:31Z")
I only trust 2, and they are Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, because of all other news outlets, they are the most fair and balanced, what with their light-hearted and sometimes critical take on headline news. It’s media with no real political bias, unlike what I find in CNN and Fox News. Who agrees? ---
**Author:** ![Pitter\_Patter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/90db22/32.png) [@Pitter\_Patter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pitter_Patter)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-two-reporters-i-trust-the-most/577347/2 "2011-04-06T02:28:04Z")
They are no reporters. That doesn’t mean I don’t like them, but they are commentators. Take it all with a grain of salt. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-two-reporters-i-trust-the-most/577347/3 "2011-04-06T03:51:28Z")
They would both be horrified at that sentiment. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-two-reporters-i-trust-the-most/577347/4 "2011-04-06T13:55:23Z")
I disagree. As much as I like both of them and like what they have to say I do realize that they fall in the “opinionated commentary” category and do have an agenda with a distinct lean. The closest I find for unbiased reporting is NPR. Not completely unbiased but as close as I can find. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-two-reporters-i-trust-the-most/577347/5 "2011-04-06T14:12:53Z")
I’m a big fan, but neither one is a reporter. They’re comedians and you could lump them into a broader category of analysis or commentary, but neither one of them breaks any news. They do have a political bias and they’re overt about it, and their top priority is being funny, not being accurate (although they’re often both). ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-two-reporters-i-trust-the-most/577347/6 "2011-04-06T14:22:56Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > I disagree. As much as I like both of them and like what they have to say I do realize that they fall in the “opinionated commentary” category and do have an agenda with a distinct lean. > The closest I find for unbiased reporting is NPR. Not completely unbiased but as close as I can find. I’m a big fan also, but you can’t call them unbiased. They may playfully hem and haw if directly asked where their sympathies lie, but at the same time, they’ve never made any secret of being liberals either, unlike, say, O’Reilly who puts up a charade of being an “independent.” ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-two-reporters-i-trust-the-most/577347/7 "2011-04-06T14:26:42Z")
That’s not reporting. There’s a reason both of those shows are on Comedy Central and not CNN. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-two-reporters-i-trust-the-most/577347/8 "2011-04-06T14:28:34Z")
I haven’t trusted any reporter since Walter Cronkite retired. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-two-reporters-i-trust-the-most/577347/9 "2011-04-06T14:29:56Z")
I try and limit the amount of _news_ I get from Comedy Central. Hey, they’re funny and insightful and can certainly point out what’s ridiculous in our current state of affairs. But it’s not “news” per se and they’re not “reporters.” ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-two-reporters-i-trust-the-most/577347/10 "2011-04-06T14:38:33Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > They would both be horrified at that sentiment. I hope so. I’m horrified. In the first place, they’re commentators, not reporters. I know that some people say that the two are identical, but they’re not. You need to have the basic information first and they don’t provide it. They comment on the information after it’s been reported. You can be serious or comic as a commentator so their being comedians aren’t really objections. Maureen Dowd and Gail Collins on the New York Times op-ed page generally write humorous columns even when they are making a serious point. It’s the “making a point” that really disqualifies them. Sure, many times they spot some hypocrisy or absurdity and go after it. That’s valuable. But also many times they unfairly pull stuff out of context to make a joke just like any and every other late-night comedian. And every point they make is from the liberal side. Having a stated viewpoint is not really the same thing as bias but calling them unbiased is just plain wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-two-reporters-i-trust-the-most/577347/11 "2011-04-06T20:03:06Z")
I like Rachel Maddow too 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![raindog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@raindog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindog)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-two-reporters-i-trust-the-most/577347/12 "2011-04-09T15:52:36Z")
The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour (of course MacNeil has long retired) NPR ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-two-reporters-i-trust-the-most/577347/13 "2011-04-09T16:49:18Z")
After the latest Glenn Beck parody, does anyone still think that Jon Stewart is the most fair and balanced and without political bias? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-two-reporters-i-trust-the-most/577347/14 "2011-04-09T16:55:02Z")
I thought Stewart [settled this long ago](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFQFB5YpDZE). _The program that precedes us is puppets making crank phone calls!_ As for actual reporters? Richard Engel. And I think that Rachael Maddow is both the smartest person currently on television and the one who makes the greatest effort to actually be both fair and balanced. ---
**Author:** ![ironbender](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ba8739/32.png) [@ironbender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ironbender)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-two-reporters-i-trust-the-most/577347/15 "2011-04-09T19:48:39Z")
I don’t agree with the OP, and I don’t really understand the “one trusted source” viewpoint. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-two-reporters-i-trust-the-most/577347/16 "2011-04-09T19:58:56Z")
I’m the first to say **Fareed Zakaria**? Is he not well received? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-two-reporters-i-trust-the-most/577347/17 "2011-04-09T21:36:41Z")
> [@raindog](#): > > The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour (of course MacNeil has long retired) > > NPR It’s the PBS NewsHour now. That’s my preferred TV news source. Watch it pretty much every day thanks to my DVR. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-two-reporters-i-trust-the-most/577347/18 "2011-04-11T14:50:03Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I haven’t trusted any reporter since Walter Cronkite retired. I agree. There is no more straight reporting. Everything is feature, editorial, or commentary. NPR comes the closest to old-fashioned, ethical, unbiased, check-your-sources reporting. Not perfect, but close. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-two-reporters-i-trust-the-most/577347/19 "2011-04-11T15:09:42Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > They would both be horrified at that sentiment. > [@Marley23](#): > > I’m a big fan, but neither one is a reporter. They’re comedians and you could lump them into a broader category of analysis or commentary, but neither one of them breaks any news. They do have a political bias and they’re overt about it, and their top priority is being funny, not being accurate (although they’re often both). > [@silenus](#): > > I haven’t trusted any reporter since Walter Cronkite retired. > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I agree. There is no more straight reporting. Everything is feature, editorial, or commentary. > > NPR comes the closest to old-fashioned, ethical, unbiased, check-your-sources reporting. Not perfect, but close. All of the above says what I wanted to say. NPR does the best in my opinion. Rachael Maddow is not fair and balanced. More so then Fox and Friends or Keith Olberman was but not fair and balanced. She is leaning left clearly and obviously and I do not believe she hides this fact. I really feel NPR tries to be balanced and at least has the mission to be objective even at times they fail. ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-two-reporters-i-trust-the-most/577347/20 "2011-04-11T15:40:26Z")
The two reporters I trust the most, On the Daily Show and Colbert’s host, Well they caught the last train for the coast, The day that Fox News died. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-two-reporters-i-trust-the-most/577347.md?page=2)