# Who is the "Main Stream Media", and who isn't? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 22, 2019, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-main-stream-media-and-who-isnt/830024 "2019-02-22T15:26:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-main-stream-media-and-who-isnt/830024/1 "2019-02-22T15:26:26Z")
To those that use the term “Main Stream Media”(MSM) and the more juvenile “Lame Stream Media”(LSM), I would ask which media are on your “MSM” list, and which aren’t. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-main-stream-media-and-who-isnt/830024/2 "2019-02-22T15:41:41Z")
MSM: NYT, Washington Post, AP, Reuters, BBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, CNN, LA Times, Huffington Post Fake News: Fox News, National Enquirer, One America News, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Michael Savage, Sinclair, NewsMax. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-main-stream-media-and-who-isnt/830024/3 "2019-02-22T15:43:33Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > MSM: NYT, Washington Post, AP, Reuters, BBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, CNN, LA Times, Huffington Post > > Fake News: Fox News, National Enquirer, One America News, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Michael Savage, Sinclair, NewsMax. I would really like those who use the term to describe media they don’t care for to chime in before the counterattacks start, please. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-main-stream-media-and-who-isnt/830024/4 "2019-02-22T15:50:13Z")
MSM: NYT, Washington Post, AP, Reuters, BBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, CNN, LA Times, Huffington Post, Fox News, PBS, National Enquirer, NPR, Sinclair, big newsstand mags and papers including War Street Journal, Time, etc, Yahoo et al, NYPost Anyone who publishes war propaganda basically. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-main-stream-media-and-who-isnt/830024/5 "2019-02-22T15:58:15Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > MSM: NYT, Washington Post, AP, Reuters, BBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, CNN, LA Times, Huffington Post > > Fake News: Fox News, National Enquirer, One America News, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Michael Savage, Sinclair, NewsMax. I wouldn’t call Fox “fake news”. It is merely staggering amounts of spin with only occasional outright fabrication. We should reserve “fake news” for the latter. I’m not acquainted enough with the other outlets to know their proportion of outright falsities versus spin. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-main-stream-media-and-who-isnt/830024/6 "2019-02-22T15:58:16Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > MSM: NYT, Washington Post, AP, Reuters, BBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, CNN, LA Times, Huffington Post, Fox News, PBS, National Enquirer, NPR, Sinclair, big newsstand mags and papers including War Street Journal, Time, etc, Yahoo et al, NYPost > > Anyone who publishes war propaganda basically. What about the second half of my inquiry? Name the news outlets that _aren’t_ on that list. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-main-stream-media-and-who-isnt/830024/7 "2019-02-22T15:59:17Z")
And this thread isn’t about “fake news”. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-main-stream-media-and-who-isnt/830024/8 "2019-02-22T16:00:50Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I’m not acquainted enough with the other outlets to know their proportion of outright falsities versus spin. [This’ll help.](https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/) ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-main-stream-media-and-who-isnt/830024/9 "2019-02-22T16:06:33Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > And this thread isn’t about “fake news”. OK, then I revise my term “Fake News” to “Non-MSM” ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-main-stream-media-and-who-isnt/830024/10 "2019-02-22T16:08:15Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > What about the second half of my inquiry? Name the news outlets that _aren’t_ on that list. If you have a specific inquiry on a particular outlet I can indulge you, but I can’t come up with a list. Good luck. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-main-stream-media-and-who-isnt/830024/11 "2019-02-22T16:10:11Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > OK, then I revise my term “Fake News” to “Non-MSM” Sinclair and Fox News especially are as mainstream as you can get. Is the test for you based on editorial leanings? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-main-stream-media-and-who-isnt/830024/12 "2019-02-22T16:10:51Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > If you have a specific inquiry on a particular outlet I can indulge you, but I can’t come up with a list. Good luck. You had no trouble coming up with the other list. Can you just name one or two? ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-main-stream-media-and-who-isnt/830024/13 "2019-02-22T16:14:37Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > Sinclair and Fox News especially are as mainstream as you can get. Is the test for you based on editorial leanings? Well I’m constantly being told that the “MSM” isn’t covering this story or that story, but the people telling me this presumably heard the story from somewhere. Often on Fox News, which seems contradictory with what you’re saying here. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-main-stream-media-and-who-isnt/830024/14 "2019-02-22T16:16:51Z")
Is there a legitimate reason why someone would list the news media that she/he opposes, but refuse to divulge what news media she/he _does_ not object to? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-main-stream-media-and-who-isnt/830024/15 "2019-02-22T16:22:16Z")
I’m a lefty: Huffpo is a joke. So much so I would be too embarrassed to cite them if I was having a debate on this board or elsewhere. That’s my NOT list along with others like The Daily Mail. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-main-stream-media-and-who-isnt/830024/16 "2019-02-22T16:28:40Z")
Once again: For those that use the term “Main Stream Media”, who is on that list, and who isn’t? ---
**Author:** ![Falchion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Falchion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Falchion)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-main-stream-media-and-who-isnt/830024/17 "2019-02-22T16:50:51Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Once again: For those that use the term “Main Stream Media”, who is on that list, and who isn’t? I find this thread a little weird, because I get the sense that “mainstream” is supposed to be a pejorative or an endorsement. But I tend to use the term and I think of large institutional media organizations with broad reach as opposed to radio shows, blogs, self-produced video, a lot of independent investigative journalism, etc. There certainly is some grey area on the margins. But it would certainly include most large newspapers, the wire services, the major cable news outlets, etc. I would have said that anyone who was on the [White House Correspondents’ seating chart](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House_Correspondents%27_Association) would be presumptive “mainstream”, but looking at it I would probably quibble over a few of them. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-main-stream-media-and-who-isnt/830024/18 "2019-02-22T16:54:19Z")
I guess a more basic question is “what makes a media main stream?” To me it’s: - Covering facts and not ignoring facts - Having on-camera personalities from varied perspectives, or in print having editorial comment from both sides. Based on above, I’d say MSNBC passes the test and Fox fails. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-main-stream-media-and-who-isnt/830024/19 "2019-02-22T17:14:03Z")
Moved from GD to IMHO. [/moderating] ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-main-stream-media-and-who-isnt/830024/20 "2019-02-22T17:20:18Z")
I consider myself a liberal. Here is my list. Mainstream media. ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, and MSNBC for television. For the networks I limit it to their straight news programs. For newspapers there is the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today are some of the most prominent names that I can come up with, but most big city newspapers qualify as mainstream. There is also the AP. There are also specialized organizations like ESPN and The Weather Channel. Non mainstream media. The biggest is FOX News. I’ll also include a lot of the web based organizations which tend to lean conservative. Breitbart is the most prominent name I can come up with. Since the non mainstream media seems to be focused more on the people delivering the news as well, I will include the names of journalists on this list as well. Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Bill O’Riley, Rush Limbaugh, and Laura Ingraham among others are non mainstream media journalists, regardless of whether they are delivering the news on TV, radio, the internet, or in person at a rally. Then there are shows that focus on celebrities and gossip and such. To me those don’t fit in either category. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-main-stream-media-and-who-isnt/830024.md?page=2)