Response to Act Three

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Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Check these further responses to the White House v. Fox News debate. I know I picked a Rachel Maddow clip, but she brings out some good points.

Very interesting round table on Meet the Press. Check it out.

Act Four: Pseudo-News Reigns King

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With the rise of satirical pseudo-news shows ,such as "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report," more teens and young adults have been delving into the world of politics. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have made big issue stories more accessible for the younger generation.

Do pseudo-news shows have a lasting effect on the media landscape? Will pseudo-news shows continue to grow in popularity? How much power do pseudo-news programs have?

Act Three: "Opinion journalism masquerading as news"

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This video might seem long but worth every minute. I hope its stirs up opinions for you like it did for me.

Is this squabble between Fox and the Obama White House legitimate or has this issue been a long time coming? (Hello, we all saw Outfoxed)

What about Fox's new angle in using Obama's tough love to commercialize their brand?

Will Fox get in too deep by calling out other news organizations who are approved by Obama?

Act Two: "Yes Men"

This story was featured today on "CNN Newsroom with Rick Sanchez."

A huge media fiasco occurred yesterday when a group known as the "Yes Men" pulled off an elaborate hoax that fooled multiple news stations.

The "Yes Men" posed as officials from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and called a press conference in which they revealed false information that the Chamber was going to support climate control legislation, which is contradictory to what the Chamber stands for. Many news organizations were present, (Fox News, CNBC, the New York Times).

After a while, a representative from the real U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Eric Wohlschlegel, burst into the room declaring that the meeting was a "stunt" and that the man at the podium was not a legitimate member of the Chamber. The Yes Men retorted asking for Wohlschlegel's business card. Wohlschlegel in turn asked for his, and left the room handing out business cards to members of the press who were in attendance.

Watch these videos:





We have talked a couple weeks ago about the nature of breaking news. Could this situation been handled better instead of turning into a media fiasco? Should the media (one lady in the first video says she knew the guy wasn't from the Chamber) have caught on that this was a hoax before it happened? Clearly some people in the room knew he wasn't a legitimate representative. What should have happened?

Act One: Balloon Boy Lives

Considering the events of the this past weekend, I thought it a good idea to start out on the topic of Balloon Boy. I kept up to date on all of the events that transpired around "Balloon Boy," from the breaking news coverage during CNN's Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer on Thursday, to the revelation by the sheriff of Larimer County, CO that the whole situation was a hoax Sunday morning.

As the news broke on Thursday, CNN was the only major network covering Balloon Boy. CNN broke the story in the early afternoon and didn't leave it for at least two or three hours. I tuned into MSNBC and Fox News at around four o'clock to see if they were covering the footage but all I saw was the usual mug of Chris Matthews playing Hardball with someone and Glenn Beck ranting about God knows what on their respective networks.

My question is, how do you think the media handled the situation? The media, namely CNN, played a huge part in revealing this situation to be a hoax. Is this a pseudo-event that received too much attention when other issues like the Pakistani war against the Taliban could have received more air time? Or was it necessary to spend hours reporting this story?