Brianland

People ask me what news sources I trust, and how I use the media to my advantage. 

I call it “controlling my sources” 

rules of thumb:

when an interviewer is interviewing 2 people, one a Democrat the other a Republican – hit mute or change channel.  This is NEVER helpful or insightful.  it’s just a debate club exercise and air-time filler. 

If the 2 or more guests are non-partisan journalists, DO listen. 

I really stress to myself (and therefore to you) to NOT listen to the bad stuff – the demagogs, the ranters, the one-siders, the nut-jobs.  It just brings

6 – 9 AM – Morning Joe on MSNBC 

5 – 6 PM – Hardball (Chris Matthews) on MSNBC 

6:30 – 6:38 PM   – evening news on NBC, ABC and CBS

7:00-8:00 – Hardball with Chris Matthews (MSNBC) 

8:00 – 8:08 or 8:15 – Countdown with Keith Oberman, MSNBC

11:01 – 11:08 – The Daily Show with Jon Stewart  — only 4 days a week, Mon thru Thurs. – will watch the 2^nd & 3^rd segments if about politics. 

11:36 – 11:40 – Tonight Show, Leno usually opens with the political material. 

Sunday Mornings are key:   (from 9AM thru 11AM) 

Meet The Press (NBC) – Tim Russert – numero uno;  60 min.

This Week (ABC) – George Stephanopoulos – Bill Clinton’s campaign mgr. 

Face The Nation – Bob Scheiffer – very civilized and polite (sadly retiring in January next year);  30 min.

Late Edition – from 11AM – 1PM on CNN 

Fridays on PBS – 20 min into the PBS NewsHour with Mark Shields;  

and their half-hour show Washington Week In Review (at different times in every city). 

#1  Website:  realclearpolitics.com. 

              honorable mention to:  thehill.com, politico.com 

#1  Magazines:  The Economist, Newsweek

#1  Newspapers (online and paper):  {tie}  Washington Post, New York Times 

WashingtonPost.com – near-top, just click on “politics”

from NYTimes.com, left most column, click on “Politics”

#1  Network TV news dept.:  (in order)  NBC, ABC, CBS 

#1  cable TV Network:  C-SPAN (1, 2 and 3), followed by MSNBC, and CNN third.

#1  Polling resource website:   www.realclearpolitics.com/polls/

#1 interviewer:  Tim Russert  (NBC, MSNBC)  he asks the best researched questions, and Never interrupts the answers [take note Wolf Blitzer] this alone makes him the best.   And I believe history will show, he was the person to coin the “red state / blue state” phraseology.  (honorable mention to: Chris Matthews)

#1  Radio Station (networks):  NPR!  by a gazillion miles.   CBS stations are the best of the rest. 

#1  Columnist:  Tom Friedman  (#2 {but mostly for fun} Maureen Dowd)  

#1  Foreign Reporter:  John Burns, NY Times

#1  U.S. National Reporter:    David Broder, Washington Post

#1  Time for Politics on TV:  Sunday mornings (NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN)

#1  Political Strategist:  {tie}  James Carville (Team Clinton) and Howard Dean  (DNC)

#1  For Fun:  “The Daily Show”  11PM most places, Mon-Thursday only.  (Comedy Central)  Stewart has been very ON this summer and fall.   

#1  Edward R. Murrow Meets Lenny Bruce Newsman:  Keith Oberman  (MSNBC, 8PM most places) 

#1  Wonderful Laugh and Smile of any Political Broadcaster:  Norah O’Donnell (NBC/MSNBC)

Super-smart and unbiased brains / reporters / pollsters etc. I always pay attention to:

Zbigniew Brzezinski – National Security Advisor under Carter, (Polish-born) who I think actually is being retained by the Obama campaign as intgernational affairs advisor.

Seymour Hersh – New Yorker

Fareed Zakaria

David Gergen – U.S. News & World Report

Jonathan Alter – Newsweek

Bill Schnieder – CNN’s brilliant senior pollster 

Frank Rich – NY Times

Chuck Todd – NBC / MSNBC – senior political advisor, very smart

Amy Stoddard – The Hill magazine

Howard Fineman, Newsweek’s chief political writer;  NBC/MSNBC analyst

John Harwood – NBC senior political analyst

Charlie Cook  — The Cook Report 

Chris Mathews – MSNBC

Jeff Greenfield – CNN

Stuart Rothenberg – Roll Call

the two political operatives geniuses of our time:  James Carville and Howard Dean – I always listen to anything they have to say. 

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Brian

brianhassett.com

karmacoupon@gmail.com