Survey Archives - Austin Vegas

November 18, 2009November 19, 2009

The Media Can Legally Lie Contributing Directly to the Demise of TV Morality and Accuracy

I suppose I’m in the minority these days thinking that national media have not only a major role but an obligation to broadcast content under the name NEWS to be unbiased and beneficial for the audience it covets. Unfortunately it’s become increasingly clear national televised news has become increasingly competitive where ratings, advertising dollars and revenue are king to any type of editorial accuracy in content delivery.

Not only that, corporations have the power to influence the media reporting, even at the expense of the truth and unfortunately for the viewer, there’s no disclaimer as to who’s really providing the message these days – is it the anchor, the news media group, or is it a person, organization or corporation sponsoring the content being broadcast, with their personal bias, as news….

FOX News, in my mind, has completely moved away from relevancy in providing useful content to its viewership, and is now a media outlet of yellow journalism and a propaganda soap box for what ever corporation or political agenda they are backing or getting paid to front. Their journalistic credibility went out the window years ago for me, however, they’ve become increasingly brazen in their falsification efforts as of late. First it was their blatant reporting of a Republican congressman as Democrat while reporting on that Rep’s scandal (examples 1, 2), through to today as FOX regurgitates old coverage to paint a picture of wider acceptance of principle that is in reality prevalent, like in this replacement of rally footage for the latest healthcare protests championed by the network:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c

Sean Hannity Uses Glenn Beck’s Protest Footage

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Crisis

The last “slip” of this caliber was much more blatant in the replacement of footage during Palin’s book campaign with that from an old McCain-Palin rally last year, and claiming it to be “Happening Now” (source). Is it any wonder that the cable networks have jumped on this story that the White House has openly decided not to contribute news, comments or work with Fox News. Of course Fox takes both sides of this claiming on one side they are being censored by the white house but at the same time Fox openly announces that most of their OWN programing is NOT NEWS but “opinion journalism”. But as Stwert points out, the only people you think of when someone says Fox News are those people splashed around on “Fair and Balanced” ads and should hold no more news credibility than say Heidi Klum of project runway or Tyra Banks on her talk show.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c

For Fox Sake!

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Crisis

When you do get around to watching the hours of Fox that actually broadcast… you know, the NEWS… they actually do some proper reporting. Here’s one where the news achor fact checks Palin:

I don’t want to spend this whole post on Fox, even if they are the easiest target today (next week, there will be a story on MSNBC making up something), but the real point is the media outlets have generally ALL moved away from being beacons of truth to whores for capital. This Pew Research Center article points out that the public trust of the Press accuracy has hit an all time low in the last 20 years. “Just 29% of Americans say that news organizations generally get the facts straight, while 63% say that news stories are often inaccurate.” and “only about a quarter (26%) now say that news organizations are careful that their reporting is not politically biased, compared with 60% who say news organizations are politically biased.” Oddly though was that it was the Fox News viewers that are the only audience in which a majority (51%) says news organizations are immoral rather than moral.

There’s a lot in that article but a few network stats – Network TV followed by CNN have the most favorable ratings of those surveyed and Fox News has the highest unfavorable rating among respondents. Republicans favor reading the Wall Street Journal where Democrats favor reading the New York Times.

So why is this all happening, what’s the culprit? It would take more than this blog post to review and theorize but one such factor was in February 2003, a Florida Court of Appeals unanimously agreed with an assertion by FOX News that there is no rule against distorting or falsifying the news in the United States (Mike Gaddy has an excellent write up on the full details of this-you should read). Since then, FOX has expanded on this principle to disregard the factual reporting for sensationalism, scare tactics and anything that would generate more eyeballs and revenue for their “News” stations. Not wanting to fall out of favor with their audiences, many of the major networks took this queue and have followed suit, creating a horrible environment for watching news on cable tv, with any hope of accuracy that is.

It’s my hope that people will be smart, and make informed decisions on their own but sometimes old habits die hard. It’s refreshing to see the trend of news being shifted to the Internet where you’re content options are limitless (unlike the 130+ channels you only get on cable). To me, the decline in morality and accuracy of national news coverage is just another contributing factor to the demise of television in general. We’re all going to be getting our content online but that day can’t come soon enough for the future education of our country and accuracy of national news reporting.

April 12, 2009September 16, 2017

Happy Easter, for Now…

Easter isn’t a holiday I celebrate much anymore. Not being devout, I don’t participate in lent, go to mass, or celebrate in a religious way. I do however, find the time to bite the ears off some dark chocolate bunnies and eat a hefty brunch of eggs and bloody mary’s.

It seems the trend in America is similar to my own experience. Gallup just released this poll data going back to 1948 showing an inexorable decline in the number of Americans who practice Christianity.

The percentage of Americans who identify with some form of a Christian religion has been dropping in recent decades, and now stands at 77%, according to an aggregate of Gallup Polls conducted in 2008. In 1948, when Gallup began tracking religious identification, the percentage who were Christian was 91%.

This poll shows a long and steady slide toward atheism, agnosticism, and general secularism; so does this mean that the religious right is correct in shouting “Christianity is under attack!” in this country, or does it show my and Gallup’s hypothesis, the further diversification of religion in this country is a result of other groups by definition have expanded (which coincidentally also contradicts the “We are a Christian Nation!” stance).

The Gallup poll shows the heaviest increase in no religious affiliation for the pollsters:

“Other” has been the lump group of all other religions including Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, or other non-Christian religions. This group has grown from close to 0% since inception of this poll, to 7% today.

What this data shows is two things, there’s a growing of the base population in Americas that are of non-christian religious which most notably would be from immigration and reproduction of immigrants holding to these “Other” religions. I don’t believe there is significant conversion but, that theory really can’t be explored with the data presented.

The 2nd interpretation is there is a growing sector of non-religious practicing Americans, and this increase seems to be directly effecting the Christian population in this country, either through loss of believers or over time, families are dissolving their participation in religious practice.

Two social scientists at the National Opinion Research Corporation, Tom W. Smith and Seokho Kim, contemplating similar data from the General Social Survey in 2004, concluded: “In sum, an array of social forces from cohort turnover, to immigration, to reduced retention rates, indicate that the Protestant share of the population will continue to shrink and they will soon lose their majority position in American society.”

More details of how the survey was conducted and concerns in conclusions from the data are available on the link above.

For me, I don’t completely reject organized theism per say but I’m not practicing of any religion. I don’t go to church, mass, participate in lent or confession. Holidays such as Christmas, New Years and Easter are openly celebrated with family and friends more for the opportunity of communal gathering with said people than for their religious implications.

It’s widely known that the origins of Easter are deeply rooted in pagan customs. It was Emperor Constantine that made Easter the “official” holiday, replacing Passover. This Christian Biblical Church of God site has a full break down of the origins of Easter with sources, if interested.

Maybe more people are getting more educated on religion and making their own decisions about their faith and how much they are dedicated to one theology. I don’t need a religion to tell me how to live a good, positive and full life as I live by the golden rule and just try to do the right thing. Enjoy the time with your family and friends, and as long as you still have that solid base, you’ll be alright. Bring on the chocolate!

January 15, 2009January 21, 2009

New York is now the 5th Fattest City in America

Fat vs. Fit America I heard this on the news this morning and looked up the source. Men’s Health announced their annual Fittest vs. Fattest survey of major US cities. Miami tops the list this year of the Fattest – it must be all that Cuban and Latin food (now remember SoBe isn’t technically in the city of Miami).

Topping the list for Fittest surveyed is Salt Lake City, Utah!? I guess being bored might actually translate to health? Here’s the rest of the FIT list:

1. Salt Lake City, UT
2. Colorado Springs, CO
3. Minneapolis, MN
4. Denver, CO
5. Albuquerque, NM
6. Portland, OR
7. Honolulu, HI
8. Seattle, WA
9. Omaha, NE
10. Virginia Beach, VA
11. Milwaukee, WI
12. San Francisco, CA
13. Tucson, AZ
14. Boston, MA
15. Cleveland, OH
16. St. Louis, MO
17. Austin, TX
18. Washington, DC
19. Sacramento, CA
20. Oakland, CA
21. Atlanta, GA
22. Fresno, CA
23. Tampa, FL
24. Nashville-Davidson, TN
25. Pittsburgh, PA

From Men’s Health:

In our exclusive 11th annual survey, a western city reached the top of the (ski) mountain, while a surprising sun-drenched Mecca needs to pull its head (and belly) out of the sand

For those familiar with the region, Salt Lake City’s selection as the Fittest City in America might not be much of a surprise. But even we were stunned when our Fattest City turned out to be 2,539 miles away from Salt Lake City, in Miami. Yes, Miami. Home of South Beach, with its images of tight bodies and scantily attired denizens. Yet despite a wide availability of local running and biking trails, Miamians are 35% less likely than the national average to actually use them.

This is just one of the many gaps between the Fittest and Fattest Cities in America. As we’ve done for more than a decade, MF collected and analyzed reams of data on the 50 most populated areas in the nation in an effort to determine just which cities take fitness the most seriously.

The Top FATTIES List:

1. Miami, FL
2. Oklahoma City, OK
3. San Antonio, TX
4. Las Vegas, NV
5. New York, NY
6. Houston, TX
7. El Paso, TX
8. Jacksonville, FL
9. Charlotte, NC
10. Louisville-Jefferson, KY
11. Memphis, TN
12. Detroit, MI
13. Chicago, IL
14. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
15. San Jose, CA
16. Tulsa, OK
17. Baltimore, MD
18. Columbus, OH
19. Raleigh, NC
20. Philadelphia, PA
21. L.A.-Long Beach, CA
22. Phoenix-Mesa, AZ
23. Indianapolis, IN
24. San Diego, CA
25. Kansas City, MO
~~~~~~

New York, as you can see, is on the chubby chaser list, and this after correctly avoiding the top 10 for the last 2 years. This is wack and easily disproven by visual interpretation of the populous and of course rational thought. Some of MH’s reasoning:

The local commute is much more oppressive than in most cities â€” 54 percent more oppressive than average, leaving less time to exercise and prepare healthy meals. – Comparatively commutes are just as long in the subways as they are in other cities but I don’t think this survey takes into account the stress relief it is, to not have to drive to work, figure out parking, gas, car maintenance etc. Plus we’re open to concentrate on personal time while we commute, read or add some sleep.
Our survey has found 87 percent fewer sporting-goods stores in New York than average an indicator of an inactive populace. – Another reason this survey is flawed. This is a walking city and given the considerable amount of open/park space for the largest population in the nation, a count of sports stores in the concrete jungle is not indicative of actual use/purchases. Did they check sales figures too?
New York has one pool for every 135,648 residents â€” 207 percent fewer than average in our survey. – This is a personal peeve of mine as well, but not only pool action but clean, warm beach action is very sparse in these parts. Just because we’re not in the pool showing off, doesn’t mean we’re not laying out in the park getting naked.

Here’s more of the FATTEST List and some detail on New York:

1. Miami, FL
2. Oklahoma City, OK
3. San Antonio, TX
4. Las Vegas, NV
5. New York, NY
6. Houston, TX
7. El Paso, TX
8. Jacksonville, FL
9. Charlotte, NC
10. Louisville-Jefferson, KY

Additional details of some of my favorite cities including NYC, also on the the 2009 veeter’s list:

#4 Las Vegas, NV (I guess there’s not enough anorexic strippers and crackheads in this town to counter balance out the fat lazy gamblers)

# Fitness Centers & Sport Stores: A-
# Nutrition: B-
# Sports Participation: F+
# TV Viewing: F
# Overweight/Sedentary: F+
# Junk Food: F
# Air Quality: C-
# Geography: B
# Commute: D+
# Parks & Open Space: D-
# City Rec Facilities: F+
# Access to Healthcare: F
# Motivation: C-
# Mayor & City Initiatives: C+
# State Obesity Initiatives: D+

#5 New York, NY

# Fitness Centers & Sport Stores: F – Do Duane Reade stores count?
# Nutrition: D – eh, there are way too many good restaurants here. People binge and purge.
# Sports Participation: D+
# TV Viewing: B – no one is home to watch TV
# Overweight/Sedentary: C-
# Junk Food: A – YES! not having a BB King or Taco Hell on every corner helps.
# Air Quality: C-
# Geography: F+
# Commute: F+ – again, I walk for a commute so how is this not healthy?
# Parks & Open Space: F – Note they didn’t review the link above = Fail
# City Rec Facilities: F+
# Access to Healthcare: F+ – I can attest to this one
# Motivation: B – If seeing a Victoria Secret model walk down the street every day is not motivation to get fit, I’m sure you can find you’re own here.
# Mayor & City Initiatives: C-
# State Obesity Initiatives: A

What’s Good
Fast food, widely implicated as a contributor to obesity, is less common in New York than most places in our survey. In a per capita comparison there are 73 percent fewer fast-food joints here than average.

New York has “snack tax” laws aimed at reducing obesity and improving nutrition.

New York is one of 28 states that participate in a CDC-sponsored program to reduce obesity and other chronic diseases.

New York has 78 percent fewer pizza places per capita than the average among cities in our survey (this is shocking – I guess they didn’t go into Brooklyn for this survey?).

Donuts are 68 percent less popular here than average (Hello! Dunkin Donuts > Starbucks here), according to a comparison of places where they are sold. New York has the 7th lowest number of donut outlets per capita in our survey.

Ice cream shops are 82 percent less popular in New York than average. (We have helado carts)

What’s Not
The local commute is much more oppressive than in most cities – 54 percent more oppressive than average, leaving less time to exercise and prepare healthy meals. Commuter stress may also raise levels of cortisol, a hormone linked to weight gain and other health problems. (It should be noted that many New Yorkers walk regularly during segments of their commute.)

New York has 1,800 municipal parks, among the fewest of any city on a per capita basis, according to our exclusive survey of municipal park departments. (WOW! so they went by number of parks, not by size. In that case shouldn’t Central and Prospect be 200 each?)

New York’s park acreage per capita is 79 percent lower than average and the 6th lowest in our survey. Research has found a connection between access to parks and green space and reduced obesity rates.

Health-food stores are rare in New York: There’s one for every 28,632 residents, nowhere near the national average of one store per 12,118 people.

Golfers are limited to 12 city-owned courses. Relative to population, that’s less than almost anywhere else we surveyed. (YES! TELL ME ABOUT IT -THIS SUCKS!)

Feel like hitting the public pool for a morning swim? Good luck finding one. New York has one pool for every 135,648 residents – 207 percent fewer than average in our survey.

There are 143 percent fewer tennis courts per capita here than average among cities in our survey. (YES! TELL ME ABOUT IT -THIS ALSO SUCKS!)

Our survey has found 87 percent fewer sporting-goods stores in New York than average an indicator of an inactive populace.

On a per capita basis, New York has 66 percent fewer gyms and health clubs than average, the 3rd lowest in our survey.