"Rarely will a day go by when Cenk Uyger isn't going off on some endless, bombastic tirade about how stupid something in the world is while acting like Bill O'Reilly and Alex Jones are crazy fools for essentially doing the same thing. It becomes "The Cenk Show" at that point. His co-anchors can barely get a word in edgewise, hard as they try. God help you if you aren't one who fawns over Cenk's hot-bloodedness, lest you wish to be smashed over and over again by his adoring fanbase. He rubs off on his intelligent young partners such as Ana Kasparian and John Iadarola, as they too often resort to mocking and making wild assumptions."
You seem to be making the common mistake of confusing content with tone. Just because two people both go on loud bombastic tirades doesn't mean they're comparable. Cenk Uyger goes off on tirades against things that are worth being angry over such as bigotry or laws that prevent government from helping the poor. In contrast, Bill O'Riely has gone on tirades over the existence of atheist signs next to Ten Commandments signs on government property (in other words, he's angry about basic fairness and equality). Whereas Young Turks is angry about bigotry and injustice and mocks people who support those things, Fox News is angry about the existence of people who don't have the same religious beliefs and the fact that us non-Christians dare to stand up for out rights and not hide in the closet and let ourselves get pushed around by people who think the same way Fox News does. Fox News mocks people for being different from themselves, Young Turks mocks people for being bigots.
In other words, Fox News is like your average school bully while Young Turks is like class clown who uses comedy to stand up to the bully. Young Turks has its flaws and it isn't always fair, but their hearts are in the right place and they are much, much, much, MUCH better than Fox News.
You seem to have made the same mistake TYT so often makes which is making assumptions. You also kind of proved my point about the fanbase.
I never said their hearts weren't in the right place, nor did I claim that their content was the same as Fox. They're only comparable to Fox in that they annoy me more than they enlighten me. Even their headlines reek of bias.
Much as I respect Cenk Uyger's knowledge and nerve, he grinds my gears. More Ben Mankiewicz!
Just not feeling it, which is the gist of my flagrant review.
"You seem to have made the same mistake TYT so often makes which is making assumptions."
What assumptions did I make?
"You also kind of proved my point about the fanbase."
I'm sorry. I didn't mean to come off as being aggressive towards you. It just seemed to me like you were conflating tone with content and it frustrates me when people do that.
"I never said their hearts weren't in the right place, nor did I claim that their content was the same as Fox."
I'm sorry I misunderstood. I guess I'm confused about what you were trying to say if you weren't saying their content was the same as Fox, since you wrote thinks like "like Fox News, The Young Turks is predominantly devoted to ridiculing the opposing side" and "While it may be better than Fox, it isn't that different".
"They're only comparable to Fox in that they annoy me more than they enlighten me."
I guess I don't understand why you picked Fox News as the comparison, then. Would you also compare TYT or Fox to a high-pitched screeching sound since that annoys most people and doesn't enlighten them? I'm not trying to sound angry, just trying to understand.
"Even their headlines reek of bias."
I guess I'll have to disagree. Their headlines sound opinionated compared to mainstream news, but I think usually they're just telling the objective truth (headlines that say "politician x is corrupt" when they're talking about a politician who's taken bribes, for example, or "disgusting pastor calls for genocide" when they're talking about a pastor who calls for the killing of gays).
"Much as I respect Cenk Uyger's knowledge and nerve, he grinds my gears. More Ben Mankiewicz! Just not feeling it, which is the gist of my flagrant review."
Eh, that's a matter of personal taste, I guess. I didn't mean to be a Jerkass to you, so I'm sorry. I guess I get defensive about TYT because they strike me as among very few people willing to call out morally reprehensible things that most of our society just goes along with. It seemed like your review was saying they're hypocrites just because they're angry while mocking Fox for being angry, but if I understand your response correctly, you're saying that wasn't actually what you were saying. I guess I'm confused about what you were saying, then. Sorry again!
You weren't a Jerkass, though I can see how you might think that's what I thought based on my reply to your comment. You are just stating your opinions, which is exactly what I was doing. Unfortunately, I am not always good at defining precisely why I find something appealing or unappealing.
You are right in that my review is basically conflating content with tone (which it seems is also why we ourselves are at an impasse). I feel the way the two conflate or blend is often very significant in getting a message across, especially written messages. I personally don't like the way the principal turks (Cenk, Ana, sometimes Jon) deliver the news, with their endless bad jokes and righteous indignation on the most minute sort of news (tabloid type shit). It's not really their fault, I don't like how people who deliver then news deliver the news. As someone who grew up watching his parents struggle to run an honest newspaper (of which I now work) in what is basically a community of Corrupt Hicks, I have a bit of a natural disliking of news that I am just starting to get over.
I picked Fox News as the comparison because the review posted before mine was titled Fox News for Liberals, which I disagreed with but only slightly. Also because Fox is the news entity that's probably most well known for its extremely fierce right-wing conservatism, much like TYT is probably the biggest news outlet for extremely fierce left-wing liberalism (that I know of, at least). Since I see them as each other's Foil, judging from what I've seen of both, I came to the conclusion that, while TYT is obviously a better news source than Fox, they are Not So Different.
Once again, this is just how I feel. I respect what they do, but I am especially critical of anything I respect. Sometimes that leads me to find flaws that I myself can't ignore, thus making me not want to listen to a lot of their videos. I know that "they just piss me off" is not a good reason to not watch a deservedly reputable show, but it's all I got.
Hope this clarifies things somewhat. If not, I'd be happy to elaborate some more. As much as I could, at least.
Fox News is actually a Republican mouth piece, rather than a Conservative (or even Libertarian) one. In fact, it's actually more of a mirror image of CNN than of MSNBC.
A closer counter-part to TYT (an independent conservative news source to an independent liberal news source) would be Glenn Beck's "The Blaze" or Pajamas Media (PJTV or PJ media).
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Better than Fox, but not by much
There can be no denying that the people on TYT are all well-educated, well-spoken and well-intentioned, but it doesn't change the fact that they aren't the Anti-Fox News, if you get what I mean.
While TYT definitely care a great deal more about socio-political justice and common sense than a lot of mainstream news networks do, they aren't as hip or cool or different as they'd like to appear. As a progressive person, I feel the information they provide is not worth the effort it takes to acquire it.
Like Fox News, The Young Turks is predominantly devoted to ridiculing the opposing side (or just anyone they find to be more ridiculous than themselves) ad nauseam. Rarely will a day go by when Cenk Uyger isn't going off on some endless, bombastic tirade about how stupid something in the world is while acting like Bill O'Reilly and Alex Jones are crazy fools for essentially doing the same thing. It becomes "The Cenk Show" at that point. His co-anchors can barely get a word in edgewise, hard as they try.
God help you if you aren't one who fawns over Cenk's hot-bloodedness, lest you wish to be smashed over and over again by his adoring fanbase.
He rubs off on his intelligent young partners such as Ana Kasparian and John Iadarola, as they too often resort to mocking and making wild assumptions. Though, they can at least have coherent discussions on topics with multiple people (ya know, when Cenk isn't ranting).
I let it pass when it has to do with politics, but it ceases to be a credible news source when they start getting into the kind of shit you expect to find on TMZ and Oprah, all presented with the same mockery and indignation. And it's pretty obvious whenever they're talking out of their depth, illustrating the privileged liberal bubble they're living in without even realizing it.
I know a lot of people eat this shit up, love hearing someone get red in the face over messed up right wing bullshit (why else would they keep doing it). Being the son of two very liberal newspaper owners, I prefer more reporting and questioning than snarking and assuming.
While it may be better than Fox, it isn't that different. The only real difference is that they almost always have the moral high ground over Fox. Won't stop them from abusing it, though. TYT makes Liberalism seem as biased and unappealing as Fox does Conservatism.