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I remember a journalism class where the teach kept drilling in us - Facts, facts, facts. That's all. Double and triple check accuracy. Nobody cares about your opinion. Nobody wants your slant. They just want to know the facts - that's your job. Give em the facts and let them make sense of it.
Now its ALL biased, slanted, half truths and full out lies. Its not news anymore. Its media. They aren't reporters anymore. They're writers. Journalist is a word of the past.
Seems the media is taking their clue from the brainiacs in hollywood - who, for some reason, we pay WAAAYY too much to for doing way too little. For every star - there's 100 more talented kids yet undiscovered - so why do we value these meatballs to the tune of millions of dollars for a few months work and allow them to purchase the media - formerly - the news?
You aren't saying anything new that hasn't been said since the days of McLuhan, but you are wrong to blame the media just like he was. Blaming the media ignores our own personal responsibility here. People should look at news sources critically. Unfortunately with the influx of clickbait and "fake news" sites, people will read a headline that makes them feel good about their own prejudices and roll with it instead of actually drilling down to the real news.
It's also important to realize that media outlets are businesses and they respond to what their viewers want/desire. That's also not anything new: research yellow journalism and the feud between Pulitzer and Hearst and you'll see. The Golden Age of journalism was very short lived compared to the total sum of the history of the field.
Essentially what it boils down to is that the media isn't a hypodermic needle. People have the ability to discern what is news and what isn't. The problem is they aren't because it's easier to pass the buck when they get fooled. It's just like those false internet memes that get passed around social media until finally someone fact checks them and points it out. Even then, people just believe whatever adheres to their own views.
The only way any of this will change is if we as consumers of news recognize our own roles in the downfall of journalism, and stop blaming "the media" for everything under the sun.
Why do I suddenly feel like I'm back in my master's Media Theory class posting on Moodle. Lol.
Just my opinion....All of our media has always been controlled by a small elite. It's gotten worse over the years, but it has always been true.
The amount of stuff that never makes it to the TV news or (online) newspapers is mind boggling. And the horror of what happens behind the scenes without the general public having a clue is also mind boggling--so mind boggling that most people don't believe it when they're told. Instead, they write you off as a crazy kook. I am here to tell you the truth really is stranger than fiction. If you really want to know, the information is out there....but you're never going to get it through any of the mainstream media outlets. You will have to sift through a lot of BS in the alternative media, but then the mainstream media is full of BS anyway, so happy sifting. Google & YouTube are your friends (well sort of, they're both now part of the established, controlling, elite, too....but use them while you can while the internet is still relatively "free").
There are plenty of places to start, but here's a reasonable starting point:
Personal opinions and snark have NO PLACE on the news. Unfortunately, with 24/7 Lying News channels, it's impossible to fill the time with truth, so they make up crap and give ugly commentary. I've completely stopped watching ABC and NBC. The tiny bit of the inauguration that I watched on ABC, which was less than 10 minutes, was beyond the pale and outright disgusting. I switched to CBS and it was decent.
Even now, days later, all they can talk about is crowd size and fashion. Pathetic beyond words.
Personal opinions and snark have NO PLACE on the news. Unfortunately, with 24/7 Lying News channels, it's impossible to fill the time with truth, so they make up crap and give ugly commentary. I've completely stopped watching ABC and NBC. The tiny bit of the inauguration that I watched on ABC, which was less than 10 minutes, was beyond the pale and outright disgusting. I switched to CBS and it was decent.
Even now, days later, all they can talk about is crowd size and fashion. Pathetic beyond words.
Like I said, we did this to ourselves. We wanted the quick sound bites and the flashy fluff pieces, and we got them.
Personal opinions and snark have NO PLACE on the news. Unfortunately, with 24/7 Lying News channels, it's impossible to fill the time with truth, so they make up crap and give ugly commentary. I've completely stopped watching ABC and NBC. The tiny bit of the inauguration that I watched on ABC, which was less than 10 minutes, was beyond the pale and outright disgusting. I switched to CBS and it was decent.
Even now, days later, all they can talk about is crowd size and fashion. Pathetic beyond words.
I find CBS to be just as bad. They can not just give the news. The broadcasters must slant it with their opinions. Interestingly my area is semirural and our local station broadcasting to all Red counties does not slant the news the same way which is done on the national news which follows it.
I remember a journalism class where the teach kept drilling in us - Facts, facts, facts. That's all. Double and triple check accuracy. Nobody cares about your opinion. Nobody wants your slant. They just want to know the facts - that's your job. Give em the facts and let them make sense of it.
Now its ALL biased, slanted, half truths and full out lies. Its not news anymore. Its media. They aren't reporters anymore. They're writers. Journalist is a word of the past.
Comment?
It slowly started in the 80s and just got worse and worse.
I took a journalism class way back when and they drummed into our heads there was no room for adjectives and adverbs in news stories. Period.
Look where we are now... now "news" includes hidden ads as well!!
Disgusting.
Like I said, we did this to ourselves. We wanted the quick sound bites and the flashy fluff pieces, and we got them.
I'm not sure why you quoted me. Maybe that's what you wanted. I certainly didn't. There's not much more revolting than a gaggle of so-called journalists giggling their way through a fluff piece, but if that's what you want, go for it. It's during those times I take the dog out for a crap.
Like I said, we did this to ourselves. We wanted the quick sound bites and the flashy fluff pieces, and we got them.
Here we have "anchors" and "personalities" reporting their version of the news. In other countries they have a "news reader" who just provides the facts without any editorializing or spin.
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Interestingly my area is semirural and our local station broadcasting to all Red counties does not slant the news the same way which is done on the national news which follows it.
