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This might seem like a strange topic for an economist, but economics is really just about behavior. An older U of C economist named Gary S. Becker (1992 Nobel Laureate and true genius) pioneered this kind of application of economics to everything from racism to education.
Genzkow used 'big data' to try to figure out whether media providers were trying to maximize revenue like any other business (ice cream companies is the example he seems to like) or whether something else was going on to cause media bias. He concluded that indeed, media is profit-driven. At least that was the gist I got from the interview of him I heard.
I think we're going to here much more of this in the coming years. When I studied economics decades ago it struck me that the theory was very well developed but that there was a dearth of data. Observation is critical in the scientific method. 'Big data,' smart phones, and computers are going to revolutionize economics, and perhaps politics in turn. We always hear about the doom&gloom; here is maybe some good news and reason for optimism for a change.
I didn't realize that right-wingers and conservatives trusted anyone or anything associated with higher education.
Seriously? You missed a whole litany of conservative/right wing academics from Friedman to Becker to Sowell; historians like Paul Johnson, and many others. Academia is not yet a monoculture, although many are trying to make it so.
Actually, his research doesn't confirm a "left" or "right" wing bias per se. What it shows is that media companies shape the news content to meet their audience. I find this sad and disturbing, since it makes facts subservient to opinion, makes neutral analysis (not false equivalency, mind you) subservient to punditry.
Seriously? You missed a whole litany of conservative/right wing academics from Friedman to Becker to Sowell; historians like Paul Johnson, and many others. Academia is not yet a monoculture, although many are trying to make it so.
Guess you missed the constant bitching and complaining about how academia is hostile to conservatives and that there is no way a conservative can get hired by a university.
Guess you missed the constant bitching and complaining about how academia is hostile to conservatives and that there is no way a conservative can get hired by a university.
I didn't. Academia is generally hostile to conservatism; I don't think any sane person would deny that. AUM intimated that conservatism is hostile to academia, and that is clearly not the case. See the difference?
This might seem like a strange topic for an economist, but economics is really just about behavior. An older U of C economist named Gary S. Becker (1992 Nobel Laureate and true genius) pioneered this kind of application of economics to everything from racism to education.
Genzkow used 'big data' to try to figure out whether media providers were trying to maximize revenue like any other business (ice cream companies is the example he seems to like) or whether something else was going on to cause media bias. He concluded that indeed, media is profit-driven. At least that was the gist I got from the interview of him I heard.
I think we're going to here much more of this in the coming years. When I studied economics decades ago it struck me that the theory was very well developed but that there was a dearth of data. Observation is critical in the scientific method. 'Big data,' smart phones, and computers are going to revolutionize economics, and perhaps politics in turn. We always hear about the doom&gloom; here is maybe some good news and reason for optimism for a change.
Fascinating. Now, where are the usual C-D suspects who continually whine about "media bias" no matter how often we lefties try to point out the incredibly obvious that they're really just, you know, profit-driven, like any good capitalist company.
I've never understood how those who worship corporations could overlook this simple truth when it comes to this particular set of corporations.
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