News is dead

[nrc]

The other day I went to a popular online news web page and found that every other story had been pushed below the virtual fold by news of Justin Bieber's arrest. Bieber stories dominated the page with multiple stories covering different angles including a piece on the other driver which breathlessly encouraged the reader to "check out his new single".

Most of the other major news outlets were just as bad. So I wanted to make a post about the shameful state of the so-called news media. But then I stopped because I didn't want it to become a thread about how this or that media outlet is just the propaganda arm of some political party. Then I saw this piece today and I can't help myself.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/24/andrea-mitchell-justin-bieber-nsa_n_4657934.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GH68bSJXGE8

So this is about shameful news media behavior unrelated to politics. Our so-called news media is fighting a losing battle against the blogosphere for the idiot demographic and hastening our spiral into idiocracy in the process.

[gjc2]

What they cover isn’t the problem as much as what they don’t.

To elaborate I would have to get political, so I’ll quote Forrest Gump “that’s all I have to say about that”

[nrc]

I would argue that there is only a finite amount of coverage that any media outlet can provide. So every decision about what to cover, and particularly what to prioritize as their top story, necessarily means that something else will not get covered or at least not get the attention that it deserves. Objective assessments of what is important news play a smaller and smaller role. They make decisions based on what will attract viewers.

[Elmo T]

Verizon FiOS picked up Al Jazeera America late last year. I'm spending an increasing amount of time watching this channel and thoroughly enjoying their coverage of events. Tired of the talking heads shouting at me.

{waves to NSA}

[TravelGal]

Theoretically the newspapers are the last bastion of reporting but that has been breached long ago in many cities. I just cancelled TravelMom's subscription to the Sunday Tampa Tribune when the lead headline for last Sunday was "Undersea caves attract both licensed and unlicensed divers." When I called on Monday I said I thought more might be happening in the world, or even in Tampa, than that. :shakehead:

[G.]

This is why I don't believe that newspapers are dead yet. I think they'll have a resurgence.



{shakes fist at technology and young punk kids}

[Gnam]

eyes & ears
--> neighbor
---> Town crier
----> printed word
-----> radio
------> movie news reels
-------> TV news
--------> internet
---------> 24 hour cable news
----------> twitter
-----------> google glass
------------> Borg/terminator implants

news is 90% gossip. Maybe the cyborgs will figure out a way to filter out the silliness.

Although, I guarantee there is a thread on a forum somewhere where someone is complaining that the anchor didn't interrupt the Congresswoman sooner. :gomer:

[Insomniac]

News died when people realized they could make a much, much bigger profit off "news". However, we still have nightly news and PBS. Be wise to stop equating cable news, CNN, Fox News, Headline News and MSNBC with actual news.

Hari Sreenivasan talking about the difference between PBS news and cable news: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-january-22-2014/hari-sreenivasan

(And no, I don't consider The Daily Show news.)

[Insomniac]

Verizon FiOS picked up Al Jazeera America late last year. I'm spending an increasing amount of time watching this channel and thoroughly enjoying their coverage of events. Tired of the talking heads shouting at me.

{waves to NSA}

I'd think that's the opposite of the people they'd want to watch. :)

[KLang]

(And no, I don't consider The Daily Show news.)

I've run across folks other places that consider it THE place for news. :shakehead:

[Dvdb]

Local NBC affiliate in St. Louis, under the guise of a school safety story, sent a non on-air reporter to the High School down the street from me. Reporter walks into the office, asks to speak to the Security Officer without identifying himself and is told they will page him. Meanwhile, he asks where the bathroom is, exits the office, and walks in the opposite direction of said restroom. School official tries to call his cell, no answer. Calls station, who will neither confirm nor deny he is an employee.

Long story short, school goes on lockdown.

Affiliate waits three days to issue an apology.

Apparently it is okay to create the news again, in the great footsteps of Hearst, et al.

I should probably note this is the same community where six (?) people were killed in a City Hall shooting several years ago.

[Andrew Longman]

Here's what's really dead about it. It is almost impossible to earn a living in journalism now.

Google my brother Phillip who has been in the biz since 1978, consulted and counsels to senators and administrations, written I think six books, is considered tops in his subject matter area and is sought out to speak on it around the world including dudes like Putin, has been a contributing editor for a major national news weekly, is on tv and radio as a pundit all the time, yet works for five different news orgs at once to afford health insurance and a safe retirement.

Look who has either left or been fired from the post and times in recent years. Look what Murdoch does to stay on top of competitors. Pretty simple. It is too hard to do the job well and truly in the public interest.

[nrc]

It's getting tough to earn a living in just about any content creation profession. Serving the idiot demographic means that the race to the bottom is accelerating. The idiot demographic can't tell the difference between a well researched, well written piece and a Facebook post and they're not willing to pay for content if they can get it for free, anyway.

[chop456]

Double. :gomer:

[chop456]

PBS News Hour is the only thing left resembling television news. There is nothing else worth watching.

The CBS affiliate in Chicago made an effort about 10 years ago to have one respected anchor do the entire 10PM broadcast. Weather and sports were each about a minute, and the rest was dedicated to actual journalism. It lasted 2-3 months. People are far too stupid to support something like that. Idiocracy, indeed.

"I was promised puppies stuck in a well!" :gomer:

[Napoleon]

I've run across folks other places that consider it THE place for news. :shakehead:

You do know 2 or 3 separate studies have been done as to how well a person is informed on current events corresponds to what "news" source the person watches, and for purpose of these studies TDS/Colbert have been in the mix, and TDS/Colbert have come out on top in the percentage of watchers who are informed in them. I will leave it to others to mention what news source is on the opposite end of that list, but I will mention that the highest ranked real news was NPR/PBS.

(and for the record, no I don't think TDS/Colbert are real news and yes if you think about it a minute or two there is a logical reason they would always score well in a study like this).

[Andrew Longman]

I think you refer to this from a fine NJ university :gomer:

http://publicmind.fdu.edu/2011/knowless/

http://publicmind.fdu.edu/2011/outfox/

Those studies showed the opposite end of the spectrum in news outlets actually results not only in people being uninformed but misinformed -- and worse so than people who claim to not watch news at all.

But they only sampled NJ residents so take it for what it is worth. I know first hand that you can't tell most people in Jersey anything. ;)

[TravelGal]

But they only sampled NJ residents so take it for what it is worth. I know first hand that you can't tell most people in Jersey anything. ;)

Reminds me of a tee shirt I used to wear: "You can always tell a Swede. But you can't tell 'em much."

[KLang]

Thought of this thread this morning. I turned on CNN while I was on the treadmill. First topic was an interview with 'Dennis Rodman live from rehab'. :saywhat: Turned the TV off....:yuck:

[cameraman]

Moving to to print journalism I present to you an editorial/advertisement for the Deseret News, the Utah newspaper owned by the LDS Church.


...The content is not exclusive to any Christian denomination; the information is universal to like-minded believers with common faith and family values.

“It’s colorful and has a magazine feel to it,” said Paul Edwards, editor of the Deseret News. “There is a real yearning for rigorous coverage of areas that matter to families. We go hard and deep with penetrating stories, such as: What are the long-term economic and social implications of fewer families? How do families protect their children against the effects of media violence? How has America’s long tradition of protecting religious conscience come under attack in recent years? These are award-winning stories that are now part of the subscription to the Deseret News.”

It bends my brain that they could be that clueless...