AJAB
- Thread starter The Wooster
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A Leveson Enquiry for the US media?
One of the biggest problems that I've personally seen is that, unlike the BBC (even with it's flaws), there are no news outlets in the United States that are required to remain balanced.
Or in other words, an outlet without an axe to grind.
On another, related, note: highlighting that any individual consumes one piece of media over another is ignorant and bad journalism.
One of the biggest problems that I've personally seen is that, unlike the BBC (even with it's flaws), there are no news outlets in the United States that are required to remain balanced.
Or in other words, an outlet without an axe to grind.
On another, related, note: highlighting that any individual consumes one piece of media over another is ignorant and bad journalism.
Indeed a people has the media it's willing to pay for.
If everyone expects media that is neither tax funded nor cost anything to use, then it'll be funded through advertisement... and consequently subservient to all kinds of auxiliary commercial interests. That which draws in the crowd draws in the ad revenue, and one can hardly expect journalists to not do what they can to keep themselves employed.
You want serious news coverage free of sensationalism/sponsor soft censorship? Well, it's going to cost you: Either in the form of some taxation to a publicly funded news station, or pulling out the money of your own pocket, to pay the price required to keep it in business with such editorial policy. Nothing in life is free.
If everyone expects media that is neither tax funded nor cost anything to use, then it'll be funded through advertisement... and consequently subservient to all kinds of auxiliary commercial interests. That which draws in the crowd draws in the ad revenue, and one can hardly expect journalists to not do what they can to keep themselves employed.
You want serious news coverage free of sensationalism/sponsor soft censorship? Well, it's going to cost you: Either in the form of some taxation to a publicly funded news station, or pulling out the money of your own pocket, to pay the price required to keep it in business with such editorial policy. Nothing in life is free.
After a whole day of watching Charlie Brooker's various digs at TV, this really did make me chuckle, which isn't something I do a lot...
I'm pretty sure that's where the news is actually going though... Each source gets more sensationalist every time there's any kind of tragedy like this. The next step is sacking all the reporters, and just carrying a camera around the town and asking their opinions... next, they start having to guess which news story is correct, then they get to put a pound in the Sky News "Caribbean Tsunami" Pinball machine for a chance to win up to £10,000!
...how else are they going to pander to the masses of idiots (that are apparently my age group) in the future?
I'm pretty sure that's where the news is actually going though... Each source gets more sensationalist every time there's any kind of tragedy like this. The next step is sacking all the reporters, and just carrying a camera around the town and asking their opinions... next, they start having to guess which news story is correct, then they get to put a pound in the Sky News "Caribbean Tsunami" Pinball machine for a chance to win up to £10,000!
...how else are they going to pander to the masses of idiots (that are apparently my age group) in the future?
Thank you.
The "real" news world only seems to be getting worse by the day.
I am glad to find some sanctuary on the Escapist.
The "real" news world only seems to be getting worse by the day.
I am glad to find some sanctuary on the Escapist.
A Leveson Inquiry for the US media would produce a report weighing roughly the same as an average family sedan. I fear they're well past the point of no return by now.Chrono212 said:
The quote, which was supposed to be "Morgan Freeman"s response to the cause of the recent school shooting is as followsNinjaDeathSlap said:
"You want to know why. This may sound cynical, but here's why. It's because of the way the media reports it. Flip on the news and watch how we treat the Batman theater shooter and the Oregon mall shooter like celebrities. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris are household names, but do you know the name of a single *victim* of Columbine? Disturbed people who would otherwise just off themselves in their basements see the news and want to top it by doing something worse, and going out in a memorable way. Why a grade school? Why children? Because he?ll be remembered as a horrible monster, instead of a sad nobody.
CNN?s article says that if the body count ?holds up?, this will rank as the second deadliest shooting behind Virginia Tech, as if statistics somehow make one shooting worse than another. Then they post a video interview of third-graders for all the details of what they saw and heard while the shootings were happening. Fox News has plastered the killer?s face on all their reports for hours. Any articles or news stories yet that focus on the victims and ignore the killer?s identity? None that I?ve seen yet. Because they don?t sell. So congratulations, sensationalist media, you?ve just lit the fire for someone to top this and knock off a day care center or a maternity ward next.
You can help by forgetting you ever read this man?s name, and remembering the name of at least one victim. You can help by donating to mental health research instead of pointing to gun control as the problem. You can help by turning off the news.?
CNN?s article says that if the body count ?holds up?, this will rank as the second deadliest shooting behind Virginia Tech, as if statistics somehow make one shooting worse than another. Then they post a video interview of third-graders for all the details of what they saw and heard while the shootings were happening. Fox News has plastered the killer?s face on all their reports for hours. Any articles or news stories yet that focus on the victims and ignore the killer?s identity? None that I?ve seen yet. Because they don?t sell. So congratulations, sensationalist media, you?ve just lit the fire for someone to top this and knock off a day care center or a maternity ward next.
You can help by forgetting you ever read this man?s name, and remembering the name of at least one victim. You can help by donating to mental health research instead of pointing to gun control as the problem. You can help by turning off the news.?
This deserves a lot more attention. The problem isn't that the weapon of choice is prolific, it's that coverage like this makes the murderer into an anti-hero, glorified through notoriety for weeks on end. There will always be people with enough evil in their hearts to follow suit, and the promise of fame grows with each event.WaitWHAT said:
On a side note, and despite the controversy, i have to say this. The killer went to an area filled with the weak and the helpless. What if they weren't? Should complexes that gather together the most vulnerable aspects of our society have no defense against assault?
I get both sides of the gun controversy, so I'll ask this. When has legal prohibition ever made something disappear?