MSNBC, CNN, FOX all crank out less then news items and show little care for fact checking or balance. Someplace along the lines Truth took second place to ratings.
When you have to fill 24 hours a day with news in this format you need to have filler and the path of least resistance appears to be Hollywood Train wrecks.
Worse then that, when you trivialize information everything gives the appearance of having the same weight. You will see that Angelina Jolie's babies are 'cute' right next to Iran's nuclear talks.
The mistakes, the opinion, the editorial, the snarkyness, and the arrogance really makes me wonder if this industry should be regulated by the government for quality and fairness....
9 comments:
Or, turn off your TV
It doesn't need government regulation. The government has its nose all up in my business as it is.
What Journalism needs is competition. Most small media is owned by giant media (Gannett, Time-Warner, GE, etc.) and when you own the competition, you don't need to provide a quality product; you just need to make more money than the other guys. It really is all about the Bottom Dollar. God bless Capitalism.
The saddest part is there are so many journalists who want to write fair and accurate stories ... but aren't given that opportunity by their employers.
There are other channels. Like Cartoon Network for example.
I think tv news is often on par with "reality tv". Way too much spin and political control. It's not news, it's a commercial.
But I think Steve is right. Since Battle Bots and Star Trek went off the air, there's not much to look at.
My mother in law ONLY watches the Weather Channel and Fox news. Sit coms "move to fast" for her.
Years ago, I did some "Historical Consulting" for the film First Night. I gave them very detailed (anal retentive) information. I was told something that I think applies to the news as well: "it doesn't have to be true, just believable".
Besides, Nuclear talks can be cute too.
The Government regulation bit was sarcasm. Anything the goverment steps in to Fix, doesnt get fixed, it gets worse.
The media is touting Government run Health Care, and some are rumbling about government run energy.
People are not dumb, they see through the pap at some point and the decline of viewers is a sign of that.
I recently got a chance to visit with some kids going to Collage, I asked journalism major, why he was going that direction his reply.
"Journalists birng about change in the world" hmmm, isnt that an activist??
Yes, "bringing about change" is the number one reason get into journalism. You know, to right the wrongs, stand up for the little guy, bring down those evil corporations. In short, journalism predominately attracts liberals, and their worldview creeps into all aspects of reporting.
Oh, People. Are you all conservative Republicans now? *sigh*
Admittedly, journalism today is a joke, but your statements, Shoe, are incredibly generalized, naive and simplistic. It's just much more involved than "those damn liberals are responsible for everything we watch in the news." For starters, those "evil corporations" RUN the media.
I seem to recall some of *you* were idealistic, once. What happened to that? You're all more cynical than even I am now, for crying out loud ...
Yeah, and they used to be such nice people too...
I am a registered Republican and a conservative. Also, I am very optimistic about the world. It just keeps on getting better.
I am cynical about the media and those that think Government can solve social problems.
I'm a somewhat conservative Democrat.
I think most welfare programs don't work and need to be completely changed or removed.
I'm against gun control and for gun safety.
I'm against the death penalty (until they perfect the prosecution process, I can't be in favor of this, but we shouldn't be footing the bill for prisoners, either).
I'm pro-choice.
I don't want religion taught in public schools. That's what churches do.
And, I am a realist with a positive attitude, but I think the world keeps getting worse. I'm hopeful that Obama will bring us the real change we so desperately need.
Post a Comment