What's wrong with the media these days?

[Larry C in Texas]

As I was eating lunch yesterday in our cafeteria, the TV in there was tuned to CNN Headline News, as it normally is. I normally don't watch the TV, but the only vacant table was right by it. They were reporting at that time that a suspect in the Boston bombing had been arrested, and that he was being transported to the court house at that time. Obviously that turned out to be wrong. Whatever happened to verifying your information before you go on the airways? The media (and I'm lumping all of the media into this - Fox News is just as guilty as CNN who is just as guilty as AP or Reuters) seems obsessed with getting the story first, regardless of whether or not it's right. If it's wrong, well that's just the nature of the beast, they say. They are all so concerned with getting the scoop, and for what? No one will remember who reported what story first in a week's time. It just disgusts me, as someone that was a journalism major for a year in college (until I interned for a summer at a newspaper and found out what senior reporters made back then - Yikes!) and it was drilled into me to verify, verify, verify. Wow, how things have changed in 40 years!

Are things so competitive in that business today that accuracy has become a casualty? It makes me want to quit watching the news altogether and just watch reruns of Big Bang Theory. I never thought I would see the day that the weatherman has a better accuracy rate than the newsman.

 

[MrLara]

i used to watch the news only for the weather. Now that i can get the weather on my phone i don't watch it at all.

the reason i don't like watching the news is because there's too much negativity, nothing they report is ever positive.

 

[Relentless]

If you speak to these journalists they'll tell you that it's all because of the "24-hour" news cycle. Which is an excuse to be lazy in my book. Most of the information you can get off Twitter or Facebook is just as accurate (and just as important for that matter). Hell, it's probably where most "journalists" get their latest information from anyways.

 

[Hunter]

I'm not much for the counter-culture movement, but the media does like to keep us scared and a good many seem to like us confused. I usually avoid the news.

 

[Toothpick]

I'm with ya there. report it first=better ratings. they don't care bout nothing else.

emergency situations or breaking news is the only time i watch any form of media coverage ever. I just tune in to see what's going on then i tune out. I actually heard about the Boston Marathon here on B&B first....an hour after it happened.

 

[Doc4]

I'm with ya there. report it first=better ratings. they don't care bout nothing else.

... I actually heard about the Boston Marathon here on B&B first....an hour after it happened.

This is an example of why, in today's internet world, the traditional news outlets have to be (too) quick on the draw, to avoid becoming irrelevant. But unfortunately, in matching the speed of twitter, they also devolve to the reliability of twitter ... which is for the birds.

 

[Hunter]

Though on a side note, the HBO show The Newroom is an amazing if fictional example of what the news should be.

 

[Wingnut]

Guys, I'd just like to thank you all for not letting this thread devolve into political rant. More proof that the members of B&B are a very highly-evolved species. Bravo!

 

[Hunter]

Guys, I'd just like to thank you all for not letting this thread devolve into political rant. More proof that the members of B&B are a very highly-evolved species. Bravo!

Well I figured I edged up to the line but really the last thing I want to read is "Blarg so and so is an idiot, these guys are all jerks" so I assume that everyone else feels the same way.

 

[Doc4]

Well I figured I edged up to the line but really the last thing I want to read is "Blarg so and so is an idiot, these guys are all jerks" so I assume that everyone else feels the same way.

Yeah, but down in the States the whole "Station X is insanely biased, but good ol' Station Y is the voice of reason" back and forth gets a lot of traction. (Usually it seems to be Fox News and CNN getting slotted into the X & Y or the Y & X depending on the individual's political preference.)



Of course, up in Canada we have the "why do we have to watch the effing Leafs again?" vs. "go Leafs Nation" debate.

Kind of the same thing, but we get a few months off in the summer.

 

[Toothpick]

Though on a side note, the HBO show The Newroom is an amazing if fictional example of what the news should be.

The Newsroom was my first thought when I saw this thread. I love that show. Still dislike the media but all be darned if watching that show doesn't make me want to work there.

 

[Toothpick]

This is an example of why, in today's internet world, the traditional news outlets have to be (too) quick on the draw, to avoid becoming irrelevant. But unfortunately, in matching the speed of twitter, they also devolve to the reliability of twitter ... which is for the birds.

you make a good point.

 

[Go West Young Man]

You're confusing the two streams of news - the formal presentation of the nightly news broadcast/daily newspaper, where facts are checked and J-school standards still reign, and the 24/7 instant stream of cable news/blogs/online reports/etc. Those are delivered in real-time, and give you a better sense of breaking stories than you'd get otherwise, and details are updated as new info comes out.

 

[oc_in_fw]

80% of all media in this country is owned by 8 different corporations. We only hear the the in the way they want us to hear it. If you want it straight, read or watch BBC.

On edit: Don Henley with "Dirty Laundry" and the movie "Anchorman" got it right- we have nothing but talking heads anymore. If it isn't on the TelePrompTer then it doesn't exist. If Walter Kronkite were doing news today, they would run him out of town on a rail.

 

[Doc4]

If Walter Kronkite were doing news today, they would run him out of town on a rail.

Worse.

 

[auk1124]

If you want it straight, read or watch BBC.

Don't know about that, at least as far as "BBC America" goes. The talking head named Katty Kay (what kind of name is that?) is about as twisted as they come.

 

[mdevine]

When I was younger, I put a lot of faith in the integrity of the print and broadcast media, as well as in scientific studies, educators, clergy," respected" professions etc. Through the years, I've come to know many people in all of these fields. Somewhere along the way, I came to find that the people involved in these areas were, like myself, cursed with the same flaws, insecurities, fears and petty jealousies that afflict us all. While many put them aside and do outstanding work, there is nothing inherent in their fields that guarantees that no one will take shortcuts, do shoddy work or outright cheat or lie. I have experienced it personally when pressured to fudge data on a double blinded study that I was an investigator for. I now try to look at everything with a more skeptical eye; even more so if I've seen a pattern of deceptive work in the past (like most of the 24 hour news networks).

Mike

 

[Hunter]

BBC is usually better, but when I need a whole different perspective reading the Al Jazzier (SP?) english website does let you see other sides of a story from a different cultural view. Depending on where you work it may be frowned upon though...

 

[mretzloff]

Having been born in Germany, it is interesting how different media is the US. In Germany, the government owns the media channels. Because of this, news channels are not dependent on revenue that sensationalist headlines and "stories" generate. In the US, on the other hand, news channels are privately owned and depend heavily on revenue that stories like 9/11, the recent Boston bombing, various shootings, etc. generate. In Germany, stories are usually reported in a matter-of-fact way. This cuts out all of the hype that bombings and shootings cause.

This is not a pro- or anti-government rant or anything. Just some food for thought

 

[Relentless]

BBC is usually better, but when I need a whole different perspective reading the Al Jazzier (SP?) english website does let you see other sides of a story from a different cultural view. Depending on where you work it may be frowned upon though...

I've discovered this recently. It's true, for all my open-mindedness, it's still possible to be sucked into the vacuum of my regional thinking. It does at least allow for a broader perspective, regardless if I feel the same way as the writer.