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Don't Trust Mainstream Media
Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2022 6:55 pm
by Col Hogan
This one is from Kalm’s favorite news boy…and it’s a doosey…and one the same day CNN lays off lots of folks including Chris Cilliza…
Call it the “audience-optimization” model: instead of starting with a story and following the facts, you start with what pleases your audience, and work backward to the story. In this system, the overwhelming majority of national media organizations cater to one “side” or the other. For instance, according to a Pew Center survey from a few years ago, 93% of Fox’s audience votes Republican, while in an exactly mirroring phenomenon, MSNBC’s audience is 95% Democratic.
Our colleagues on the other side tonight represent two once-great media organizations. Michelle, the Pew survey says the audience for your New York Times is now 91% comprised of Democrats. Malcolm, the last numbers I could find for the New Yorker were back in 2012, and even then, only 9% of the magazine’s readers were Republicans. I imagine that number is smaller now.
This bifurcated system is fundamentally untrustworthy. When you decide in advance to forego half of your potential audience, to fulfill the aim of catering to the other half, you’re choosing in advance which facts to emphasize and which to downplay. You’re also choosing which stories to cover, and which ones to avoid, based on considerations other than truth or newsworthiness.
This is not journalism. It’s political entertainment, and therefore unreliable.
https://taibbi.substack.com/p/be-it-res ... dium=email
Re: Don't Trust Mainstream Media
Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2022 9:40 pm
by SDHornet
Re: Don't Trust Mainstream Media
Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2022 6:55 am
by kalm
Col Hogan wrote: ↑Thu Dec 01, 2022 6:55 pm
This one is from Kalm’s favorite news boy…and it’s a doosey…and one the same day CNN lays off lots of folks including Chris Cilliza…
Call it the “audience-optimization” model: instead of starting with a story and following the facts, you start with what pleases your audience, and work backward to the story. In this system, the overwhelming majority of national media organizations cater to one “side” or the other. For instance, according to a Pew Center survey from a few years ago, 93% of Fox’s audience votes Republican, while in an exactly mirroring phenomenon, MSNBC’s audience is 95% Democratic.
Our colleagues on the other side tonight represent two once-great media organizations. Michelle, the Pew survey says the audience for your New York Times is now 91% comprised of Democrats. Malcolm, the last numbers I could find for the New Yorker were back in 2012, and even then, only 9% of the magazine’s readers were Republicans. I imagine that number is smaller now.
This bifurcated system is fundamentally untrustworthy. When you decide in advance to forego half of your potential audience, to fulfill the aim of catering to the other half, you’re choosing in advance which facts to emphasize and which to downplay. You’re also choosing which stories to cover, and which ones to avoid, based on considerations other than truth or newsworthiness.
This is not journalism. It’s political entertainment, and therefore unreliable.
https://taibbi.substack.com/p/be-it-res ... dium=email
This is a solid piece. He’s right in that it isn’t particularly new (Father Coughlin had 30 million weekly listeners… William Randolph Hearst, Pulitzer and yellow journalism, etc.) 2022 air strikes in Poland meet turn of the 20th century Cuba.
I particularly agree with this obvious sentiment:
“This is not journalism. It’s political entertainment, and therefore unreliable.”
Reading between the lines/critical thinking are skill sets that we as Americans could improve on.
I’d genuinely like to see who Taibbi reads for information. There’s still good journalism out there but it’s being drowned by corporatism and the sheer volume of sources.
Re: Don't Trust Mainstream Media
Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2022 7:01 am
by houndawg
Col Hogan wrote: ↑Thu Dec 01, 2022 6:55 pm
This one is from Kalm’s favorite news boy…and it’s a doosey…and one the same day CNN lays off lots of folks including Chris Cilliza…
Call it the “audience-optimization” model: instead of starting with a story and following the facts, you start with what pleases your audience, and work backward to the story. In this system, the overwhelming majority of national media organizations cater to one “side” or the other. For instance, according to a Pew Center survey from a few years ago, 93% of Fox’s audience votes Republican, while in an exactly mirroring phenomenon, MSNBC’s audience is 95% Democratic.
Our colleagues on the other side tonight represent two once-great media organizations. Michelle, the Pew survey says the audience for your New York Times is now 91% comprised of Democrats. Malcolm, the last numbers I could find for the New Yorker were back in 2012, and even then, only 9% of the magazine’s readers were Republicans. I imagine that number is smaller now.
This bifurcated system is fundamentally untrustworthy. When you decide in advance to forego half of your potential audience, to fulfill the aim of catering to the other half, you’re choosing in advance which facts to emphasize and which to downplay. You’re also choosing which stories to cover, and which ones to avoid, based on considerations other than truth or newsworthiness.
This is not journalism. It’s political entertainment, and therefore unreliable.
https://taibbi.substack.com/p/be-it-res ... dium=email
Have you tried the BBC? They aren't perfect but they do a much better job than almost everybody in the US.
Re: Don't Trust Mainstream Media
Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2022 7:25 am
by GannonFan
kalm wrote: ↑Fri Dec 02, 2022 6:55 am
This is a solid piece. He’s right in that it isn’t particularly new (Father Coughlin had 30 million weekly listeners… William Randolph Hearst, Pulitzer and yellow journalism, etc.) 2022 air strikes in Poland meet turn of the 20th century Cuba.
I particularly agree with this obvious sentiment:
“This is not journalism. It’s political entertainment, and therefore unreliable.”
Reading between the lines/critical thinking are skill sets that we as Americans could improve on.
I’d genuinely like to see who Taibbi reads for information. There’s still good journalism out there but it’s being drowned by corporatism and the sheer volume of sources.
Father Coughlin - I got bounced in a geography/history bee in 9th grade when I couldn't come up with Father Coughlin as the answer. Didn't know who he was before then but will always remember now. Same with the capital of Uganda (Kampala) - missed that on a Jeopardy test.
While I don't think yellow journalism is a new thing, there's no doubt that we've swung much more into the direction of yellow journalism over the past 20 years. There were issues back then, but the Cronkite years to the Peter Jennings years were a far more objective period of journalism than we are seeing today. But maybe that objective period was more of the anomaly - in this country, practically everything until the 1900's was partisan journalism.
Re: Don't Trust Mainstream Media
Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2022 7:30 am
by kalm
GannonFan wrote: ↑Fri Dec 02, 2022 7:25 am
kalm wrote: ↑Fri Dec 02, 2022 6:55 am
This is a solid piece. He’s right in that it isn’t particularly new (Father Coughlin had 30 million weekly listeners… William Randolph Hearst, Pulitzer and yellow journalism, etc.) 2022 air strikes in Poland meet turn of the 20th century Cuba.
I particularly agree with this obvious sentiment:
“This is not journalism. It’s political entertainment, and therefore unreliable.”
Reading between the lines/critical thinking are skill sets that we as Americans could improve on.
I’d genuinely like to see who Taibbi reads for information. There’s still good journalism out there but it’s being drowned by corporatism and the sheer volume of sources.
Father Coughlin - I got bounced in a geography/history bee in 9th grade when I couldn't come up with Father Coughlin as the answer. Didn't know who he was before then but will always remember now. Same with the capital of Uganda (Kampala) - missed that on a Jeopardy test.
While I don't think yellow journalism is a new thing, there's no doubt that we've swung much more into the direction of yellow journalism over the past 20 years. There were issues back then, but the Cronkite years to the Peter Jennings years were a far more objective period of journalism than we are seeing today. But maybe that objective period was more of the anomaly - in this country, practically everything until the 1900's was partisan journalism.
Truth.
And the other threat is legacy media and political access. The bubble. Alt journalism has its place but it too requires healthy skepticism and searching.
Re: Don't Trust Mainstream Media
Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2022 7:38 am
by Winterborn
kalm wrote: ↑Fri Dec 02, 2022 6:55 am
This is a solid piece. He’s right in that it isn’t particularly new (Father Coughlin had 30 million weekly listeners… William Randolph Hearst, Pulitzer and yellow journalism, etc.) 2022 air strikes in Poland meet turn of the 20th century Cuba.
I particularly agree with this obvious sentiment:
“This is not journalism. It’s political entertainment, and therefore unreliable.”
Reading between the lines/critical thinking are skill sets that we as Americans could improve on.
I’d genuinely like to see who Taibbi reads for information. There’s still good journalism out there but it’s being drowned by corporatism, ideology, and the sheer volume of sources.
FYP
Re: Don't Trust Mainstream Media
Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2022 7:46 am
by kalm
Winterborn wrote: ↑Fri Dec 02, 2022 7:38 am
kalm wrote: ↑Fri Dec 02, 2022 6:55 am
This is a solid piece. He’s right in that it isn’t particularly new (Father Coughlin had 30 million weekly listeners… William Randolph Hearst, Pulitzer and yellow journalism, etc.) 2022 air strikes in Poland meet turn of the 20th century Cuba.
I particularly agree with this obvious sentiment:
“This is not journalism . It’s political entertainment, and therefore unreliable.”
Reading between the lines/critical thinking are skill sets that we as Americans could improve on.
I’d genuinely like to see who Taibbi reads for information. There’s still good journalism out there but it’s being drowned by corporatism, ideology, and the sheer volume of sources.
FYP
I’ll allow it.
Re: Don't Trust Mainstream Media
Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2022 7:46 am
by Winterborn
kalm wrote: ↑Fri Dec 02, 2022 7:46 am
I’ll allow it.
Re: Don't Trust Mainstream Media
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 8:01 am
by Col Hogan
If you read the link in the original post, you know that it was Mike Taibbi’s opening statement at a debate held in Toronto…the topic was “Don’t trust the media vs Trust the media”
The audience was polled prior to the debate, and it was 48% on the Don’t trust the media side, with 52% on the trust media side…
After the debate, they were surveyed again, with a 39 point swing towards the Don’t Trust the Media side…
https://news.yahoo.com/matt-taibbi-doug ... 19037.html
Re: Don't Trust Mainstream Media
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 8:26 am
by SeattleGriz
It's why I gave up any sort of mainstream news over five years ago. Started following an old school journalist's blog and he was always pointing out the bias problems with mainstream stories so I kept looking for alternative news sources and found blogs that discuss the days topics. I shake my head at some of the time these people put into a blog. Watch a 2 hour YouTube video so they can talk about a topic on their blog, etc.
I'm on record in the RussiaGate thread as saying that was how I was going to follow the story. What has been interesting is how one naturally gravitates towards their bias. Noticed that pretty quickly when someone I was reading was following/reading a source I also was following/reading. Got me to thinking I was simply reinforcing my confirmation bias!
Re: Don't Trust Mainstream Media
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 8:32 am
by kalm
Col Hogan wrote: ↑Sat Dec 03, 2022 8:01 am
If you read the link in the original post, you know that it was Mike Taibbi’s opening statement at a debate held in Toronto…the topic was “Don’t trust the media vs Trust the media”
The audience was polled prior to the debate, and it was 48% on the Don’t trust the media side, with 52% on the trust media side…
After the debate, they were surveyed again, with a 39 point swing towards the Don’t Trust the Media side…
https://news.yahoo.com/matt-taibbi-doug ... 19037.html
I wonder what it would be like now after Taibbi and Musk’s turd of a thread on Hunter Biden?
Re: Don't Trust Mainstream Media
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 10:49 am
by UNI88
kalm wrote:Col Hogan wrote: ↑Sat Dec 03, 2022 8:01 am
If you read the link in the original post, you know that it was Mike Taibbi’s opening statement at a debate held in Toronto…the topic was “Don’t trust the media vs Trust the media”
The audience was polled prior to the debate, and it was 48% on the Don’t trust the media side, with 52% on the trust media side…
After the debate, they were surveyed again, with a 39 point swing towards the Don’t Trust the Media side…
https://news.yahoo.com/matt-taibbi-doug ... 19037.html
I wonder what it would be like now after Taibbi and Musk’s turd of a thread on Hunter Biden?
Do you doubt the veracity of Taibbi’s reporting or do you think it’s a molehill?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Re: Don't Trust Mainstream Media
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 11:59 am
by kalm
UNI88 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 03, 2022 10:49 am
kalm wrote:
I wonder what it would be like now after Taibbi and Musk’s turd of a thread on Hunter Biden?
Do you doubt the veracity of Taibbi’s reporting or do you think it’s a molehill?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
IE: the Biden campaign asked Twitter to remove tweets of Hunter’s dick pics. (Both parties make similar requests) There really wasn’t anything otherwise new or as Elon suggests threatening freedom of speech. The Trump administration was in charge of the government at that time.
Re: Don't Trust Mainstream Media
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 12:20 pm
by UNI88
kalm wrote: ↑Sat Dec 03, 2022 11:59 am
UNI88 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 03, 2022 10:49 am
Do you doubt the veracity of Taibbi’s reporting or do you think it’s a molehill?
IE: the Biden campaign asked Twitter to remove tweets of Hunter’s dick pics. (Both parties make similar requests) There really wasn’t anything otherwise new or as Elon suggests threatening freedom of speech. The Trump administration was in charge of the government at that time.
This is about more than dick picks. Focusing on that point is a deflection to avoid real issues/concerns.
Yes, both sides make similar requests but which side has more access to make those requests and sympathetic ears considering the requests?
You clutch your pearls about threats to our Republic but think this is no big deal?
The First Amendment isn't absolute? That statement and people in power who truly believe it are a greater threat to the future of our Republic than trump and anything he said or did.
Re: Don't Trust Mainstream Media
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 1:49 pm
by kalm
UNI88 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 03, 2022 12:20 pm
kalm wrote: ↑Sat Dec 03, 2022 11:59 am
IE: the Biden campaign asked Twitter to remove tweets of Hunter’s dick pics. (Both parties make similar requests) There really wasn’t anything otherwise new or as Elon suggests threatening freedom of speech. The Trump administration was in charge of the government at that time.
This is about more than dick picks. Focusing on that point is a deflection to avoid real issues/concerns.
Yes, both sides make similar requests but which side has more access to make those requests and sympathetic ears considering the requests?
You clutch your pearls about threats to our Republic but think this is no big deal?
The First Amendment isn't absolute? That statement and people in power who truly believe it are a greater threat to the future of our Republic than trump and anything he said or did.
C’mon. That’s like me accusing you of siding with Kellyanbd Conway on alternate facts…that “all truth is relative.”
It’s a corrupt system full of corrupt players on both sides. I continue to be all for investigating Hillary, Biden, and Trump if there’s a reason. Can we throw Jared’s compensation as white house and now Saudi Arabia advisor in there for good measure. I haven’t heard you question that as much.
Bring it!
Re: Don't Trust Mainstream Media
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 2:43 pm
by Col Hogan
How many dick pics of Hunter were in the NY Post article?
Re: Don't Trust Mainstream Media
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 3:59 pm
by kalm
Re: Don't Trust Mainstream Media
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 4:32 pm
by houndawg
UNI88 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 03, 2022 12:20 pm
kalm wrote: ↑Sat Dec 03, 2022 11:59 am
IE: the Biden campaign asked Twitter to remove tweets of Hunter’s dick pics. (Both parties make similar requests) There really wasn’t anything otherwise new or as Elon suggests threatening freedom of speech. The Trump administration was in charge of the government at that time.
This is about more than dick picks. Focusing on that point is a deflection to avoid real issues/concerns.
Yes, both sides make similar requests but which side has more access to make those requests and sympathetic ears considering the requests?
You clutch your pearls about threats to our Republic but think this is no big deal?
The First Amendment isn't absolute? That statement and people in power who truly believe it are a greater threat to the future of our Republic than trump and anything he said or did.
Seriously?.....can't yell "fire!" in a crowded theater?
Re: Don't Trust Mainstream Media
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 5:26 pm
by UNI88
houndawg wrote: ↑Sat Dec 03, 2022 4:32 pm
UNI88 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 03, 2022 12:20 pm
This is about more than dick picks. Focusing on that point is a deflection to avoid real issues/concerns.
Yes, both sides make similar requests but which side has more access to make those requests and sympathetic ears considering the requests?
You clutch your pearls about threats to our Republic but think this is no big deal?
The First Amendment isn't absolute? That statement and people in power who truly believe it are a greater threat to the future of our Republic than trump and anything he said or did.
Seriously?.....can't yell "fire!" in a crowded theater?
Deflection, 15 yards and loss of jello privileges.
Re: Don't Trust Mainstream Media
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 5:40 pm
by houndawg
UNI88 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 03, 2022 5:26 pm
houndawg wrote: ↑Sat Dec 03, 2022 4:32 pm
Seriously?.....can't yell "fire!" in a crowded theater?
Deflection, 15 yards and loss of jello privileges.
overruled.
Re: Don't Trust Mainstream Media
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 6:14 pm
by kalm
houndawg wrote: ↑Sat Dec 03, 2022 5:40 pm
UNI88 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 03, 2022 5:26 pm
Deflection, 15 yards and loss of jello privileges.
overruled.
He’s on the verge of contempt right now.
Re: Don't Trust Mainstream Media
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 6:58 pm
by SuperHornet
I'm not sure why, but the new CEO of CNN shut down HLN, putting the entire staff, including Robin Meade, the longest standing regular daytime newsie in the country, on the outs. While I'm no fan of CNN's politics, Meade was good. She was fair. SMH....
Re: Don't Trust Mainstream Media
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 7:22 pm
by kalm
SuperHornet wrote: ↑Sat Dec 03, 2022 6:58 pm
I'm not sure why, but the new CEO of CNN shut down HLN, putting the entire staff, including Robin Meade, the longest standing regular daytime newsie in the country, on the outs. While I'm no fan of CNN's politics, Meade was good. She was fair. SMH....
New ownership and expected move to the right.
Re: Don't Trust Mainstream Media
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 8:11 pm
by Baldy
houndawg wrote: ↑Sat Dec 03, 2022 4:32 pm
UNI88 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 03, 2022 12:20 pm
This is about more than dick picks. Focusing on that point is a deflection to avoid real issues/concerns.
Yes, both sides make similar requests but which side has more access to make those requests and sympathetic ears considering the requests?
You clutch your pearls about threats to our Republic but think this is no big deal?
The First Amendment isn't absolute? That statement and people in power who truly believe it are a greater threat to the future of our Republic than trump and anything he said or did.
Seriously?.....can't yell "fire!" in a crowded theater?
Yes you can.
