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We are calling BuzzFeed “journalism” now? If a business model based on “immediacy” means that BF can rationalize publishing false, or at minimum uncorroborated

We are calling BuzzFeed “journalism” now? If a business model based on “immediacy” means that BF can rationalize publishing false, or at minimum uncorroborated news, then good riddance. Even Woodward and Bernstein didn’t rush to publish the first minute of knowing something could have been askew with Nixon. BuzzFeed posted the uncorroborated Steele dossier when even The NY Times wouldn’t. They said Trump told Cohen to lie to congress when even Muller himself has declared that false. The Cohen story could have been a bombshell, but Buzzfeed couldn’t get anyone on the record, just “two people close to the investigation.” Journalism, real journalism isn’t bombastic publishing of stories with unnamed sources. In the Berstein era, secret sources were used as background, not as the only source. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/20/business/media/buzzfeed-trump-mueller-backlash.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/20/business/media/buzzfeed-t... As far as “tough day on the industry,” perhaps if the industry gave themselves a strong look in the mirror, they’d figure out why. The NY Times is doing pretty well, as is Reuters. It seems that perhaps the youngsters these days are interested more than listicles and might actually care about legitimate news?

maratd 8y ago
It is absolutely shameful that this comment was downvoted. Trump is a big boy, he can take it. I couldn't care less. What of the thousands whose lives are destroyed by shoddy journalism who aren't famous enough to even be recalled? I sincerely hope all of these yellow journalism outfits go out of business. It won't happen, but one can hope.
- mwfunk 8y ago
  Trump is most definitely not a big boy, and has spent his last 40-50 years in the public eye showing again and again and again that he most definitely cannot take it. If ever anyone were the poster child for the correlation between narcissism and thin skin, it's him. You don't have to take my word for it, it's not like it hasn't been there on full display for all to see for decades. If you've read anything that presents him as any sort of strong, effective, decisive, or even coherent leader, then that's the yellow journalism you're so worried about, and you should be very very worried about it indeed.
  - mynameishere 8y ago
    Trump had the entire establishment, left, right and center, against him, and came out a winner. He still has the entire establishment, left, right, and center, against him. And he's still there fighting. You can hate the guy--it is establishment policy to do so, after all--but he's a tough son-of-a-bitch. There's no way around that fact.
    - sodosopa 8y ago
      I wouldn't classify someone who has had six bankruptcies as a "winner". One, maybe two I can understand. But six, that's just poor business management and a great example as to why we're heading into a Trump-powered recession. https://www.thoughtco.com/donald-trump-business-bankruptcies-4152019 https://www.thoughtco.com/donald-trump-business-bankruptcies...
      - phy6 8y ago
        Well your classifiers aren't looking at the distribution then. 6 out of a few dozen isn't bad, that's where I'd like to be.
      - manigandham 8y ago
        He's currently president of the United States. Do people think this is somehow easy to accomplish now? Regardless of how you feel about him, attaining this office does mean a certain amount of competence.
        hnmonkey 8y ago
        Do you have evidence of specific competence at something?
        WillPostForFood 8y ago
        running for president?
- res0nat0r 8y ago
  Not sure if all of these downvoted comments are just spamming "liburl media" right-wing talking points like is pretty much the norm now for anything critical of Trump, or just out of ignorance, but Buzzfeed was nominated for a Pulitzer on it's Russia reporting and has many award winning reporters on staff. https://www.pulitzer.org/finalists/staff-buzzfeed-news https://www.pulitzer.org/finalists/staff-buzzfeed-news https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BuzzFeed_News https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BuzzFeed_News
  - luckylion 8y ago
    Top articles of the moment: > Can You Recognize These Rectangular-Ish U.S. States? > 31 Ways To Make Traveling So Much Less Stressful > People Are Sharing The Nicest Thing A Stranger Has Done For Them, And It's Exactly What You Need Today I mean, I'm sure they do also sometimes produce journalistic content, and it might be of great quality when they do.
    - pulisse 8y ago
      As already pointed out a dozen times in these comments, buzzfeednews.com and buzzfeed.com are distinct.
      - luckylion 8y ago
        Well, the news was about "BuzzFeed" in general, but fair enough. Buzzfeed News current top articles: Why Bryan Singer’s Latest Scandal May Not Affect Rami Malek’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” Oscar Campaign This Photographer Captures The Emotional Final Moments Between Pets And Their Owners Climate Change Is A Top Priority For The New Crop Of Governors — Even One Republican A Man Allegedly Harassed Parkland Victims' Families On Instagram By Posing As The Shooter A Woman Mistakenly Showed Up For Her Interview With Microsoft A Month Early. Her Hilarious Exchange With The Company Has Gone Viral.
    - mellow-lake-day 8y ago
      Buzzfeed != Buzzfeed news Here are some examples from buzzfeed news: https://www.buzzfeed.com/heidiblake/poison-in-the-system https://www.buzzfeed.com/heidiblake/poison-in-the-system https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/nicolenguyen/how-apps-take-your-data-and-sell-it-without-you-even https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/nicolenguyen/how-apps-t... I think Buzzfeed news should rebrand itself so people stop getting the two confused
JshWright 8y ago
> They said Trump told Cohen to lie to congress when even Muller himself has declared that false. The SCO's statement was _much_ narrower in scope than that.
maxerickson 8y ago
The content of the dossier was extremely newsworthy. Posting it with some false statement about it being the clear truth or whatever would be bad, but it's sort of hilarious to point to the NYT being chickenshit about it as some sort of evidence that Buzzfeed went off the rails by posting it.
hnmonkey 8y ago
The dossier has been almost entirely corroborated across the board. No parts of it have been proven incorrect so far. Do you have any evidence that any parts of it have been shot down as not factual? Calling it the 'uncorroborated Steele dossier' is a talking point that has been proven to be a lie over and over. It seems that Buzzfeed New's publishing about the dossier is literally the type of 'real journalism' and 'legitimate news' that you're talking about because it has led to multiple investigations of some of the most influential people in the United States and has led to multiple indictments and guilty pleas, including the former National Security Advisor to the President of the United States. I haven't seen many '10 surprise diet secrets' articles doing the same. Have you?
- WillPostForFood 8y ago
  Even Mother Jones would call it mostly uncorroborated. https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/12/an-updated-look-at-the-steele-dossier/ https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/12/an-updated-lo... What source are you using to get "almost entirely corroborated"?
- remarkEon 8y ago
  Reading comments like this makes me honestly entertain simulation theory. We have to be living in completely different realities, where what you’ve read and what I’ve read literally have different words on the page.
- arduanika 8y ago
  > almost entirely corroborated Have any of the guilty pleas corresponded to a specific claim from Steele? My understanding is, few if any. For what remains of "almost entirely" the whole dossier, "corroborated" in your book seems to mean "not worth bringing before a court of law, even after 2+ years of highly empowered investigation". > No parts of it have been proven incorrect so far. Do you have any evidence that any parts of it have been shot down as not factual? Russell has got an orbiting teacup to sell you.
- a_tractor 8y ago
  As you probably know, the Steele dossier is actually a piece of opposition research created by the PR firm CrowdStrike and paid for by the HRC campaign and the DNC. Containing information sourced from foreign intelligence agents, it is itself, at least in part, a product of Russian Intelligence. By the time Buzzfeed published the contents of the , it was already in the hands of the FBI. In fact, the FBI had already used the Steele Dossier as evidence to get a FISA warrant to spy on members of the Trump campaign and transition team. Buzzfeed wasn't responsible for any of that. They simply jumped on the scoop ahead of every other media outlet that had it. Buzzfeed simply didn't bother to verify its authenticity or even its source, nor did they corroborate any of the claims. Btw, if you want to give a journalist credit for "breaking" the (planted) story, Michael Isikoff is the journalist who wrote the Sept. 23, 2016 article at Yahoo! News laying out Steele’s allegations that Trump campaign adviser Carter Page met secretly in Moscow with two Kremlin insiders. That is the actual article that was used by the FBI to "corroborate" the Steele Dossier and get their FISA warrant on Carter Page. Isikoff’s co-author, David Corn, is the only other reporter to have written about Steele’s claims prior to the 2016 election. FYI, when Mediaite's columnist John Ziegler [asked Isikoff in an interview this past December](https://www.mediaite.com/columnists/extensive-interview-with-russian-roulette-coauthor-isikoff-reveals-big-problems-with-collusion-theory/ https://www.mediaite.com/columnists/extensive-interview-with...), “Would you agree that a lot of what’s in the Steele dossier has been somewhat vindicated?” Isikoff responded: “No.” “You would not?” asked Ziegler. “No,” Isikoff repeated.
zimpenfish 8y ago
> They said Trump told Cohen to lie to congress when even Muller himself has declared that false. No, Peter Carr said “BuzzFeed’s description of specific statements to the special counsel’s office, and characterization of documents and testimony obtained by this office, regarding Michael Cohen’s congressional testimony are not accurate.” Which is a long, long way from "false".
- koheripbal 8y ago
  > Which is a long, long way from "false". No it isn't. > "BuzzFeed’s description... are not accurate" That is literally saying that their reports were false.
  - zimpenfish 8y ago
    > That is literally saying that their reports were false. Then why didn't he say "false"? Why did he choose the specific "not accurate"?

maratd 8y ago

It is absolutely shameful that this comment was downvoted. Trump is a big boy, he can take it. I couldn't care less. What of the thousands whose lives are destroyed by shoddy journalism who aren't famous enough to even be recalled? I sincerely hope all of these yellow journalism outfits go out of business. It won't happen, but one can hope.

mwfunk 8y ago
Trump is most definitely not a big boy, and has spent his last 40-50 years in the public eye showing again and again and again that he most definitely cannot take it. If ever anyone were the poster child for the correlation between narcissism and thin skin, it's him. You don't have to take my word for it, it's not like it hasn't been there on full display for all to see for decades. If you've read anything that presents him as any sort of strong, effective, decisive, or even coherent leader, then that's the yellow journalism you're so worried about, and you should be very very worried about it indeed.
- mynameishere 8y ago
  Trump had the entire establishment, left, right and center, against him, and came out a winner. He still has the entire establishment, left, right, and center, against him. And he's still there fighting. You can hate the guy--it is establishment policy to do so, after all--but he's a tough son-of-a-bitch. There's no way around that fact.
  - sodosopa 8y ago
    I wouldn't classify someone who has had six bankruptcies as a "winner". One, maybe two I can understand. But six, that's just poor business management and a great example as to why we're heading into a Trump-powered recession. https://www.thoughtco.com/donald-trump-business-bankruptcies-4152019 https://www.thoughtco.com/donald-trump-business-bankruptcies...
    - phy6 8y ago
      Well your classifiers aren't looking at the distribution then. 6 out of a few dozen isn't bad, that's where I'd like to be.
    - manigandham 8y ago
      He's currently president of the United States. Do people think this is somehow easy to accomplish now? Regardless of how you feel about him, attaining this office does mean a certain amount of competence.
      - hnmonkey 8y ago
        Do you have evidence of specific competence at something?
        WillPostForFood 8y ago
        running for president?
res0nat0r 8y ago
Not sure if all of these downvoted comments are just spamming "liburl media" right-wing talking points like is pretty much the norm now for anything critical of Trump, or just out of ignorance, but Buzzfeed was nominated for a Pulitzer on it's Russia reporting and has many award winning reporters on staff. https://www.pulitzer.org/finalists/staff-buzzfeed-news https://www.pulitzer.org/finalists/staff-buzzfeed-news https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BuzzFeed_News https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BuzzFeed_News
- luckylion 8y ago
  Top articles of the moment: > Can You Recognize These Rectangular-Ish U.S. States? > 31 Ways To Make Traveling So Much Less Stressful > People Are Sharing The Nicest Thing A Stranger Has Done For Them, And It's Exactly What You Need Today I mean, I'm sure they do also sometimes produce journalistic content, and it might be of great quality when they do.
  - pulisse 8y ago
    As already pointed out a dozen times in these comments, buzzfeednews.com and buzzfeed.com are distinct.
    - luckylion 8y ago
      Well, the news was about "BuzzFeed" in general, but fair enough. Buzzfeed News current top articles: Why Bryan Singer’s Latest Scandal May Not Affect Rami Malek’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” Oscar Campaign This Photographer Captures The Emotional Final Moments Between Pets And Their Owners Climate Change Is A Top Priority For The New Crop Of Governors — Even One Republican A Man Allegedly Harassed Parkland Victims' Families On Instagram By Posing As The Shooter A Woman Mistakenly Showed Up For Her Interview With Microsoft A Month Early. Her Hilarious Exchange With The Company Has Gone Viral.
  - mellow-lake-day 8y ago
    Buzzfeed != Buzzfeed news Here are some examples from buzzfeed news: https://www.buzzfeed.com/heidiblake/poison-in-the-system https://www.buzzfeed.com/heidiblake/poison-in-the-system https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/nicolenguyen/how-apps-take-your-data-and-sell-it-without-you-even https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/nicolenguyen/how-apps-t... I think Buzzfeed news should rebrand itself so people stop getting the two confused

JshWright 8y ago

> They said Trump told Cohen to lie to congress when even Muller himself has declared that false. The SCO's statement was _much_ narrower in scope than that.

maxerickson 8y ago

The content of the dossier was extremely newsworthy. Posting it with some false statement about it being the clear truth or whatever would be bad, but it's sort of hilarious to point to the NYT being chickenshit about it as some sort of evidence that Buzzfeed went off the rails by posting it.

hnmonkey 8y ago

The dossier has been almost entirely corroborated across the board. No parts of it have been proven incorrect so far. Do you have any evidence that any parts of it have been shot down as not factual? Calling it the 'uncorroborated Steele dossier' is a talking point that has been proven to be a lie over and over. It seems that Buzzfeed New's publishing about the dossier is literally the type of 'real journalism' and 'legitimate news' that you're talking about because it has led to multiple investigations of some of the most influential people in the United States and has led to multiple indictments and guilty pleas, including the former National Security Advisor to the President of the United States. I haven't seen many '10 surprise diet secrets' articles doing the same. Have you?

WillPostForFood 8y ago
Even Mother Jones would call it mostly uncorroborated. https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/12/an-updated-look-at-the-steele-dossier/ https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/12/an-updated-lo... What source are you using to get "almost entirely corroborated"?
remarkEon 8y ago
Reading comments like this makes me honestly entertain simulation theory. We have to be living in completely different realities, where what you’ve read and what I’ve read literally have different words on the page.
arduanika 8y ago
> almost entirely corroborated Have any of the guilty pleas corresponded to a specific claim from Steele? My understanding is, few if any. For what remains of "almost entirely" the whole dossier, "corroborated" in your book seems to mean "not worth bringing before a court of law, even after 2+ years of highly empowered investigation". > No parts of it have been proven incorrect so far. Do you have any evidence that any parts of it have been shot down as not factual? Russell has got an orbiting teacup to sell you.
a_tractor 8y ago
As you probably know, the Steele dossier is actually a piece of opposition research created by the PR firm CrowdStrike and paid for by the HRC campaign and the DNC. Containing information sourced from foreign intelligence agents, it is itself, at least in part, a product of Russian Intelligence. By the time Buzzfeed published the contents of the , it was already in the hands of the FBI. In fact, the FBI had already used the Steele Dossier as evidence to get a FISA warrant to spy on members of the Trump campaign and transition team. Buzzfeed wasn't responsible for any of that. They simply jumped on the scoop ahead of every other media outlet that had it. Buzzfeed simply didn't bother to verify its authenticity or even its source, nor did they corroborate any of the claims. Btw, if you want to give a journalist credit for "breaking" the (planted) story, Michael Isikoff is the journalist who wrote the Sept. 23, 2016 article at Yahoo! News laying out Steele’s allegations that Trump campaign adviser Carter Page met secretly in Moscow with two Kremlin insiders. That is the actual article that was used by the FBI to "corroborate" the Steele Dossier and get their FISA warrant on Carter Page. Isikoff’s co-author, David Corn, is the only other reporter to have written about Steele’s claims prior to the 2016 election. FYI, when Mediaite's columnist John Ziegler [asked Isikoff in an interview this past December](https://www.mediaite.com/columnists/extensive-interview-with-russian-roulette-coauthor-isikoff-reveals-big-problems-with-collusion-theory/ https://www.mediaite.com/columnists/extensive-interview-with...), “Would you agree that a lot of what’s in the Steele dossier has been somewhat vindicated?” Isikoff responded: “No.” “You would not?” asked Ziegler. “No,” Isikoff repeated.

zimpenfish 8y ago

> They said Trump told Cohen to lie to congress when even Muller himself has declared that false. No, Peter Carr said “BuzzFeed’s description of specific statements to the special counsel’s office, and characterization of documents and testimony obtained by this office, regarding Michael Cohen’s congressional testimony are not accurate.” Which is a long, long way from "false".

koheripbal 8y ago
> Which is a long, long way from "false". No it isn't. > "BuzzFeed’s description... are not accurate" That is literally saying that their reports were false.
- zimpenfish 8y ago
  > That is literally saying that their reports were false. Then why didn't he say "false"? Why did he choose the specific "not accurate"?