5 ms·

This is a sad effect of national media attention (Click bait and headline bait). I watch the news sometimes and wonder if we'd all be better off if it didn't ex

This is a sad effect of national media attention (Click bait and headline bait). I watch the news sometimes and wonder if we'd all be better off if it didn't exist... Obligatory mention that There were more murders in Chicago this week and it gets no media headlines.

mathgeek 7y ago
News that is free to consume is the same as any other free product: the reader/viewer is the product.
- foolrush 7y ago
  Many countries with a tremendous backbone in journalistic research have done pretty well using public funded news. The BBC and it’s ilk was a beacon for years. The trope is exhausting.
  - mathgeek 7y ago
    Funded via public revenue isn’t the same as ad-supported. The former is still paid for by the group that many consumers are a part of. It’s only “free” in the manner that a public road is “free”.
amelius 7y ago
Ultimately it's all because of ads. If we all had to pay for our news, then we'd be more cautious and reluctant about clickbait headlines. And media would not be in a race to the bottom, affecting news quality.
- Ygg2 7y ago
  I doubt this. Reason clickbait works is because it's more attention grabbing. It's more attention grabbing because it appeals to human innate fears. And even if clickbait is banned and subscription mandatory, media would be in a race to the bottom. Just a slightly different one.
  - TeMPOraL 7y ago
    Reason clickbait works is because it is needed to drive page views. In a subscription model, media sites would have an incentive to put out stories that are interesting beyond the first page view.
    - Ygg2 7y ago
      Ok. But if you can't view more than a paragraph, why not just judge the article by the headline.
otakucode 7y ago
If there were no media headlines, then the amount of murders would fall if headlines were the causal effect. You're undoing your own point.
anigbrowl 7y ago
There were more murders in Chicago this week Oops, you forgot to change the capitalization on your copypasta.

mathgeek 7y ago

News that is free to consume is the same as any other free product: the reader/viewer is the product.

foolrush 7y ago
Many countries with a tremendous backbone in journalistic research have done pretty well using public funded news. The BBC and it’s ilk was a beacon for years. The trope is exhausting.
- mathgeek 7y ago
  Funded via public revenue isn’t the same as ad-supported. The former is still paid for by the group that many consumers are a part of. It’s only “free” in the manner that a public road is “free”.

amelius 7y ago

Ultimately it's all because of ads. If we all had to pay for our news, then we'd be more cautious and reluctant about clickbait headlines. And media would not be in a race to the bottom, affecting news quality.

Ygg2 7y ago
I doubt this. Reason clickbait works is because it's more attention grabbing. It's more attention grabbing because it appeals to human innate fears. And even if clickbait is banned and subscription mandatory, media would be in a race to the bottom. Just a slightly different one.
- TeMPOraL 7y ago
  Reason clickbait works is because it is needed to drive page views. In a subscription model, media sites would have an incentive to put out stories that are interesting beyond the first page view.
  - Ygg2 7y ago
    Ok. But if you can't view more than a paragraph, why not just judge the article by the headline.

otakucode 7y ago

If there were no media headlines, then the amount of murders would fall if headlines were the causal effect. You're undoing your own point.

anigbrowl 7y ago

There were more murders in Chicago this week Oops, you forgot to change the capitalization on your copypasta.