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> I can see some people saying they are being shut down because they are supporters of radical Islam but from what I've seen of them this is pure nonsense. "pu

by hasenj 16y ago

> I can see some people saying they are being shut down because they are supporters of radical Islam but from what I've seen of them this is pure nonsense. "pure nonsense" is exactly what it is :) The only reason it seems that way from the western perspective is because: 1) They interview Islamist figures 2) They don't portray them as evil But they also interview people from every color of the political spectrum. > given that it comes from a part of the world where free speech isn't a concept rooted in law. I was shocked that most channels in North American report mostly on local news (e.g. man bitten by a dog), and if they ever report on global events, it's usually brief. And that's when they run any news at all; most TV is focused on entertainment 100%. From where I stood, it sounded like some sort of a conspiracy to keep the people ignorant about what's going on in the world around them.

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
stcredzero 16y ago
From where I stood, it sounded like some sort of a conspiracy to keep the people ignorant about what's going on in the world around them. It's a conspiracy where the people are a part! The media influences expectations. The expectations shape the market. The market holds the purse strings of the media. With a cycle like that, all it takes is small corrections, which can be undertaken by organizations with sufficient resources, to maintain general control. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufacturing_Consent:_The_Political_Economy_of_the_Mass_Media http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufacturing_Consent:_The_Poli...
c3o 16y ago
"When you're young, you look at television and think, There's a conspiracy. The networks have conspired to dumb us down. But when you get a little older, you realize that's not true. The networks are in business to give people exactly what they want. That's a far more depressing thought. Conspiracy is optimistic! You can shoot the bastards! We can have a revolution! But the networks are really in business to give people what they want. It's the truth." – Steve Jobs in WIRED magazine, February 1996
- hasenj 16y ago
  That describes my experience perfectly!
- jbrechtel 16y ago
  Statements like this are a result of our innate desire for everything to be black and white. Unfortunately, that's not the way things work. While the news networks are indeed in the business of providing what people want, they also have a hand in shaping their audience's desires. To lay the blame of crappy news solely at the feet of the audience is about as short sighted as the conspiracy notion IMHO.
  - JonnieCache 16y ago
    >While the news networks are indeed in the business of providing what people want, they also have a hand in shaping their audience's desires. Yeah. It's a classic feedback loop. Surely this is obvious?
    - jmtulloss 16y ago
      If your definition of "obvious" is a feedback loop, then you clearly have a very sophisticated, very select group of acquaintances. To many people I know, this concept is far from obvious.
      - JonnieCache 16y ago
        >very sophisticated, very select group of acquaintances I meant in the context of HN. That's a beautiful way to describe this place :)
  - bbgm 16y ago
    I don't disagree. While Americans never come across as remotely curious about global affairs for the most part, not unless it directly involves them, perhaps it is because they have just never been exposed to a globally focused media.
protomyth 16y ago
Actually, I wish my local news actually only reported local news. I get the feeling that to survive in the next decade, the successful ones will do just that. As to the national networks, if it doesn't happen on the coasts or in Texas, it pretty much is ignored unless it is a natural disaster. Heck, the coverage of Nashville flooding was pathetic compared to the dollar cost of the damage. Drew Curtis's (of Fark fame) book has a chapter on it and some interesting stories from Fark.

by hasenj 16y ago

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

stcredzero 16y ago

From where I stood, it sounded like some sort of a conspiracy to keep the people ignorant about what's going on in the world around them. It's a conspiracy where the people are a part! The media influences expectations. The expectations shape the market. The market holds the purse strings of the media. With a cycle like that, all it takes is small corrections, which can be undertaken by organizations with sufficient resources, to maintain general control. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufacturing_Consent:_The_Political_Economy_of_the_Mass_Media http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufacturing_Consent:_The_Poli...

c3o 16y ago

"When you're young, you look at television and think, There's a conspiracy. The networks have conspired to dumb us down. But when you get a little older, you realize that's not true. The networks are in business to give people exactly what they want. That's a far more depressing thought. Conspiracy is optimistic! You can shoot the bastards! We can have a revolution! But the networks are really in business to give people what they want. It's the truth." – Steve Jobs in WIRED magazine, February 1996

hasenj 16y ago
That describes my experience perfectly!
jbrechtel 16y ago
Statements like this are a result of our innate desire for everything to be black and white. Unfortunately, that's not the way things work. While the news networks are indeed in the business of providing what people want, they also have a hand in shaping their audience's desires. To lay the blame of crappy news solely at the feet of the audience is about as short sighted as the conspiracy notion IMHO.
- JonnieCache 16y ago
  >While the news networks are indeed in the business of providing what people want, they also have a hand in shaping their audience's desires. Yeah. It's a classic feedback loop. Surely this is obvious?
  - jmtulloss 16y ago
    If your definition of "obvious" is a feedback loop, then you clearly have a very sophisticated, very select group of acquaintances. To many people I know, this concept is far from obvious.
    - JonnieCache 16y ago
      >very sophisticated, very select group of acquaintances I meant in the context of HN. That's a beautiful way to describe this place :)
- bbgm 16y ago
  I don't disagree. While Americans never come across as remotely curious about global affairs for the most part, not unless it directly involves them, perhaps it is because they have just never been exposed to a globally focused media.

protomyth 16y ago

Actually, I wish my local news actually only reported local news. I get the feeling that to survive in the next decade, the successful ones will do just that. As to the national networks, if it doesn't happen on the coasts or in Texas, it pretty much is ignored unless it is a natural disaster. Heck, the coverage of Nashville flooding was pathetic compared to the dollar cost of the damage. Drew Curtis's (of Fark fame) book has a chapter on it and some interesting stories from Fark.