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From the article: > We need to note that Amazon is an NPR funder. The original Motherboard article [0] is extensive. The NPR version is deliberately incoheren
by rmrfrmrf 6y ago
From the article:
> We need to note that Amazon is an NPR funder.
The original Motherboard article [0] is extensive. The NPR version is deliberately incoherent.
[0] https://www.vice.com/en/article/5dp3yn/amazon-leaked-reports-expose-spying-warehouse-workers-labor-union-environmental-groups-social-movements https://www.vice.com/en/article/5dp3yn/amazon-leaked-reports...
- fennecfoxen 6y agoWho needs to be coherent or honest when you can thrill your listeners by smearing some company you both already hate? Things like honesty and integrity are wicked when they fail to serve the cause; this is a time for deliberate obfuscation! — npr, probably Geez, guys. There's so many good reasons to go after Amazon; you'd think one of them would be enough, but nooooo.
- rmrfrmrf 6y agoAmazon was recently polled to be the most trusted institution among US Democrats [0], which comprises the majority of NPR's listenership and donors. They know what they're doing. [0] http://aicpoll.com/ http://aicpoll.com/
- chipotle_coyote 6y agoTwo points here at least worth footnoting: (1) That poll is from July 2018, and while that's technically recent, in terms of news about big tech that can affect perceptions, a lot's happened in the last two years. (2) According to the poll, Amazon was the third most-trusted institution among US Republicans, just behind "military" and "local police", and was the second-most trusted institution behind the military across all respondents. I think you're putting more emphasis on partisan affiliation here with respect to Amazon than the data warrants.
- nerdponx 6y agoThat, or, Amazon knows from history (Google, Facebook, Microsoft, IBM, even going as far back as Standard Oil) that the public trust is not to be taken for granted. They have strong incentives to stay ahead of any negative sentiment that might arise.
- jamiequint 6y agoYou actually believe that Amazon has editorial control over NPR and specifically exerted that leverage to make this article incoherent?
- rmrfrmrf 6y agoOne of the common threads in media critiques like Manufacturing Consent and Hate, Inc. is that direct editorial control is not necessary in order to promote your agenda. Control of money and access, along with ideological indoctrination of journalists at elite universities, is all that's needed. See also my comment below about NPR listenership and trust in Amazon as an institution.
- WC3w6pXxgGd 6y agoAre you unironically referencing Manufacturing Consent?
- Aerroon 6y agoYou just need to have influence over who hires the journalists. If they like you then they'll hire people who will probably also like you.
- jmcgough 6y agoSemi-off-topic but Manufacturing Consent really changed the way I see the world and think about media. As a kid I never questioned that Iraq War-era Time magazine article with diagrams of a mobile nuclear weapons facility. It should be required reading.
- mleonhard 6y agoSame for me. Unfortunately, I found it hard to get along with some close relatives after my change in perspective.
- claudeganon 6y agoYou actually believe that NPR doesn’t edit articles to protect the people who fund them?