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>If you work in conservative media, you probably felt tremendous pressure all November to stay away from information suggesting Trump lost the election. If you

by Imnimo 6y ago

>If you work in conservative media, you probably felt tremendous pressure all November to stay away from information suggesting Trump lost the election. If you work in the other ecosystem, you probably feel right now that even suggesting what happened last Wednesday was not a coup in the literal sense of the word (e.g. an attempt at seizing power with an actual chance of success) not only wouldn’t clear an editor, but might make you suspect in the eyes of co-workers, a potentially job-imperiling problem in this environment. Is this pressure coming from editors or from readers? Would an outlet that dispassionately reported the fact that Trump lost the election truly have been able to have been "perceived as neutral arbiters" by Trump supporters?

throwaway894345 6y ago
> Would an outlet that dispassionately reported the fact that Trump lost the election truly have been able to have been "perceived as neutral arbiters" by Trump supporters? Considering Trump and his supporters are a symptom, not a cause (although at this point it's a feedback loop) of our broader post-truth environment, I think the minimum is a newspaper with a track record of neutrality (i.e., it's not sufficient for any reasonable person to completely change their opinion of NYT or MSNBC or whomever based on a single dispassionate piece). I think the extent to which our society esteems neutral institutions ("neutral" within some reasonable error margin) is the extent to which we can see a reversal of Trumpism (and probably the woke progressivism that preceded it). There's always a fringe, but I yearn for the days when extremist viewpoints were (rightly) marginalized.
- Imnimo 6y ago
  I dunno, Trump supporters were rejecting Fox for projecting Biden wins in close states. The Fox decision desk has perhaps the best track record on calling elections (maybe tied with AP). If not even a right-leaning institution that was formerly adored can sway them, what hope does a neutral one have?
  - throwaway894345 6y ago
    Alternatively maybe we would have far more (and/or far more zealous) election conspiracy theorists had Fox not reported fairly. More importantly, I don't think an isolated event is going to bring anyone back from post-truth-land, whether they're Trump supporters or woke progressives. We need a society that consistently esteems institutions that pursue objectivity.
- Chris2048 6y ago
  > Would an outlet that dispassionately reported the fact that Trump lost the election It would only need to reports the facts, WP-style, about what various election officials/authorities say.

by Imnimo 6y ago

throwaway894345 6y ago

> Would an outlet that dispassionately reported the fact that Trump lost the election truly have been able to have been "perceived as neutral arbiters" by Trump supporters? Considering Trump and his supporters are a symptom, not a cause (although at this point it's a feedback loop) of our broader post-truth environment, I think the minimum is a newspaper with a track record of neutrality (i.e., it's not sufficient for any reasonable person to completely change their opinion of NYT or MSNBC or whomever based on a single dispassionate piece). I think the extent to which our society esteems neutral institutions ("neutral" within some reasonable error margin) is the extent to which we can see a reversal of Trumpism (and probably the woke progressivism that preceded it). There's always a fringe, but I yearn for the days when extremist viewpoints were (rightly) marginalized.

Imnimo 6y ago
I dunno, Trump supporters were rejecting Fox for projecting Biden wins in close states. The Fox decision desk has perhaps the best track record on calling elections (maybe tied with AP). If not even a right-leaning institution that was formerly adored can sway them, what hope does a neutral one have?
- throwaway894345 6y ago
  Alternatively maybe we would have far more (and/or far more zealous) election conspiracy theorists had Fox not reported fairly. More importantly, I don't think an isolated event is going to bring anyone back from post-truth-land, whether they're Trump supporters or woke progressives. We need a society that consistently esteems institutions that pursue objectivity.
Chris2048 6y ago
> Would an outlet that dispassionately reported the fact that Trump lost the election It would only need to reports the facts, WP-style, about what various election officials/authorities say.