4 ms·

> I have never researched a topic deeply and found that the media had been covering that topic accurately, ever. Maybe that's because of the stories you select

by im3w1l 5y ago

> I have never researched a topic deeply and found that the media had been covering that topic accurately, ever. Maybe that's because of the stories you select for checking. Did you ever deeply research something non-sensational? Like a feature about new-years celebrations in Nepal?

seaorg 5y ago
And where is this news outlet that specializes in non-sensational things?
lmm 5y ago
I've looked at coverage of things I was personally familiar with - particular subcultures, the rural area I grew up in, the field I work in - and seen a similar pattern. The inaccuracies didn't seem to be ideologically driven (indeed they sometimes went against what I think of as particular outlets' biases) but they were very much there.
mypalmike 5y ago
Anecdotally, whenever I've had insider knowledge of a news story, it's always been the case that some of the basic facts are reported wrong. Even small local newspapers twist the truth slightly in order to present a more easily digested narrative.
- faeyanpiraat 5y ago
  Maybe they did not have insider access to info and were wrong? You don’t have all day to do research on news, you have to rush it out i guess?
faeyanpiraat 5y ago
That does not matter, it is just an aesthetical thing. It’s like when they report that some pandas got offspring in captivity in zoo X. Even if they lied about it, even if they invent a new country where there are celebrations, it makes no difference. It is useful to consume and fact check news on what could have an effect on your life. It also brings about the bias you are talking about. Because the newly born panda might matter to the local veterinarian. Well my train of thought certainly took a 180 degree turn there..
- genericone 5y ago
  More like, the zoo pr team reached out to news and other organizations months in advance of the panda birth to create tens of thousands of dollars of marketing and word of mouth, in order to increase zoo attendance, donations, and memberships.
  - culturestate 5y ago
    Well, also, people like pandas because they're cute and cuddly and as such they like to read stories about baby pandas. Not everything is part of some giant capitalist conspiracy. Sometimes people just like pandas.
    - polytely 5y ago
      It's not a capitalist conspiracy, it's just the path of least resistance, if you are in the morning meeting deciding what stories to cover, it's a slow newsday and you have a press release from the zoo announcing the birth of the panda it's easier to just report on that than to go looking for a story.
      - culturestate 5y ago
        You're right, but that's not the scenario the comment I responded to was implying. There's a difference between "oh look, there's a baby panda, this is an easy one" and participating in a months-long coordinated campaign designed to make money.
PaulDavisThe1st 5y ago
It's not just about news and journalism. When I was in my late teens and eagerly devouring the Whole Earth Catalog and its successor Coevolution Quarterly for their reviews and pointers to new tools and ideas, it was easy to trust what I saw written there. Until one issue when they had a long survey of backpacking equipment, which even at 17 was something I knew quite a lot about. It was ridiculous, so bad (*) Most people who write for a living don't know as much about the things they write about as people who do those things as the central part of their lives. But it's worse than that: even when the author is a bona fide expert in the subject, there's still plenty of room for disagreement within the field. The dream of reading "authoritative" accounts of more or less anything is a dream. Instead of being mad that journalists and other writers don't live up to your dream, accept this situation as it is, and understand that deepening your understanding of anything will require significant effort on your part. That doesn't mean that there are not better and worse sources of information, and understanding how to identify this is important. But there's nobody who is going to write "the true story" because there is no true story, just a complicated mess that you can put more or less effort into understanding. (*) granted, some of what made it so bad was the clash between my UK-based understanding of gear and conditions, and their western US equivalent.

by im3w1l 5y ago

seaorg 5y ago

And where is this news outlet that specializes in non-sensational things?

lmm 5y ago

I've looked at coverage of things I was personally familiar with - particular subcultures, the rural area I grew up in, the field I work in - and seen a similar pattern. The inaccuracies didn't seem to be ideologically driven (indeed they sometimes went against what I think of as particular outlets' biases) but they were very much there.

mypalmike 5y ago

Anecdotally, whenever I've had insider knowledge of a news story, it's always been the case that some of the basic facts are reported wrong. Even small local newspapers twist the truth slightly in order to present a more easily digested narrative.

faeyanpiraat 5y ago
Maybe they did not have insider access to info and were wrong? You don’t have all day to do research on news, you have to rush it out i guess?

faeyanpiraat 5y ago

That does not matter, it is just an aesthetical thing. It’s like when they report that some pandas got offspring in captivity in zoo X. Even if they lied about it, even if they invent a new country where there are celebrations, it makes no difference. It is useful to consume and fact check news on what could have an effect on your life. It also brings about the bias you are talking about. Because the newly born panda might matter to the local veterinarian. Well my train of thought certainly took a 180 degree turn there..

genericone 5y ago
More like, the zoo pr team reached out to news and other organizations months in advance of the panda birth to create tens of thousands of dollars of marketing and word of mouth, in order to increase zoo attendance, donations, and memberships.
- culturestate 5y ago
  Well, also, people like pandas because they're cute and cuddly and as such they like to read stories about baby pandas. Not everything is part of some giant capitalist conspiracy. Sometimes people just like pandas.
  - polytely 5y ago
    It's not a capitalist conspiracy, it's just the path of least resistance, if you are in the morning meeting deciding what stories to cover, it's a slow newsday and you have a press release from the zoo announcing the birth of the panda it's easier to just report on that than to go looking for a story.
    - culturestate 5y ago
      You're right, but that's not the scenario the comment I responded to was implying. There's a difference between "oh look, there's a baby panda, this is an easy one" and participating in a months-long coordinated campaign designed to make money.

PaulDavisThe1st 5y ago

It's not just about news and journalism. When I was in my late teens and eagerly devouring the Whole Earth Catalog and its successor Coevolution Quarterly for their reviews and pointers to new tools and ideas, it was easy to trust what I saw written there. Until one issue when they had a long survey of backpacking equipment, which even at 17 was something I knew quite a lot about. It was ridiculous, so bad (*) Most people who write for a living don't know as much about the things they write about as people who do those things as the central part of their lives. But it's worse than that: even when the author is a bona fide expert in the subject, there's still plenty of room for disagreement within the field. The dream of reading "authoritative" accounts of more or less anything is a dream. Instead of being mad that journalists and other writers don't live up to your dream, accept this situation as it is, and understand that deepening your understanding of anything will require significant effort on your part. That doesn't mean that there are not better and worse sources of information, and understanding how to identify this is important. But there's nobody who is going to write "the true story" because there is no true story, just a complicated mess that you can put more or less effort into understanding. (*) granted, some of what made it so bad was the clash between my UK-based understanding of gear and conditions, and their western US equivalent.