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Journalism without a filter isn't journalism, it's surveillance. a critical part of journalism is choosing what not to cover. people pay attention to the thin

Journalism without a filter isn't journalism, it's surveillance. a critical part of journalism is choosing what not to cover. people pay attention to the things it's easy to pay attention to, and good journalism makes sure that the news that is front-and-center and easiest for people to find is actually news. not every crime scene is newsworthy, most are incredibly personal and sensitive moments for at least one party involved, and the coverage should take that into account. pointing a livestreaming camera at the victim of every assualt or robbery is not providing any benefit to society.

asdfasgasdgasdg 5y ago
I don't love a definition of journalism that includes journalists getting to decide what I am allowed to know. Analysis, interpretation, calling to attention that which is important, these are all great things. The filter part I'm less sure about. Of course we should be sensitive to victims and I don't think sensationalizing things is beneficial, but I also think that most of what I personally use Citizen for is to figure out what is happening near me in the neighborhood in real time. Like, "why is it suddenly smoky outside," or, "why are there a lot of police helicopters flying over us right now?"
- notatoad 5y ago
  "It amazes me how the news you have so neatly fits the space available,” Lord Vetinari went on, staring down at the page Boddony was working on. “No little gaps anywhere. And every day something happens that is important enough to be at the top of the first page, too. How strange"
- 29083011397778 5y ago
  I wouldn't classify it as being allowed vs not allowed. If you want to know, there are police records to comb through. I'd describe it more along the lines of there only being so many hours in a day, and only a subset of those that journalists are paid for. It simply isn't necessarily possible to cover every crime, political choice, special event, upcoming event, and more, with the nuance it likely deserves. Your objection, to me at least, reads more like a complaint about journalists not putting every action in and by the city front and center. But if everything is front and center, does that mean everything is, or nothing? We get into a lack of space on the front page, lack of time to read it, and lack of places to put up notices that are essential. We essentially run into what Arthur Dent did in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy [0], with "essential news" buried because something more essential was already there. Regarding realtime use of Citizen that you described below, that doesn't sound like a bad use-case. I know it's not for me though. Having every incident sent via push notification (which I can only assume will occur on a long enough timeline to increase engagement) doesn't sound good for anyone's mental health. We may not be there yet, but I'm not sure I want to partake in encouraging society moving in that direction. [0] https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/40705-but-the-plans-were-on-display-on-display-i-eventually https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/40705-but-the-plans-were-on...
- atatatat 5y ago
  People used to grab their gun and see if someone needed help/be around to observe if any fuckery was amiss.
OhWellLol 5y ago
Another key part of journalism is to always make sure the political team you support is never guilty of being on the wrong side of history. Paranoid discretion is the only thing protecting the frail veneer of democracy.
aiisahik 5y ago
pointing a livestreaming camera at the victim of every assualt or robbery is not providing any benefit to society I do not agree. Assuming we provide privacy to the victim, this is absolutely a net benefit for society. To say otherwise would be to care more about the criminal than the victim. This is especially true in the context of SF where the police/DAs are refusing to prosecute anyone. Videos keep the authorities honest.

asdfasgasdgasdg 5y ago

I don't love a definition of journalism that includes journalists getting to decide what I am allowed to know. Analysis, interpretation, calling to attention that which is important, these are all great things. The filter part I'm less sure about. Of course we should be sensitive to victims and I don't think sensationalizing things is beneficial, but I also think that most of what I personally use Citizen for is to figure out what is happening near me in the neighborhood in real time. Like, "why is it suddenly smoky outside," or, "why are there a lot of police helicopters flying over us right now?"

notatoad 5y ago
"It amazes me how the news you have so neatly fits the space available,” Lord Vetinari went on, staring down at the page Boddony was working on. “No little gaps anywhere. And every day something happens that is important enough to be at the top of the first page, too. How strange"
29083011397778 5y ago
I wouldn't classify it as being allowed vs not allowed. If you want to know, there are police records to comb through. I'd describe it more along the lines of there only being so many hours in a day, and only a subset of those that journalists are paid for. It simply isn't necessarily possible to cover every crime, political choice, special event, upcoming event, and more, with the nuance it likely deserves. Your objection, to me at least, reads more like a complaint about journalists not putting every action in and by the city front and center. But if everything is front and center, does that mean everything is, or nothing? We get into a lack of space on the front page, lack of time to read it, and lack of places to put up notices that are essential. We essentially run into what Arthur Dent did in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy [0], with "essential news" buried because something more essential was already there. Regarding realtime use of Citizen that you described below, that doesn't sound like a bad use-case. I know it's not for me though. Having every incident sent via push notification (which I can only assume will occur on a long enough timeline to increase engagement) doesn't sound good for anyone's mental health. We may not be there yet, but I'm not sure I want to partake in encouraging society moving in that direction. [0] https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/40705-but-the-plans-were-on-display-on-display-i-eventually https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/40705-but-the-plans-were-on...
atatatat 5y ago
People used to grab their gun and see if someone needed help/be around to observe if any fuckery was amiss.

OhWellLol 5y ago

Another key part of journalism is to always make sure the political team you support is never guilty of being on the wrong side of history. Paranoid discretion is the only thing protecting the frail veneer of democracy.

aiisahik 5y ago

pointing a livestreaming camera at the victim of every assualt or robbery is not providing any benefit to society I do not agree. Assuming we provide privacy to the victim, this is absolutely a net benefit for society. To say otherwise would be to care more about the criminal than the victim. This is especially true in the context of SF where the police/DAs are refusing to prosecute anyone. Videos keep the authorities honest.