4 ms·

And I take your point about "filling space." But, tell me: would you even dare to print anything you thought would offend one or more of your advertisers? How

And I take your point about "filling space." But, tell me: would you even dare to print anything you thought would offend one or more of your advertisers? How do you think your bosses, and the publisher would feel?

chrisseaton 5y ago
> But, tell me: would you even dare to print anything you thought would offend one or more of your advertisers? But news organisations do this all the time! Companies like Google advertise in all major national newspapers, but of course those newspaper carry criticism of Google. Have you really never noticed this?
anigbrowl 5y ago
I've been out of that business for a long time now, but short answer is yes, absolutely. Yes, it might create problems - there is always and has always been tension between editorial and business. This can definitely be a problem at the local level, it's gonna be hard for a small paper to run a negative story about a big industry or company that's the biggest employer in a town or region or that advertises heavily in the paper, eg real estate firm or the like. I have had stories spiked because they were 'too political' and that sucked. And I've quit jobs for ethical reasons (though not in that same context), which also sucked. I think your criticism is valid but I also think that an overly ideological analysis - which a guy like Noam Chomsky does a lot - can mislead one into oversimplifying a complex picture. Understanding the idea and mechanics of manufacturing consent is important for media literacy and political understanding. But it's a rule of thumb to keep in mind when consuming media, not an iron law of social behavior; if you start assuming that everyone in the media is part of a giant consent-manufacturing conspiracy, then you can fall into a different cognitive trap that is just as bad as uncritical acceptance.

4 ms·

And I take your point about "filling space." But, tell me: would you even dare to print anything you thought would offend one or more of your advertisers? How

by actually_a_dog 5y ago

chrisseaton 5y ago
> But, tell me: would you even dare to print anything you thought would offend one or more of your advertisers? But news organisations do this all the time! Companies like Google advertise in all major national newspapers, but of course those newspaper carry criticism of Google. Have you really never noticed this?
anigbrowl 5y ago
I've been out of that business for a long time now, but short answer is yes, absolutely. Yes, it might create problems - there is always and has always been tension between editorial and business. This can definitely be a problem at the local level, it's gonna be hard for a small paper to run a negative story about a big industry or company that's the biggest employer in a town or region or that advertises heavily in the paper, eg real estate firm or the like. I have had stories spiked because they were 'too political' and that sucked. And I've quit jobs for ethical reasons (though not in that same context), which also sucked. I think your criticism is valid but I also think that an overly ideological analysis - which a guy like Noam Chomsky does a lot - can mislead one into oversimplifying a complex picture. Understanding the idea and mechanics of manufacturing consent is important for media literacy and political understanding. But it's a rule of thumb to keep in mind when consuming media, not an iron law of social behavior; if you start assuming that everyone in the media is part of a giant consent-manufacturing conspiracy, then you can fall into a different cognitive trap that is just as bad as uncritical acceptance.