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Can I really trust the NY Times to correctly report on this? They have every interest to see Facebook, which increasingly acts as a gatekeeper to traditional n

Can I really trust the NY Times to correctly report on this? They have every interest to see Facebook, which increasingly acts as a gatekeeper to traditional new sites, to look and be as bad as possible. Edit: This isn't a value judgement on whether the NYTimes is better than Facebook or anything similar.

syspec 5y ago
Yes.
raxxorrax 5y ago
No, technically you cannot trust them, although I don't think they have reason to lie. Every successful supraregional newspaper today is dependent on Facebook and collaborates with it. To those that downvote you I would really hear your reason. My favorite high quality newspaper (non US) was transparent with that fact that direct collaboration is necessary for successful economic prospects. The paper said it can only promise to report objectively on Facebook, the dependence wasn't even disputed. I don't know exactly, but I would think it was at least 6-8 years ago. But I would argue that newspapers today try to establish themselves as authoritative sources. I think the problem Mrs Haugen tries to identify is far less dangerous than the proposed solution of a government institution consisting of former social media employees. That is ripe for special interest corruption. That is worse than some angry and angsty teenagers and even less democratic.
lithos 5y ago
Oh yeah, and after Facebook went down recently they probably saw how much better their numbers look without Facebook.
slg 5y ago
Do people not know how reporting works at a place like the NYT? The NYT does not act as a single institution with a single mind. There might be some institutional bias based off hiring practices, but individual reporters aren't going to be doing the company's dirty work like you are suggesting. The risk to their personal reputation is not worth protecting a company that might lay them off in 6 months.
- bingohbangoh 5y ago
  Sure they can, if they perceive Facebook as a threat they'll report negative things about them. Do people not value job security? "Never ask a man to do something against which his salary depends on" and all that.
  - slg 5y ago
    Job security is less important than career security. They are not going to put their career in jeopardy to protect their job especially in the current media landscape in which journalist are constantly changing jobs.
    - raxxorrax 5y ago
      No, I don't think that sailing against the wind of contemporary newsrooms offers a promising career outlook. On the contrary.
    - bingohbangoh 5y ago
      How would they be found out? You harbor a personal resentment you believe to be true deep down and… people can read your mind and hold it against you for future jobs?
tablespoon 5y ago
> Can I really trust the NY Times to correctly report on this? Short answer: yes. > They have every interest to see Facebook, which increasingly acts as a gatekeeper to traditional new sites, to look and be as bad as possible. Long answer: that line of thinking is at the root of a lot of conspiracy theorizing, and it's got all kinds of flaws. For instance: you assume "they have every interest to see Facebook...look bad," but what about their other interests? You don't seem to have considered those.
mikestew 5y ago
They have every interest to see Facebook... [citation needed]. No, I don't want to hear an indirect rant about the financial interests of the NYT, nor do I care about some over-used quote from Upton Sinclair. It doesn't have to be a full-blown peer-reviewed citation, but just something, anything other than some unsupported, bordering-on-conspiracy theory. Because my response otherwise is: "no, they don't. They have every interest in being the "paper of record", and maintaining a reputation that will quickly be lost should the NYT be found telling whoppers to hurt what might be viewed as a competitor." There's a reason I subscribe to the NYT and not the NY Post.

syspec 5y ago

Yes.

raxxorrax 5y ago

No, technically you cannot trust them, although I don't think they have reason to lie. Every successful supraregional newspaper today is dependent on Facebook and collaborates with it. To those that downvote you I would really hear your reason. My favorite high quality newspaper (non US) was transparent with that fact that direct collaboration is necessary for successful economic prospects. The paper said it can only promise to report objectively on Facebook, the dependence wasn't even disputed. I don't know exactly, but I would think it was at least 6-8 years ago. But I would argue that newspapers today try to establish themselves as authoritative sources. I think the problem Mrs Haugen tries to identify is far less dangerous than the proposed solution of a government institution consisting of former social media employees. That is ripe for special interest corruption. That is worse than some angry and angsty teenagers and even less democratic.

lithos 5y ago

Oh yeah, and after Facebook went down recently they probably saw how much better their numbers look without Facebook.

slg 5y ago

Do people not know how reporting works at a place like the NYT? The NYT does not act as a single institution with a single mind. There might be some institutional bias based off hiring practices, but individual reporters aren't going to be doing the company's dirty work like you are suggesting. The risk to their personal reputation is not worth protecting a company that might lay them off in 6 months.

bingohbangoh 5y ago
Sure they can, if they perceive Facebook as a threat they'll report negative things about them. Do people not value job security? "Never ask a man to do something against which his salary depends on" and all that.
- slg 5y ago
  Job security is less important than career security. They are not going to put their career in jeopardy to protect their job especially in the current media landscape in which journalist are constantly changing jobs.
  - raxxorrax 5y ago
    No, I don't think that sailing against the wind of contemporary newsrooms offers a promising career outlook. On the contrary.
  - bingohbangoh 5y ago
    How would they be found out? You harbor a personal resentment you believe to be true deep down and… people can read your mind and hold it against you for future jobs?

tablespoon 5y ago

> Can I really trust the NY Times to correctly report on this? Short answer: yes. > They have every interest to see Facebook, which increasingly acts as a gatekeeper to traditional new sites, to look and be as bad as possible. Long answer: that line of thinking is at the root of a lot of conspiracy theorizing, and it's got all kinds of flaws. For instance: you assume "they have every interest to see Facebook...look bad," but what about their other interests? You don't seem to have considered those.

mikestew 5y ago

They have every interest to see Facebook... [citation needed]. No, I don't want to hear an indirect rant about the financial interests of the NYT, nor do I care about some over-used quote from Upton Sinclair. It doesn't have to be a full-blown peer-reviewed citation, but just something, anything other than some unsupported, bordering-on-conspiracy theory. Because my response otherwise is: "no, they don't. They have every interest in being the "paper of record", and maintaining a reputation that will quickly be lost should the NYT be found telling whoppers to hurt what might be viewed as a competitor." There's a reason I subscribe to the NYT and not the NY Post.