8 ms·

I think we naturally give reporters and publications more credit than they deserve. We like to think they are experts or want to expose the the truth. In realit

I think we naturally give reporters and publications more credit than they deserve. We like to think they are experts or want to expose the the truth. In reality, they might be idiots who landed a job. Or they are just getting paid to do something like most corporate employees and do the bare minimum and don’t really give a crap about what they are doing. If we don’t hold them to a higher standard, then what they produce makes perfect sense. There are some amazing journalists out there and I’m sure they are just as disappointed in the mediocre content their peers produce.

SpelingBeeChamp 4y ago
I think you misunderstand what journalists do. Journalists are not supposed to be experts in the subjects they cover. They are not telling you the story based on their personal knowledge or beliefs — those are opinion pieces. Journalists are expected to source information from experts and from people who are in positions to know, and to attribute the information they publish to their sources. I am not saying that every journalist or publication does a good job of seeking the truth. Only that the job of a reporter does not require being an expert at anything other than - hopefully - information gathering and reporting.
- paulsutter 4y ago
  This is how the news gets fooled again and again. They believe an “expert” who came to them with an agenda. It’s often willful as long as the narrative fits their own
  - Fnoord 4y ago
    That is why the old adagium one source is no source is valid. Look up how Rian van Rijbroek fooled a popular news show in The Netherlands. If they had invited one more random expert in the field, that person would've grilled her.
- zztop44 4y ago
  To be fair, journalists are meant to also use their own knowledge and judgement to assess the relative validity of sources and frame the story in a way that communicates the truth as they see it (as opposed to just uncritically reflecting whatever their sources told them)
- esparrohack 4y ago
  Right, but not all journalists are created equal. The kind of reporting you talk about requires someone special

SpelingBeeChamp 4y ago

I think you misunderstand what journalists do. Journalists are not supposed to be experts in the subjects they cover. They are not telling you the story based on their personal knowledge or beliefs — those are opinion pieces. Journalists are expected to source information from experts and from people who are in positions to know, and to attribute the information they publish to their sources. I am not saying that every journalist or publication does a good job of seeking the truth. Only that the job of a reporter does not require being an expert at anything other than - hopefully - information gathering and reporting.

paulsutter 4y ago
This is how the news gets fooled again and again. They believe an “expert” who came to them with an agenda. It’s often willful as long as the narrative fits their own
- Fnoord 4y ago
  That is why the old adagium one source is no source is valid. Look up how Rian van Rijbroek fooled a popular news show in The Netherlands. If they had invited one more random expert in the field, that person would've grilled her.
zztop44 4y ago
To be fair, journalists are meant to also use their own knowledge and judgement to assess the relative validity of sources and frame the story in a way that communicates the truth as they see it (as opposed to just uncritically reflecting whatever their sources told them)
esparrohack 4y ago
Right, but not all journalists are created equal. The kind of reporting you talk about requires someone special