4 ms·

There's a whole category of widely believed and oft repeated historical myths that originated from journalists trying to sell newspapers, writing articles that

There's a whole category of widely believed and oft repeated historical myths that originated from journalists trying to sell newspapers, writing articles that were later cited as "contemporary accounts" once the truth had faded from living memory. A few examples; the Titanic was never called unsinkable until after it sank, no one committed suicide on Black Friday as a result of the stock market crash, and there was no public panic caused by the original War of the Worlds radio broadcast. All of these things were reported by the media at the time. Think of the stories you see day to day and imagine in 100 years if these are the go-to source for information about our time how skewed a picture you would have of how things actually were.

nonethewiser 4y ago
That's interesting. I'm not sure what you point is. I think it reinforces my point that news in the past wasn't necessarily more informative. I'm not really sure though.
- throw__away7391 4y ago
  That it has never lived up to being the bastion of truth and democracy it's sometimes made out to be, it has always been about getting eyeballs and selling ads. These examples are more "sensational" than negative, but it is essentially the same idea.
  - Dalewyn 4y ago
    >it has always been about getting eyeballs and selling ads. And setting the record straight, where "straight" is whatever the powers-that-be want. We even have an age old saying for this: History is written by the victors. Historical records, and by extension journalism, have never been concerned about recording the facts. They have always been concerned only about defining the narratives and truths for the powers of the time.
wolverine876 4y ago
> A few examples; the Titanic was never called unsinkable until after it sank, no one committed suicide on Black Friday as a result of the stock market crash, and there was no public panic caused by the original War of the Worlds radio broadcast. All of these things were reported by the media at the time. Why should I believe you, a random person on the Internet?

nonethewiser 4y ago

That's interesting. I'm not sure what you point is. I think it reinforces my point that news in the past wasn't necessarily more informative. I'm not really sure though.

throw__away7391 4y ago
That it has never lived up to being the bastion of truth and democracy it's sometimes made out to be, it has always been about getting eyeballs and selling ads. These examples are more "sensational" than negative, but it is essentially the same idea.
- Dalewyn 4y ago
  >it has always been about getting eyeballs and selling ads. And setting the record straight, where "straight" is whatever the powers-that-be want. We even have an age old saying for this: History is written by the victors. Historical records, and by extension journalism, have never been concerned about recording the facts. They have always been concerned only about defining the narratives and truths for the powers of the time.

wolverine876 4y ago

> A few examples; the Titanic was never called unsinkable until after it sank, no one committed suicide on Black Friday as a result of the stock market crash, and there was no public panic caused by the original War of the Worlds radio broadcast. All of these things were reported by the media at the time. Why should I believe you, a random person on the Internet?