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> whatever ideals journalism may have aspired to in the past no longer exist (if they ever even existed in the past) This is when I like to remind people that

> whatever ideals journalism may have aspired to in the past no longer exist (if they ever even existed in the past) This is when I like to remind people that if you do a good enough job at journalism, you get an award named after a pioneer of sensationalistic “yellow journalism” who propagandized to start the Spanish-American War: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Pulitzer https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Pulitzer

cjbgkagh 3y ago
I had no idea "yellow journalism" and the Pulitzer Prize were linked in that way, thanks for that piece of information.
nebula8804 3y ago
Don't forget about the Nobel Peace Prize named after Alfred Nobel: The inventor of dynamite. [1]:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Nobel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Nobel From the link: "There is a well known story about the origin of the Nobel Prize, although historians have been unable to verify it and some dismiss the story as a myth. In 1888, the death of his brother Ludvig supposedly caused several newspapers to publish obituaries of Alfred in error. One French newspaper condemned him for his invention of military explosives—in many versions of the story, dynamite is quoted, although this was mainly used for civilian applications—and this is said to have brought about his decision to leave a better legacy after his death. The obituary stated, Le marchand de la mort est mort ("The merchant of death is dead"), and went on to say, "Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday." Nobel read the obituary and was appalled at the idea that he would be remembered in this way. His decision to posthumously donate the majority of his wealth to found the Nobel Prize has been credited to him wanting to leave behind a better legacy. However, it has been questioned whether or not the obituary in question actually existed."
- philwelch 3y ago
  To be fair to Nobel, dynamite has plenty of peaceful engineering applications, and its invention did represent an important innovation. If this story is true, it probably says more about the nature of journalism than the nature of dynamite.
notavalleyman 3y ago
> like to remind people Is this phrase used figuratively, or are there actual times when you've exercised this preference upon someone? I think if you said that to me, in a tone which implied you were enjoying saying it, I'd probably ask you why it's relevant. For example, can you demonstrate that Pulitzer Prizes are generally awarded to "yellow journalists"? Or can you show how the recipients of the prize are in any way awarded for behaviour which you're saying Pulitzer the person exhibited. Because it just sounds like a quirk of history, rather than revealing any important facts about journalism or how prizes are awarded
- imacomputertoo 3y ago
  Thank you! I was just watching Oppenheimer yesterday, and cringed at the part where he points out that Alfred Nobel invited dynamite as a reason he might get the award for the A bomb. It's a silly idea. As you put it, it's a quirk of history. Interesting, but not relevant.
- philwelch 3y ago
  The Pulitzer Prize is supposed to be awarded to journalists whose work is actually good for society in some way, rather than simply churning out sensationalist content for crass commercial or ulterior political motives, and yet it's named after someone whose entire career was driven by the exact opposite motivations. It's funny, much like it would be funny to name a human rights award after Idi Amin. And it answers the implied question I quoted at the beginning of the post--that the "ideals" that journalism "may have aspired to in the past" did not, in fact, exist.

cjbgkagh 3y ago

I had no idea "yellow journalism" and the Pulitzer Prize were linked in that way, thanks for that piece of information.

nebula8804 3y ago

Don't forget about the Nobel Peace Prize named after Alfred Nobel: The inventor of dynamite. [1]:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Nobel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Nobel From the link: "There is a well known story about the origin of the Nobel Prize, although historians have been unable to verify it and some dismiss the story as a myth. In 1888, the death of his brother Ludvig supposedly caused several newspapers to publish obituaries of Alfred in error. One French newspaper condemned him for his invention of military explosives—in many versions of the story, dynamite is quoted, although this was mainly used for civilian applications—and this is said to have brought about his decision to leave a better legacy after his death. The obituary stated, Le marchand de la mort est mort ("The merchant of death is dead"), and went on to say, "Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday." Nobel read the obituary and was appalled at the idea that he would be remembered in this way. His decision to posthumously donate the majority of his wealth to found the Nobel Prize has been credited to him wanting to leave behind a better legacy. However, it has been questioned whether or not the obituary in question actually existed."

philwelch 3y ago
To be fair to Nobel, dynamite has plenty of peaceful engineering applications, and its invention did represent an important innovation. If this story is true, it probably says more about the nature of journalism than the nature of dynamite.

notavalleyman 3y ago

> like to remind people Is this phrase used figuratively, or are there actual times when you've exercised this preference upon someone? I think if you said that to me, in a tone which implied you were enjoying saying it, I'd probably ask you why it's relevant. For example, can you demonstrate that Pulitzer Prizes are generally awarded to "yellow journalists"? Or can you show how the recipients of the prize are in any way awarded for behaviour which you're saying Pulitzer the person exhibited. Because it just sounds like a quirk of history, rather than revealing any important facts about journalism or how prizes are awarded

imacomputertoo 3y ago
Thank you! I was just watching Oppenheimer yesterday, and cringed at the part where he points out that Alfred Nobel invited dynamite as a reason he might get the award for the A bomb. It's a silly idea. As you put it, it's a quirk of history. Interesting, but not relevant.
philwelch 3y ago
The Pulitzer Prize is supposed to be awarded to journalists whose work is actually good for society in some way, rather than simply churning out sensationalist content for crass commercial or ulterior political motives, and yet it's named after someone whose entire career was driven by the exact opposite motivations. It's funny, much like it would be funny to name a human rights award after Idi Amin. And it answers the implied question I quoted at the beginning of the post--that the "ideals" that journalism "may have aspired to in the past" did not, in fact, exist.