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Thanks for that. I hadn't heard this detail in the mass media sites I read about it. HackerNews as usual has a succinct summary, why can't normal media be this

Thanks for that. I hadn't heard this detail in the mass media sites I read about it. HackerNews as usual has a succinct summary, why can't normal media be this clear? I think it's because most journalists are missing an engineering background. Just adding those few sentences tells us so much more.

Suzuran 3y ago
When I was interviewed on a technical subject by a local affiliate, I was told they are under specific directive to be as non-technical as possible, even if the result becomes technically incorrect. As a result, my answers were trimmed down to be essentially "be scared of scary things". The news is a product being sold to a demographic and the messaging must appease the demographic or they are out of their jobs.
- NotSammyHagar 3y ago
  It's not surprising that they don't want to make it confusing and useless for their viewers as anyone sees all the time, but it's possible to describe it in a way that most people can understand, like the person I replied to.
- npteljes 3y ago
  >I was told they are under specific directive to be as non-technical as possible, even if the result becomes technically incorrect. There could be a sinister undertone to this, but this is how communication works. Common context is a must for successful communication, and news is communication. And, yeah, news needs to be sold in a hard competition, so they do whatever to grab the attention.
93po 3y ago
> why can't normal media be this clear there is a strong incentive to keep users on a page as long as possible which means burying the information as deeply as possible. even mainstream-reputable sources like CNN have nothing but clickbait headlines on the front page every day, telling you something big has happened without saying exactly what it was. journalism has always been problematic throughout history but i feel it's at new lows today

Suzuran 3y ago

When I was interviewed on a technical subject by a local affiliate, I was told they are under specific directive to be as non-technical as possible, even if the result becomes technically incorrect. As a result, my answers were trimmed down to be essentially "be scared of scary things". The news is a product being sold to a demographic and the messaging must appease the demographic or they are out of their jobs.

NotSammyHagar 3y ago
It's not surprising that they don't want to make it confusing and useless for their viewers as anyone sees all the time, but it's possible to describe it in a way that most people can understand, like the person I replied to.
npteljes 3y ago
>I was told they are under specific directive to be as non-technical as possible, even if the result becomes technically incorrect. There could be a sinister undertone to this, but this is how communication works. Common context is a must for successful communication, and news is communication. And, yeah, news needs to be sold in a hard competition, so they do whatever to grab the attention.

93po 3y ago

> why can't normal media be this clear there is a strong incentive to keep users on a page as long as possible which means burying the information as deeply as possible. even mainstream-reputable sources like CNN have nothing but clickbait headlines on the front page every day, telling you something big has happened without saying exactly what it was. journalism has always been problematic throughout history but i feel it's at new lows today