3 ms·

This idea that "media" has always owned "news" is frustrating. Would be akin to lamenting the death of almanacs and how facts are now out of reach for people t

by taeric 3y ago

This idea that "media" has always owned "news" is frustrating. Would be akin to lamenting the death of almanacs and how facts are now out of reach for people that read them. There is certainly a shift happening. But the idea that most people benefit from knowing world news is dubious. To that end, what I regret is how out of touch with local news we all seem to have become.

chankstein38 3y ago
Agreed. I basically have no knowledge of what's happening within 30 min of me while world news is everywhere. I also agree that world news is mostly useless. Why do I care about most of it? How will it ever affect me? But it gives them infinite stories to write to make more clickbait so we'll click on their site and either see ads or pay for access. They dug their own graves.
zug_zug 3y ago
Yeah I'll even go a step further. Sometimes I feel it's actively psychologically harmful for a nonstop treadmill of very remote prescribed drama to piped into every citizen's head (election/israel/ukraine/etc). Not to say those things don't matter at all, but I've noticed (take NPR for example) a huge bias toward negative news that is completely out of my control and often around political problems (as opposed to say scientific problems).
- chankstein38 3y ago
  100% on point! Every time I'm getting my oil changed or I'm at a doctor's office, they've got the news on in the waiting rooms and it seems like the whole world is on fire and every house near me is burning and everyone is dying. Then I go live my life and everything is fine. The reporting feels like it has no connection to reality. Yeah, the stuff happened. But that stuff just happens. Buildings catch fire, people die in car accidents, robberies happen, etc I just don't need to know about every single instance of it that happens on the surface of the planet.
  - zug_zug 3y ago
    Right. I saw a flash animation showing that in many ways we live in the most peaceful and stable period in history (http://www.fallen.io/shadow-peace/1/ http://www.fallen.io/shadow-peace/1/). It was a shock to me because I felt like I had always been saturated with the idea that things are especially bad now. I do put the blame on media because when they report problems I feel they intentionally avoid establishing historical baselines.
    - taeric 3y ago
      This is particularly egregious in how racial news is covered. All the more so, as I'm pretty sure it is part of a feedback system that is actively making things worse. Which is not to claim that "racism is dead." But I don't know why you would amplify failures while silencing successes. Or, if you do, I don't know why you would be surprised to see more of what is amplified. :(

by taeric 3y ago

chankstein38 3y ago

Agreed. I basically have no knowledge of what's happening within 30 min of me while world news is everywhere. I also agree that world news is mostly useless. Why do I care about most of it? How will it ever affect me? But it gives them infinite stories to write to make more clickbait so we'll click on their site and either see ads or pay for access. They dug their own graves.

zug_zug 3y ago

Yeah I'll even go a step further. Sometimes I feel it's actively psychologically harmful for a nonstop treadmill of very remote prescribed drama to piped into every citizen's head (election/israel/ukraine/etc). Not to say those things don't matter at all, but I've noticed (take NPR for example) a huge bias toward negative news that is completely out of my control and often around political problems (as opposed to say scientific problems).

chankstein38 3y ago
100% on point! Every time I'm getting my oil changed or I'm at a doctor's office, they've got the news on in the waiting rooms and it seems like the whole world is on fire and every house near me is burning and everyone is dying. Then I go live my life and everything is fine. The reporting feels like it has no connection to reality. Yeah, the stuff happened. But that stuff just happens. Buildings catch fire, people die in car accidents, robberies happen, etc I just don't need to know about every single instance of it that happens on the surface of the planet.
- zug_zug 3y ago
  Right. I saw a flash animation showing that in many ways we live in the most peaceful and stable period in history (http://www.fallen.io/shadow-peace/1/ http://www.fallen.io/shadow-peace/1/). It was a shock to me because I felt like I had always been saturated with the idea that things are especially bad now. I do put the blame on media because when they report problems I feel they intentionally avoid establishing historical baselines.
  - taeric 3y ago
    This is particularly egregious in how racial news is covered. All the more so, as I'm pretty sure it is part of a feedback system that is actively making things worse. Which is not to claim that "racism is dead." But I don't know why you would amplify failures while silencing successes. Or, if you do, I don't know why you would be surprised to see more of what is amplified. :(