6 ms·

When I read journalism without knowing the subject well, I assume what I read is accurate. But I'm always shocked by the inaccuracy of reporting on stories I k

by dbecker 13y ago

When I read journalism without knowing the subject well, I assume what I read is accurate. But I'm always shocked by the inaccuracy of reporting on stories I know/understand well. I wonder whether this book is less accurate than average, or whether this review is finding only the typical level of inaccuracy.

thaumasiotes 13y ago
> When I read journalism without knowing the subject well, I assume what I read is accurate. But I'm always shocked by the inaccuracy of reporting on stories I know/understand well. How long before you either () stop being shocked by the stories you understand, or () stop assuming the journalist is telling you the truth in stories you don't? A sentence like this makes more sense in the past tense... When I was small, my parents taught me that if it appeared on TV, it wasn't true （they were mostly thinking of commercials, but news programs were offenders too). It may be sad, but those seem more and more like words to live by, and extend to other media.
- moocowduckquack 13y ago
  When I was small, my parents taught me that if it appeared on TV, it wasn't true Someone I know calls it 'The Glowing Box of Lies', which seems as good a description as any.
JunkDNA 13y ago
I remember learning firsthand just how inaccurate journalism can be. My family ran a small business (a small factory) that tragically caught fire early one morning and burned to the ground. The newspaper account was ridiculous. It described how the fire sent employees "fleeing for their lives from the building". In reality, the building was entirely unoccupied at the time since it was the early morning (likely part of the reason the fire happened to begin with). I don't remember all of the details now, but reading the story, I was stunned at how wrong the overall picture was that it was painting. It was like a parallel universe. I take news accounts with a huge grain of salt now.
- vijayr 13y ago
  Was it a genuine mistake, or just someone adding drama to the story to make it more sensational? Looks like the second scenario, in this case.
  - CamperBob2 13y ago
    How much would you trust the journalist, in either case?
  - nitrogen 13y ago
    Your addition of the word "just" to the second option makes it sound less serious, but falsely dramatizing what is supposed to be a factual story is far more concerning than a genuine mistake.
- e12e 13y ago
  "No news in the truth and no truth in the news."
- Bill_Dimm 13y ago
  Yep. Several years ago the Eastern Technology Council (a local business association) had its annual party on the campus of one of its member companies named Safeguard Scientifics. The local paper reported it as a Safeguard Scientifics networking or recruiting event (I forget which, but no mention of ETC), and claimed that resumes were being exchanged (I was there and didn't see a single resume, just people from various companies chatting, eating, and exchanging business cards). The article was so off-target that people on the Yahoo finance board for Safeguard Scientifics were claiming that this was a sign that the company was in great shape because it was on a big hiring spree. Reality: The company allowed a party to take place on its property, that is all.
- jahewson 13y ago
  I believe you mean a tiny grain of salt, as such news articles have so little meat to consume.
barretts 13y ago
I'd suggest you re-read the review. She only points to one inaccuracy -- the timeframe when Bezos read Remains of the Day. Stone has acknowledged and corrected that fact for future editions. Everything else she says is subjective. She thinks Stone portrayed Amazon as a cutthroat, sinister culture; she tries to re-frame it as an Edenic workplace. The truth is probably somewhere in between, but her version is certainly not a fact.
- unreal37 13y ago
  I think the other argument she makes is that the book is filled with "Bezos worried about..." and "Bezos believed this...". How can the author make such a claim if they didn't interview Bezos? And no mention of having a source claim this. I am sure most of these thoughts and feelings attributed to Bezos are fictional.
judk 13y ago
Gell-Mann Amnesia
steerpike 13y ago
Interesting you think that. Ever since I read the following http://seekerblog.com/2006/01/31/the-murray-gell-mann-amnesia-effect/ http://seekerblog.com/2006/01/31/the-murray-gell-mann-amnesi... I think the opposite.

by dbecker 13y ago

thaumasiotes 13y ago

> When I read journalism without knowing the subject well, I assume what I read is accurate. But I'm always shocked by the inaccuracy of reporting on stories I know/understand well. How long before you either () stop being shocked by the stories you understand, or () stop assuming the journalist is telling you the truth in stories you don't? A sentence like this makes more sense in the past tense... When I was small, my parents taught me that if it appeared on TV, it wasn't true （they were mostly thinking of commercials, but news programs were offenders too). It may be sad, but those seem more and more like words to live by, and extend to other media.

moocowduckquack 13y ago
When I was small, my parents taught me that if it appeared on TV, it wasn't true Someone I know calls it 'The Glowing Box of Lies', which seems as good a description as any.

JunkDNA 13y ago

I remember learning firsthand just how inaccurate journalism can be. My family ran a small business (a small factory) that tragically caught fire early one morning and burned to the ground. The newspaper account was ridiculous. It described how the fire sent employees "fleeing for their lives from the building". In reality, the building was entirely unoccupied at the time since it was the early morning (likely part of the reason the fire happened to begin with). I don't remember all of the details now, but reading the story, I was stunned at how wrong the overall picture was that it was painting. It was like a parallel universe. I take news accounts with a huge grain of salt now.

vijayr 13y ago
Was it a genuine mistake, or just someone adding drama to the story to make it more sensational? Looks like the second scenario, in this case.
- CamperBob2 13y ago
  How much would you trust the journalist, in either case?
- nitrogen 13y ago
  Your addition of the word "just" to the second option makes it sound less serious, but falsely dramatizing what is supposed to be a factual story is far more concerning than a genuine mistake.
e12e 13y ago
"No news in the truth and no truth in the news."
Bill_Dimm 13y ago
Yep. Several years ago the Eastern Technology Council (a local business association) had its annual party on the campus of one of its member companies named Safeguard Scientifics. The local paper reported it as a Safeguard Scientifics networking or recruiting event (I forget which, but no mention of ETC), and claimed that resumes were being exchanged (I was there and didn't see a single resume, just people from various companies chatting, eating, and exchanging business cards). The article was so off-target that people on the Yahoo finance board for Safeguard Scientifics were claiming that this was a sign that the company was in great shape because it was on a big hiring spree. Reality: The company allowed a party to take place on its property, that is all.
jahewson 13y ago
I believe you mean a tiny grain of salt, as such news articles have so little meat to consume.

barretts 13y ago

I'd suggest you re-read the review. She only points to one inaccuracy -- the timeframe when Bezos read Remains of the Day. Stone has acknowledged and corrected that fact for future editions. Everything else she says is subjective. She thinks Stone portrayed Amazon as a cutthroat, sinister culture; she tries to re-frame it as an Edenic workplace. The truth is probably somewhere in between, but her version is certainly not a fact.

unreal37 13y ago
I think the other argument she makes is that the book is filled with "Bezos worried about..." and "Bezos believed this...". How can the author make such a claim if they didn't interview Bezos? And no mention of having a source claim this. I am sure most of these thoughts and feelings attributed to Bezos are fictional.

judk 13y ago

Gell-Mann Amnesia

steerpike 13y ago

Interesting you think that. Ever since I read the following http://seekerblog.com/2006/01/31/the-murray-gell-mann-amnesia-effect/ http://seekerblog.com/2006/01/31/the-murray-gell-mann-amnesi... I think the opposite.