AnimeSuki Forums

AnimeFan188 · 2014-02-21, 23:19

5 Disturbing Reasons Not to Trust the News (From a Reporter):

"Growing up, I remember wondering why major catastrophes were relegated to just
inches of column space somewhere in the middle of the newspaper, while
knocked-up celebrities farting into a maternity gown would crack the front pages.
Then I started working as the editor of a U.K. tech news site at the dawn of citizen
reporting, social media, and the Web, and I realized that the gulf between the
newsworthy and the filler has been widened on an enormous scale. Here are just
some of the reasons journalism has gone (and continues to go) to shit:"

See:

http://www.cracked.com/article_20819...-reporter.html

SaintessHeart · 2014-02-21, 23:30

That article is an insult to the rest of the human race. Not everyone is devoid of critical thinking skills despite what the masses show.

jdennis007 · 2014-02-22, 10:01

Let me guess, the guy was a reporter for The Onion?

Fireminer · 2014-02-22, 19:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

That article is an insult to the rest of the human race. Not everyone is devoid of critical thinking skills despite what the masses show.

An insult, yes, but I could see where he is standing.

But then, if the masses truly have good analyzing skill, then how could these type of stains of the journalist could exist?

monsta666 · 2014-02-23, 07:54

Most people have poor critical thinking skills and just believe what they want to believe rather than the actual truth. Furthermore people also have an inclination towards figures of authority so the appeal to authority meme will hold a lot of weight even if the institution is proven to be dishonest on numerous occasions. Another thing to bear in mind is that people often have a set of belief systems in how the world works and do not want those believes to be threatened or in some cases even challenged. That is why people often seek and stay on media sources that reflect their views. It is confirmation bias. It is this fact why certain papers maintain a set of core values so as not to alienate their audience.

Also as Fireminer already alluded to: if people have greater critical thinking abilities these dishonest media outlets would not exist. I would also add that being intelligent will not necessarily make you good at critical thinking. To me critical thinking is something tied closer to wisdom than intelligence.

raikage · 2014-02-24, 23:13

Let me counter this article with an article (Yes, it's the Onion, but it's still true):

Let Me Explain Why Miley Cyrus’ VMA Performance Was Our Top Story This Morning

Quote:

I don’t hesitate to call it stupid [BS] because we all know it’s stupid [BS]. We know it and you know it. We also know that you are probably dumb enough, or bored enough, or both, to click on the stupid bullshit anyway, and that you will continue to do so as long as we keep putting it in front of your big, idiot faces. You want to know how many more page views the Miley Cyrus thing got than our article on the wildfires ravaging Yosemite? Like 6 gazillion more.

That’s on you, not us.

At some point, we decided news should be a for-profit venture (TV news, at least, did not used to be so) and when you do that, then it inevitably declines into "do it on the cheap" which is why there are less fact-checkers and junk fluff pieces get passed off as news -- if you're under deadline to write x stories a day then that kind of stuff is going to happen.

Anh_Minh · 2014-02-26, 16:53

They wouldn't "do it on the cheap" if people didn't "buy it on the cheap". We get what we want: cheap (free, financed by advertising...), and fast (remember last week's, or even yesterday's news? Are you still following up on that?).

Nightbat® · 2014-02-27, 21:17

It's no different from how religions gained so much influence
Prey on people's hopes and fears, and cash in the rewards

2014-02-21, 23:19	Link #1
AnimeFan188 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008	What's Wrong With The Media? 5 Disturbing Reasons Not to Trust the News (From a Reporter): "Growing up, I remember wondering why major catastrophes were relegated to just inches of column space somewhere in the middle of the newspaper, while knocked-up celebrities farting into a maternity gown would crack the front pages. Then I started working as the editor of a U.K. tech news site at the dawn of citizen reporting, social media, and the Web, and I realized that the gulf between the newsworthy and the filler has been widened on an enormous scale. Here are just some of the reasons journalism has gone (and continues to go) to shit:" See: http://www.cracked.com/article_20819...-reporter.html

2014-02-21, 23:30	Link #2
SaintessHeart NYAAAAHAAANNNNN~ Join Date: Nov 2007 Age: 35	That article is an insult to the rest of the human race. Not everyone is devoid of critical thinking skills despite what the masses show. __________________ When three puppygirls named after pastries are on top of each other, it is called Eclair a'la menthe et Biscotti aux fraises avec beaucoup de Ricotta sur le dessus. Most of all, you have to be disciplined and you have to save, even if you hate our current financial system. Because if you don't save, then you're guaranteed to end up with nothing.

2014-02-22, 10:01	Link #3
jdennis007 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: New York	Let me guess, the guy was a reporter for The Onion? __________________ When it is a Dozen it is OK, but when it is only a Pair then somehow it's pron, think Dirty.

2014-02-27, 21:17	Link #8
Nightbat® Deadpan Snarker Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: The Neverlands Age: 46	It's no different from how religions gained so much influence Prey on people's hopes and fears, and cash in the rewards __________________

2014-02-23, 07:54	Link #5
monsta666 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: London, England Age: 37	Most people have poor critical thinking skills and just believe what they want to believe rather than the actual truth. Furthermore people also have an inclination towards figures of authority so the appeal to authority meme will hold a lot of weight even if the institution is proven to be dishonest on numerous occasions. Another thing to bear in mind is that people often have a set of belief systems in how the world works and do not want those believes to be threatened or in some cases even challenged. That is why people often seek and stay on media sources that reflect their views. It is confirmation bias. It is this fact why certain papers maintain a set of core values so as not to alienate their audience. Also as Fireminer already alluded to: if people have greater critical thinking abilities these dishonest media outlets would not exist. I would also add that being intelligent will not necessarily make you good at critical thinking. To me critical thinking is something tied closer to wisdom than intelligence.

2014-02-26, 16:53	Link #7
Anh_Minh I disagree with you all. Join Date: Dec 2005	They wouldn't "do it on the cheap" if people didn't "buy it on the cheap". We get what we want: cheap (free, financed by advertising...), and fast (remember last week's, or even yesterday's news? Are you still following up on that?).