NationStates Jolt Archive

Was just on another thread discussing the lack of quality news...
It just seems to be so lightweight.You would think there was enough trajedy and disaster going on in the world to fill up hours of indepth,intelligent nwes coverage.Even news papers skim over the real issues, some are good(eg in gb the independant)but in papers like the sun,on days where thousands are killed/injured in the middle east their front page story is'posh spice gets drunk'(or something to that effect)
The other day I was watching abc news and guess what came up as news'sesame street add's new female muppet charicter', wow great.
American news is flooded with tales of Jonbenet Ramsey,its not that I dont care, its just there is only so much you can take of the same story when there is so much crap going on in the world!
This is an oppurtunity dfor everyone who wants to to rant about slipping standards in reporting(and to repeat the most inconcequential(sp?)/stupid news items they have heard/read recently!)

The problem I have is that when they do report on something that might be important, it's just a photo and a quick caption - or 1 minute on Headline News, or a rant by O'Reilly.

Nothing of substance. No in depth analysis (if they say they are doing in depth analysis, it's a couple of pundits yelling at each other).

Gone are the days of the original 60 Minutes, where they examined a story in detail, with some degree of integrity.

Now we have Geraldo making "news". Photographers using Photoshop to spice up their pictures. Falsely captioning photo after photo. And wire services repeating stories without verifying anything.

There was a time when "journalism" meant that you brought important stories to the table - and when you brought the story to the table, you told the story from a variety of perspectives, and examined each one closely in the light of logic and evidence. You used scientific tools where possible. You consulted actual experts in the field, instead of pulling the analysis out of your ass, or asking the opinion of Al Franken. Now, the pundits ARE the fucking news. Now, we're more likely to hear about the battle between Ann Coulter and Janeane Garafalo in shrill detail than we are about the details of the battle in Lebanon.

Considering the huge fakery of photos from Lebanon, and the denials of casualties by Hezbollah (other than civilians), and the inability to get an independent account (Hezbollah won't allow it, and the IDF isn't forthcoming either), we actually don't know WHAT THE FUCK actually happened there.

The world press has let us down in a major way. A telling sign of the times - and a complete waste of the power of free speech.

We're supposed to be an informed society. A knowledgable society. One that prizes honesty, intellectual examination, and logic.

But now, because we prize the hot story, the sound bite, and the emotional outburst, our journalism has gone straight into the sewer.

It's no wonder that our politicians are crap now. Because we have no way to tell what the fuck is going on anymore - it's all crap under the rug, and we don't seem to mind as long as the show is exciting, and panders to our suspicions (whether we suspect that the Jews are the cause of all the problems in the Middle East, or we suspect that the Muslims are the cause, or the US is the cause).

we have a great gift in our countries, it is called FREE speech.we are wasting this give that so many die for in many countries.
we are more concerned with celebs and trivial stories.
I want in depth, that with hard talk ect, but they could be better!!!
I also want to see that I am very glad that soeone else agrees with me that standards are slippin(I am also glad that me and dk agree on something-i knew we would eventually)

Why force your own beliefs on others when you can't even enforce them at home?

The world press has let us down in a major way. A telling sign of the times - and a complete waste of the power of free speech.

We're supposed to be an informed society. A knowledgable society. One that prizes honesty, intellectual examination, and logic.

But now, because we prize the hot story, the sound bite, and the emotional outburst, our journalism has gone straight into the sewer.

It's no wonder that our politicians are crap now. Because we have no way to tell what the fuck is going on anymore - it's all crap under the rug, and we don't seem to mind as long as the show is exciting, and panders to our suspicions (whether we suspect that the Jews are the cause of all the problems in the Middle East, or we suspect that the Muslims are the cause, or the US is the cause).

I couldnt agree more, very well put.
I have noticed (especially on american news-sorry usa people dont wanna offend you)that when a comment is asked for on an important subject(that has been discussed for 1 minute)the comment given is a one liner, all the news corporations give you is soundbites!
SO many people complain about the dumbing down of society,I tell you that it is not that the majority is stupid, it is that the establishment and the news corporations only care about money and ratings and not intellectual honesty.They patronise us!

I couldnt agree more, very well put.
I have noticed (especially on american news-sorry usa people dont wanna offend you)that when a comment is asked for on an important subject(that has been discussed for 1 minute)the comment given is a one liner, all the news corporations give you is soundbites!
SO many people complain about the dumbing down of society,I tell you that it is not that the majority is stupid, it is that the establishment and the news corporations only care about money and ratings and not intellectual honesty.They patronise us!
The majority of us buy it, though.

We're as much to blame for the state of journalism today.

The majority of us buy it, though.

We're as much to blame for the state of journalism today.

do we, or do we just believe that we cannot do anything to changfe the situation?
I mean, what can we do?(except rant of course!!)

do we, or do we just believe that we cannot do anything to changfe the situation?
I mean, what can we do?(except rant of course!!)

I usually ignore it.

do we, or do we just believe that we cannot do anything to changfe the situation?
I mean, what can we do?(except rant of course!!)

Most people today don't want the other side of the story. Or have to think about whether something is true or not.

They don't have the time. Look at the pattern of political discourse - it's mostly namecalling and batshit conspiracy accusations.

In fact, very few of us here are actually mentally ill. I'm not saying you're not mentally ill, for all I know you're crazy as a loon. But that's not why you're here. Why you're here is because of the system, because of the economy.

There's the TV. It's all right there. Commercials. We are not productive anymore, they don't need us to make things anymore, it's all automated. What are we for then? We're consumers. Okay, buy a lot of stuff, you're a good citizen. But if you don't buy a lot of stuff, you know what? You're mentally ill! That's a fact! If you don't buy things...toilet paper, new cars, computerized blenders, electrically operated sexual devices...

SCREWDRIVERS WITH MINIATURE BUILT-IN RADAR DEVICES, STEREO SYSTEMS WITH BRAIN IMPLANTED HEADPHONES, VOICE- ACTIVATED COMPUTERS, AND...

Don't worry, DK, we are all here for you. :fluffle:

Don't worry, DK, we are all here for you. :fluffle:
Seriously, more and more people are being defined now as mentally ill. Why? Because they're not consuming on their own. But as patients, they become consumers of mental health care. And this gives the so-called sane people work!

WHOOO! SHOCK THERAPY! GROUP THERAPY! HALLUCINATIONS! THERAPEUTIC DRUGS! IGGIDY DIGGIDY DIG! PERFECT! THE SYSTEM IN HARMONY LIKE A BIG MACHINE...

In fact, very few of us here are actually mentally ill. I'm not saying you're not mentally ill, for all I know you're crazy as a loon. But that's not why you're here. Why you're here is because of the system, because of the economy.

There's the TV. It's all right there. Commercials. We are not productive anymore, they don't need us to make things anymore, it's all automated. What are we for then? We're consumers. Okay, buy a lot of stuff, you're a good citizen. But if you don't buy a lot of stuff, you know what? You're mentally ill! That's a fact! If you don't buy things...toilet paper, new cars, computerized blenders, electrically operated sexual devices...

SCREWDRIVERS WITH MINIATURE BUILT-IN RADAR DEVICES, STEREO SYSTEMS WITH BRAIN IMPLANTED HEADPHONES, VOICE- ACTIVATED COMPUTERS, AND...
I am mentally ill, but thats another story...It doesnt affect my judgement just my moods....
I cant stand adverts I avoid them if I can,I just hate living in a society where our worth is judged by how much we spend, what we own, what we can get for ourselves.
I have changed my mind, I agree with you that it is partly our fault that news is so crap,we dont find it gratifing(sp?)a good news story doesnt immideatly benefit us or make us happy.I mean , if we were meant to be happy all the time our brains would produce more seratonin(sp?) and endorphins(again sp?), but thats what we all expect today, instant happiness.we need to think of our long term health, mental and physical.It is in our long term intrests to examine the news in detail, listening rationally to both sides.Maybe a lot of things would reslove themselves without violence and 'punch and judy politics(all politics seems to be today is one soundbite after another, usually to slag an opponent off.There are no rational policies, only reactionary spur of the moment policies to placate the sun/mirror/usa equivelant(sp?)reading public!)

we should all become journalists(tee hee)