The Breakdown of Institutions, An Acquaintance in the Crosshairs
This photo is making the rounds on Twitter. It and its writer are being pilloried as an example of blatant bias in journalism today.
The thing is, this time this isn't just any writer. I know Rachael. We did a week-long journalism seminar together years ago. Rachael is smart, kind, funny & a good person. She's also getting the mass Twitter hate treatment today. (See here: https://twitter.com/rachaelmbade/status/1207526214715531264)
This isn't fair, because this gaffe (which she has since retracted) isn't really about her. It's about America's institutions cracking under the weight of a more fluid, decentralized society.
In this case, large media institutions as a whole have lost integrity. The Washington Post, like so many others, have drifted toward partisanship in this day when immediate online feedback tempts and normalizes ideological bias. (Plus, we have a divisive president, who is also partially a product of this 24-7 connected world.)
Big Media is just one institution faltering. Others have rightly pointed out that universities are cracking, if not sometimes crumbling. And finally, of course, as seen with this whole impeachment saga which I posted about yesterday, the institution of government is breaking as well.
This is big stuff and might be cause for alarm to many. But the action needed (and what will make for a better society) is the creation of more independent institutions.
Localized schools connected via an online networks. News blogs spreading information of every niche to every nook and cranny of the population. And communities built and maintained by specialized efforts according to their specific needs.
Believe it or not, on the other side of this institutional breakdown is a much better world--if we can get there without tearing each other apart beforehand. This will actually require we let go of these dated, unwieldy institutions, as they are being weaponized against ideological foes.
Once we let go of them, we can then attend to building more efficient, egalitarian, connected institutions that cater to more, more effectively.
This is what I'm working on.
A connected world will either be the best thing or worst that has happened to humanity. So far I'm leaning towards worst...but we still have time to change.
Zero question that getting the "news" doesn't even come close to meaning what it used to. Today the media is pushing agendas and it's completely wrong. Whenever I hear about hardships at a newspaper or media station I hope they fail as it's one less propaganda machine.
i hopoe these days the camps can come a bit towards eachother. I found you trough @trincowski via the @pifc good luck blogging
Unity is my "shot in the dark" goal for my documentary I'm working on about a Trump rally. I want both sides to see the situation more clearly. Thanks for connecting here!
Interesting post. It's very true that Big Media has become as big of an entity to oppose as Big Pharma and Big Agra... It was interesting when I lived in the UK because there, the media isn't supposed to be unbiased... each of the big three newspapers has a bias and you know what it is when you pick up the newspaper. I find that sort of thing a bit easier to handle, really. It's difficult to be unbiased, so knowing the bias is perhaps more honest.
Just remember, all the journalists (regardless of political leaning) went to the same colleges and were taught by the same professors. Until there's a real choice at the education level, there will be little choice in the delivery.
I found you because @trincowski featured you in the Pay it Forward Curation Contest. Keep up the great work!
Nice observation about the need for more education choices. I'm hopeful a more decentralized, fluid world can help with that, too.
I feel sorry for your friend. I agree with you, when you say this world is divided in two camps and that most journalists have lost their independence, becoming too biased to one side or the other...
Thanks for your article!
It's ridiculous to see this post with only $0.05 in rewards, so I've featured it in My entry to the Pay It Forward Curation Contest - Week 89.
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@trincowski, thank you so much. That means a lot:)
You're welcome. Keep up with the good work.
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Poor girl. What a shame.
An interesting approach you make, if the universities are fracturing, and they are the ones in charge of training the professionals, who are supposed to take the reins of a country based on an education provided by a fractured institution, I think it is wrong.
And I also believe (to complement) that they follow outdated training models that do not always respond to the current reality. That's why there's so much chaos at the moment. To a large extent, there's a need to change models, but those who run these archaic models are fighting for their persistence.
An interesting friendly analysis.
I have arrived at your interesting publication thanks to my friend @trincowski, who has promoted us. Grateful to him for bringing me to this information.
Well, then I'll have to take this occasion to thank @trincowski as well:)
And thank you, @josevas217. Yes, I think universities are simply too bulky (for the most part) and are cracking under the weight of today's ideological fracturing. Plus, in this more fluid world, most people just don't need college anymore, because colleges aren't the gatekeepers to knowledge like they one were. New models will be created. These models will just upend the current university system.
I'm glad we were able to meet here. Happy Holidays!
I fear for the future if the MSM dies. I am not saying this about you, but some of the "citizen journalists" here on Steemit are so unbelievable stupid it boggles the mind. If that is the alternative we are in big trouble
I sympathize with that concern. The processes and procedures newsrooms around the world have created are invaluable to a fair and true news media. But since today's media institutions aren't living up to these standards any longer, it will be alternative organizations that have to lead the way--though that adjustment will be messy, as you point out.