Can We Really Trust The News At All?
A local TV station discussed the Olympics, but they made one very large mistake. Somehow they confused the host city of the Winter Olympics with a great restaurant. Pyeonchang is not the same as P.F. Changs, but this is evidence to a much larger problem.
The local Chicago station says it was a mistake and the graphic was going to be used in a different segment. A "saterical" one according to the Chicago Tribune.
Come on, these kinds of mistakes are not unique. Add the growing mistakes by the media in general with the numerous "unnamed sources" behind front page news and you're going to get a backlash. I'm 100% for holding the president accountable for everything, but does he need 55 minutes out of an hour of attention?
The media has painted themselves in a corner and coupled with the digital revolution, things are going to change fast. They are already starting to change.
Vanity Fair has an article describing CNN's plans to layoff a large number of people.
It is playing out across all traditional media. NFL ratings slump this year. Olympics ratings down this year. The Grammy Award's ratings down this year. I could go on and on.
The people we have entrusted to give us honest news and even entertain us have become lazy and politicized. They are not doing a good job, and the people are leaving in droves.
The link to the Grammy's article says they lost almost 20% over last year. Like, 10 million viewers. Things are changing quick and it is more important than ever to do your own research. Find your answers and news and don't trust just any one source. This is especially true in crypto.
Much like crypto, we are going to be responsible for our own security. We can't trust anyone to give us the news, we have to confirm the important stuff or we are at risk. Mentally at risk.
What are your thoughts?
Do you trust the media?
Let me know in the comments below.
Media is very important part in our modern life but we can't believe them because their stupidity.
I'm trying to think of a point during my lifetime (I'll be 52 in a few months) when the news media (or any other media) could be trusted. You might have to go back further.
I know there were news anchors/commentators that were trusted in the 60s and 70s, but were they actually providing the news as it was, or were they just better at tweaking it? Or were we more unified then?
Narratives are powerful things. Whoever controls them, controls the masses. So, as you say, it is imperative that we really trust no one source, from any side, and do our best to verify what we hear or read from more than one source.
As for anonymous or unnamed sources—those became pretty popular during Watergate when it might have mattered a little more. Now, it gives everyone license to divulge things that wasn't their place to divulge, or, just flat twist or make it up.
How are we to know the difference?
The smell test, I suppose. Using your mind to reason things out. Still, there's bound to be information we need in order to even adequately do that, information we probably don't have access to, unless someone on the inside is being a citizen journalist.
But even so, can they be trusted? So much for living in the (dis)information age.
The cool thing is -- we can choose whether or not to believe. Or country doesn't censor media (at least not as much as other countries; not yet) We are blessed with knowledge and the resources to make our own opinions... And to top it off, be our own media outlet. Now, PF Chang... Sloppy, distasteful. But we're people and don't always agree. My long-winded point is that no matter how sloppy the media can be, and how much the industry changes due to social media, protests, presidents, etc -- the freedom of speech and the press should always be protected.
I have been contemplating changing my name to Unknown Sources, that way if the news used me as a source, I could then sue them if I copyrighted my name. Then maybe they would have to start naming who said it, otherwise any story with "Unnamed Sources" is unmentionable brown stuff in the unmentionables.
I will leave it up to someone else to do change their name to Unnamed Experts.
Short answer - Probably not.
The media provides News on what we want to hear. They twist the way people say things with the magical "edit" technique.
I agree with @pom-persephone that we as human beings have the power to choose to whether to believe it or not. I guess that's how conspiracy theories start, some people choose not to believe it and start a debate. Then we choose to believe that or not LOL.
Man we hit the media conversation. I personally think we can't trust them all the time. Here is an interesting fact, the creator of the T.V was scared that when he invited it no one would use it. He didn't think people would sit and stare at a screen for long periods. NOW we use it for many things and in all reality we could be feeding our brains lies.
Wow, you'd think that if you are going to broadcast something on television you would double check it first.
It feels like most institutions are out of touch. The truth is available on the internet and in the street. The generation 30'and under understand it's life or death for the human race. Awards shows and professional sports will continue to wane while we answer the problems of renewable energy and nuclear waste disposal.
i dont think so .. we an trust
It's funny, a coworker and I were just talking about this today. No, the media can't be trusted. Most media outlets only report what pushes their own agenda/propaganda. You have to take everything you see, everything you read, and everything you hear with a grain of salt. You have to use your own judgment, do your own research, and decide for yourself what's true.
On a side note, I'm not sure what you meant when you said, "I'm 100% for holding the president accountable for everything." I'm assuming you were saying that the media needs to be held accountable as well?
I think the ratings are down because more people are just streaming their media, i.e. Netflix, Hulu, etc. I haven't done any actual research on this subject other than talk to the people in my life. Several of them, as we have, have cut the cord to cable. I'm babbling, sorry. Thanks for the thought provoking post.