General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsOther than having lived my "three score and ten", I have no unique qualifications for
being a media critic. But, I have paid attention to politics for half a century now, and have noticed a few things about what and who makes the evening news and dominates social media coverage.
There was a time when the corporate networks provided objective news reporting more or less as a public service. News divisions were not expected to make a profit but, hey, they made us a more informed electorate and most everyone thought that a good thing.
Today, news programs ARE expected to turn a profit and that means advertisers and that means anything that increases viewership increases profit and is "good". Hard nosed responsible journalism which is not "entertaining" enough will eventually be replaced by talking heads who tell people what they want to hear or, better perhaps, what is the most outrageous.
So---let's be very careful about what we buy into and what we allow to shape our opinions. Like "IMPEACHMENT ISSUE REVEALS DEMOCRATS' DEEP DIVISIONS" or "Candidate A says Candidate B isn't electable".
Grain of salt? Check.
Common sense? Check.
Trust my gut? Absolutely.
saidsimplesimon
(7,888 posts)Grain of salt? Check.
Common sense? Check.
Trust my gut? Absolutely.
JHB
(37,166 posts)1) Several decades of a conservative branding campaign to label any reporting that does not cheerlead a conservative agenda as "liberal media bias". Accomodation just let them shout it louder, "working the refs,' as Pat Buchanan described it. It shifted the range of what was considered "reasonable" sharply in the conservatives' direction.
2) Changes in corporate governance and law that promote short-term thinking, pressure to maximize profits above all other considerations. Failure to shoot money upward to shareholders -- as much as possible as fast as possible -- became bad for managers' careers.
stillcool
(32,626 posts)it literally makes me sick. These days I have to pay more attention to what I read. My world is getting smaller, because there's too much garbage outside my door.
OldBaldy1701E
(5,217 posts)Back in the day news programs were solely done by the different channels as a public service and had no connection to the normal broadcast grind for that reason. Then, in the seventies, these stations, like almost all of Hollywood, were 'corporatized'. From that time on, every single second of air time had to turn a profit. News programs were being compared to prime time offerings and expected to hold their own in this new corporate model. Well, how in the world do you compete with sensational Hollywood? You do the same thing, of course. The problem with this is that you stop being news and start being a 'show', just like all the drivel on the television and cable and online streams. Why hold credibility when you can use hype? So, the news programs became a form of 'reality television' which, as we all know, is not 'reality'. (I have often found programming that calls itself 'reality' television is a prime example of just how warped our society has become. Trying to pass off such scripted junk as 'reality'... I mean, really...)
extvbroadcaster
(343 posts)If you have ever been frustrated with the Sunday shows, you are not alone. When I tune in, the mute goes on with Kelly Anne, Sarah Sanders, Chris Christie, Trump's lawyers, etc. But the networks, hosts, guests - they are all in bed together to turn a buck. The hosts have a real problem. If they challenge the guests too much, they will refuse to go on and retreat to Fox news. Hosts also suffer from "both siderism" - so no matter what the GOP does or Trump's crimes, they have to find some democratic thing to point to. Then they can say they are "balanced" - the entire news business changed with technology. Back in Cronkite's day, there was little choice of media and guests had nowhere else to go. Plus, news was a loss leader. News and media today are a real mess, and Trump has exploited it. I don't know where this takes us, but it is not good.