Why, exactly, has the media establishment become so unpopular with so many people? Here are just a few examples of what provokes American anger. They suggest that the public has good reason to think that the news media are not doing their job.
Browse the pieces of the PBS Frontline Website on an episode they did on, "Why America Hates the Press." Make sure you read the Fallows article (linked) for discussion and a possible quiz.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/press/
3 comments:
What surprised me is that the root cause of the change in the nature of the media actually began BEFORE the internet, whereas before I had always viewed the internet as the prime mover.
Rather, it seems, the internet was a medium that amplified and accelerated a process already in motion, a dislike for the press as doom-sayers that has led them to pursue fluff in a bid to make themselves more likable.
I suppose the irony is that the very people responsible (that is, most of America) via their habits for this change, now think the press is becoming worthless and isn't doing its job.
The current American media has become so biased, one way or another, with journalists never asking the right questions, and with analysis being tainted by the corporations or officials funding or having connections with the newspaper or network. The newsrooms and the editorial boards no longer have a concrete wall between themselves in the american press. Plus the news has become so sensational that there is little analysis of the events, more blurbs, often making Twitter more informative. For mostly these reasons (others are personal), I haven't watch American news networks in years, instead looking towards the BBC, RTÉ, RFI (Radio France Internationale), and other international news agencies to fufill my genetic addiction to the news.
I think more than anything, America doesn't take the press seriously anymore. The media has lost its credentials and that's the primary problem more than anything else. The media is no longer the public's valued news source and thus the media has resorted to less honorable methods of journalism which has in turn given the media an even worse report. I think it's important for those looking to go into this field as it changes to remember the balance between what is valid news and how rapidly it can be shared.
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