The Media

[speed]

Can we trust our news? Can we even trust the goals and aims of T.V. shows, music groups, movies?

In the past, news was at least partially tied to the idealistic belief of reporting objective facts. Popular media or art, be it T.V. shows, movies, pop music groups or even books, was considered a creative--as in free from any outside censorship or influences--form. All of this seems to have totally changed today.

The news, is for profit, not for facts, and bias has become commonplace. Our current American news media, from the NY Times to the Drudge Report, is not only severely biased, but not terribly accurate.

Popular media--these T.V. shows, movies, etc--is nothing more than a marketing scheme for multi-national corporations. Censorship that in the past was from the state (and lead to great art) and about what a artist can say or do, has been replaced by a more pernicious form of censorship: the censorship of focus groups and marketing studies, and the belief that good business is something that never offends or is controversial.

In short, the mainstream media has become corrupt.


Why is this so terrible when censorship in some form or another (church, state) has always been present, and news has never been totally accurate?

I argue its the connectivity and globalization of the world and democracy. Are there other issues? And what is one to do with the mainstream media?

 

[JoeVice]

bias has been, is, and will always be, right down the the nitty gritty. the dimeanor of the channel 9's news reporter conveys as much bias as the report and its content. plus, one digests whatever they absorb from the media, including the biases and bullshit. the info is incorporated into their world view in a manner that is no more biased than the bullshit that they perceive to be (bullshit). the objective truth doesn't exist. folks who claim to know it, and seek it, are just another biased opinion, especially in the eyes of an opposing objective view.

some people seek out deeper truths, and some want to watch the news channel that agrees with what their parents taught them. i imagine its always been this way.

marketing groups, focus studies, and several other "pointless" hobbies/activities/jobs (such as spending time on the internet) are all part of the grand scheme of things. people choose careers, and make advancements. every year, there are new rules and regulations put into effect by the careers/biases that put rules and regulations into effect.

concerning hidden essential facts...this can come down to the fault of a handfull of people, or even one person, which is a disgusting shame. i suppose that this is the heart of the problem. i imagine the higher up the chain one goes, the more bullshit that they must adhere to, which is a task that only the dishonest person is willing to follow through with.

 

[JColtrane]

Good book on media: Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman.

 

[speed]

Good book on media: Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman.

I'll check it out.

Not my best, or well-thought-out thread either. Sorry everyone. My mind is under the mush-inducing influences of the media.

 

[derek]

I've never trusted the news, although I do respect some broadsheets and some BBC programming.

In many ways the news just responds to what most folks want to hear, although I'm unsure whether the conditioning has maybe worked the other way.

Regardless, holistically understanding the media allows one to form their own picture.

 

[speed]

This thread was partly inspired by my own recent dealings with the media. I've suddenly been appointed to a very influential position in government, of a town of 35,000. It has a daily newspaper. Once a week there is a totally false article on the front page, about the department I head (as there's been some controversy before I got there a month ago, that continues with these idiotic articles). These articles source or quote individuals who are not only blatantly lying, but are making outrageous accusations on things they know nothing about. These statements are then blown up as the title of the article, and written about. I am not contacted about the veracity of these claims (which I could easily refute with actual and basic facts), nor are other persons actually involved asked. Thus it seems the reporter has not done any actual reporting. Not to mention the articles are incredibly poorly written.

I can only imagine how this process plays out in every newspaper around the country, if not the world. Poorly researched, poorly written sensationalism, that has nothing to do with the truth, and only induces public fear and distrust.

 

[derek]

Sells quite nicely to Joe Public though, huh?

 

[speed]

Sells quite nicely to Joe Public though, huh?

Apparently. Its made a huge issue out of a small misunderstanding.

I stepped into all this, and was warned about it beforehand; and Im amazed how trivial the basis is for the argument and controversy. I shudder to think of how other major events have been blown out of proportion by the press.

 

[JColtrane]

"The media loves the latest tragic suicide
they exploit it, then profit from the people who die"

(sweet guitar solo 1)

 

[Έρεβος]

Can we trust our news? Can we even trust the goals and aims of T.V. shows, music groups, movies?

Is this a trick question? =o

 

[Blowtus]

How could the current situation with the media be improved? Greater emphasis on general critical thinking for the masses?
Large scale monopoly's on media distribution reduced? The slippery slope of regulated news?

 

[Blue_Jay]

I trust the news station that I watch over here, everything they say seem to be pretty true stuff. Perhaps some news stations lie and others do not.

 

[infoterror]

Soylent Green is people.

The Media(tm) is us... what we buy, what we listen to, what movies we watch.

Corporations are us... what we want to earn, how we want to do it, etc.

The problem is us... a lack of discipline toward truth.

Resistance, anyone?