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Journalism and "The News"
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As a journalist I am constantly aware of the limitations, both obvious and subtle, that
occur in my profession. Understanding those limitations might help you to better evaluate what you see and
hear in the media.
Begin by understanding that the primary interest of all professional media providers, and most other groups
for that matter, is to make at least enough money to sustain itself. Sometimes that means making enough money to
continue operating. Most of the time it means making enough profit to satisfy employee and
owner/shareholder demands.
Profit in the media industry is driven by ratings and derived mostly from advertisers. Increased ratings means
increased readers/viewers which means increased advertising and subscription revenues. That is why most of what
you see, hear, or read is provided because it sells the best, not because it is truly important, needed, or useful to you. Fear,
hate, anger and greed "sell" better than understanding and compassion. That is why most of what you see on TV
or in your magazines and newspapers emphasizes the sensational -- crime, violence, war, disasters and other
threats, both real and immaterial.
That is also why there is a lot of information you will never see in the general media. For example, the
inevitable crisis that will come when we run out of oil would certainly be sensational, but to honestly
examine that situation in detail would mean alienating advertisers -- not just oil companies, but every business
who's continued profits depend upon sustaining our petroleum-based culture. It would also probably alienate
most readers/viewers who really don't want to hear about the very real doomsday potentials inherent in that
situation. Since the combination of alienated advertisers and alienated readers/viewers means lost revenue,
this situation will probably never get the media coverage it needs until it is too late.
And if anyone working for a media organization tells you that they are not censored or restricted in what they
write, remember that the only reason that person has that job is because they have already proven to management
that they will not say or write anything that will upset the corporate applecart. It's called self-censorship
and permeates all industry at all levels.
"Alternative" media can offer information that is not acceptable in the "general" media, but keep in mind that
the only difference between the two is that the alternative media have figured out how to make money from
covering unpopular topics. The rules of censorship may be different, but they exist just the same.
"Non-media" organizations, even so-called "non-profit" and governmental organizations, work under the same limitations.
Since their primary mission is economic survival they will say and do whatever supports that mission even
if they know that what they are saying and doing is less or counter-productive to what their publicly stated
goals are.
In addition to the limitations placed on journalists (and others who write for
publication) by the needs of the organizations they work for, there are limitations of the journalists
themselves which affect the scope and quality of the information they can provide you.
Because someone knows a lot about a subject doesn't mean they can effectively communicate to you what they know.
Libraries filled with virtually unreadable academic texts are but one example. Many scientific and
academic articles are another. A journalist, if he or she has worked as a journalist for any significant
lenght of time, should at least know how to communicate effectively. The question then becomes whether they
know enough about a subject to actually give you any useful information about that subject.
In evaluating the work of a journalist consider three factors: amount of experience with the subject; track
record in terms of accuracy, perceptions, and comprehensiveness; and the format they are working with.
The first two factors should be fairly self-explanatory. The third, format, refers to the type of media product
they are delivering. Don't look for any details in a general summary, don't expect to find a lot of details even
in a longer piece, and don't expect to get anything out of television news broadcasts except a general feeling
and maybe, if you are lucky, a fairly accurate weather forcast for tomorrow.
Start by accepting that you are the only person responsible for seeing to it that
you get the information you need and want. No one has any obligation to gather and neatly package what you
are after. You can either sift through the mountains of information that are out there, or you can just
accept whatever someone else is willing to hand you, or you can ignore it all and live in blissful ignorance
for as long as you can.
Becoming well-informed on anything is not easy, but there are a few things you can do to make it
not quite so impossible.
Start by looking for a manageable number of reliable sources. Qualify those sources by comparing what they say,
and more importantly what they don't say, to other sources. It takes a lot of time and critical reading
at first, but it will pay off big-time in the long run.
And speaking of critical reading, learn how to do it and practice it on everything you see and hear. Look for
what is not being said, for underlying assumptions that may not be true, and missing pieces of an arguement.
Try to understand what motivates your source. For example, loggers may not always be completely open about the
impact their logging has on forest ecology, while anti-loggers may not be willing to fully examine alternative
logging methods.
And don't fall into the trap, commonly used in the media, of thinking in simplistic terms of black and white.
Journalists will often use the technique of "framing" to explain issues in only two limited, and usually
conflicting, points of view. Rarely are things ever completely black and white or limited to only two sides.
If there is enough interest in knowing more about this I'll provide a more detailed explanation of
how to cope with information overload and the process of critical thinking, reading, and hearing. If you have such
an interest, let me know. Use the Contact function at the bottom of this page.
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