Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
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Cronkite, Murrow, Sevareid and others must be spinning in their graves
Big monied interests are buying up media outlets (print, broadcast, internet) and using those outlets to shape / distort the “news” and thereby influence public opinion for their benefit. It’s been going on a long time. Not getting any better. Suspect it’s pretty much a global phenomenon. Very detrimental to democratic forms of government.
Oh, I suspect Walter started spinning at least a quarter century ago when the network news outlets abdicated their in-depth reporting of relevant national stories in favor of the fragmented over-hyped pieces of a dozen or so of the most sensational stories they could dig up from anywhere on earth. Support PBS. It’s our last best hope.
I watch PBS Newshour religiously. It's real news coverage, unlike the Fixed Noise channel. Yet... The "necessity" to offer opposing viewpoints, ALWAYS, is hardly ever a good and necessary thing.
When you deliver the news, just do it. Job done. If some things need a bit of explaining, just do it. But as soon as you give a platform to two opposing viewpoints, the "news" becomes a debate.
The truth lies in the FACTS, not with the winner of the debate--- in the minds of however many people were won over, one way or the other. It seems to me that putting a twist on the news goes back at least as far as the creation of CNN and the 24-hour news cycle. Ya gotta fill-in the time, eh? That's how "breaking news" remained "breaking" even after 14 hours of constant repetition on the air.
Sadly, it's clear that over the years, the American public now consists of "Dumb and Dumber." No civics/government classes in school. Standards = dumbed-down. And so, the way the news gets covered is tuned into the lowest common denominator, too.
@Old_Joe. I love your responses to others’s posts (and mine of course). Often you zero-in on a remark late in the post (like my PBS mention). Tells me you carefully read the entire post and considered all that was said. Not easy to do on such a consistent basis. Thank you!.
@hank- Thank you very much for the compliment. It helps to read the entire post to establish the context of a remark therein. Done consistently, it also helps to form a picture of a poster's personality, and that in turn is very helpful in evaluating a poster's comments.
“'Stories we pursued for 57 years are often controversial — lately the Israel-Gaza war and the Trump administration,' Pelley, 67, told viewers. 'Bill made sure they were accurate and fair. He was tough that way, but our parent company, Paramount, is trying to complete a merger. The Trump administration must approve it.'”
“'Paramount began to supervise our content in new ways,' he continued. 'None of our stories has been blocked, but Bill felt he had lost the independence that honest journalism requires.'”
Comments
On that front, the regime remains diligent.
Big monied interests are buying up media outlets (print, broadcast, internet) and using those outlets to shape / distort the “news” and thereby influence public opinion for their benefit. It’s been going on a long time. Not getting any better. Suspect it’s pretty much a global phenomenon. Very detrimental to democratic forms of government.
Oh, I suspect Walter started spinning at least a quarter century ago when the network news outlets abdicated their in-depth reporting of relevant national stories in favor of the fragmented over-hyped pieces of a dozen or so of the most sensational stories they could dig up from anywhere on earth. Support PBS. It’s our last best hope.
It is, and we do. Having no children, we are seriously considering making PBS/NPR the beneficiary of our estate.
When you deliver the news, just do it. Job done. If some things need a bit of explaining, just do it. But as soon as you give a platform to two opposing viewpoints, the "news" becomes a debate.
The truth lies in the FACTS, not with the winner of the debate--- in the minds of however many people were won over, one way or the other. It seems to me that putting a twist on the news goes back at least as far as the creation of CNN and the 24-hour news cycle. Ya gotta fill-in the time, eh? That's how "breaking news" remained "breaking" even after 14 hours of constant repetition on the air.
Sadly, it's clear that over the years, the American public now consists of "Dumb and Dumber." No civics/government classes in school. Standards = dumbed-down. And so, the way the news gets covered is tuned into the lowest common denominator, too.
“'Paramount began to supervise our content in new ways,' he continued. 'None of our stories has been blocked, but Bill felt he had lost the independence that honest journalism requires.'”
https://youtu.be/dJo1AXOYRcI