What got me on this topic again is an interview that I heard yesterday. They were interviewing someone who had been a reporter for forty years and was now instructing in some kind of journalism school. She maintained that journalists are reporting accurately. I have some doubts about this.
News has become jumbled in with all day interviewing where the interviewer wants to have things said that will raise ratings for their show and station. . Now I'm sure those interviewers would disagree with me.
I follow the War in the Ukraine very closely. You read one article and it's for sure the Ukraine will win. You read another article and it's a sure thing that the Russians will win.
I follow current affairs here . Politicians can bend the truth a long way to the slant that they wish publicized. Politicians present their information as truth and what the other guy says is incorrect. The truth is out there. Public figures don't seem willing to give it to us.
Accuracy gets mixed in with information that should be informative. Are reporters taking enough time to dig into an issue? Are reporters making sure that what they report is accurate?
I have also found myself to be part of the problem. I have been guilty of thinking that my side or what I think is the truth. I have looked for information that agrees with my opinion. In the Ukraine war I obviously see the Ukrainians as the good guys. A commentator I recently heard, said that the Ukraine was winning in the way the story was being told. the Ukraine was successful in showing us that the Russians were the bad guys.
I think we're all searching for the truth. We don't like to be lied to. We want things to be accurate.
One line in the song "Storms never last do they baby" is "I know your search was for the truth."
My search is for the truth.
Am I naive?
So much reporting is biased, the questioning slanted. Who pays the piper..?
ReplyDeleteIn Britain there is only one newspaper NOT owned by mainly right wing individuals...The Guardian, started as the Manchester Guardian as a response to the massacre of innocents protesting and wanting suffrage at Peterloo. Even then the (false)reports were of them being armed.
The Guardian is owned by an independent trust.
Ukraine? Nowhere is perfect. Many brave Russians are standing up and saying this is not Russia's war, it is Mr. VVP's war.
We won't learn the truth of it all for many years...and even then, who writes the history of anything?
Am I too cynical?
Well, you're not too cynical unless I'm too cynical too because I agree with you.
DeleteThankfully i have began to realise that truth varies for person to person dear Red so it hurts less when people don't agree to me on something. We all create our truths through our beliefs and faith.
ReplyDeleteI just try to stick with mine as it helps me to exist harmlessly in harmony with all existing around me. I totally agree what you said about truth represented by media in third para .
Blessings
Our perceptions vary .We have to be open minded about our differences.
DeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteEven without listening to the news, I thought the Ukrainians were the good guys. There are some news channels here that just tell lies, I do not waste my time listening to them. Take care, have a great day!
I think of these lines from a play by Edward Albee...
ReplyDeleteMartha: Truth or illusion, George; you don't know the difference.
George: No, but we must carry on as though we did. Martha: Amen.
Wise words from Martha and George.
DeleteMe too, Red. But sometimes I wonder if it is all an illusion, and you can make up reality any way you want. Who can say what is real for the entire world? Nobody, really.
ReplyDeleteWow! We could get on a great philosophical discussion here,.
DeleteOh gosh, you know how things have been going in my country, Red! What a mess has been made by media spouting lies and conspiracy theories! I am hoping the Maga group will dissipate and their leader go away.
ReplyDeleteThings always change . The needle moves from left to right and back again. There are times when it's very stressful.
DeleteI'm in agreement but I also see that reporters are in a hard position. Should they not report something for the "media ratings" and then it were to become a big deal afterwards, they would be accused of trying to hide the truth. The latest "media ratings" event seems to be RSV. It is a virus that has been around for decades that averages 64 million infections and 160,000 deaths per year globally. We are nowhere near those numbers this year and yet you would think the world is ending by watching the evening news.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I think the only real solution is that we have to get rid of short segmented news reporting and move to longer formats where more can be told.
I think news, particularly television news, used to spend a lot more broadcast time and resources on reporting. Nowadays the airtime is consumed largely by opinion, with talking heads spinning the latest "news," and it's not always clear who's spouting opinion and who's not. So those waters have been muddied.
ReplyDeleteThis makes very good sense coming from you with your background in newspapers.
DeleteWe get more pundit opinions than facts these days!
ReplyDeleteThey seem to get very excited when they spin their opinions.
DeleteThen there is confirmation bias, where you only look for things that confirm your beliefs. The thing is, you have to look at the source. I think there are way too many jokers posting opinion pieces that are meaningless!
ReplyDeleteI was admitting that I have confirmation bias and it isn't helpful.
DeleteThe truth is different for everyone. People don't like hearing the truth especially if it disagrees with their thoughts on the matter/subject.
ReplyDeleteTruth moves a bit.
DeleteTruth is an interesting thing to consider especially in the large format of world news and politics. Journalism was supposed to be about reporting the actual events of news, but it seems to me that a lot of it has become opinion wrapped in events. I think the 24 hour news cycle has destroyed the concept of journalism and reporting.
ReplyDeleteYes, the 24 hour news means that some time slots have to be filled with any old crap they can find.
DeleteIt's quite troubling.
ReplyDeleteI also get frustrated with both politicians and journalists!
ReplyDeleteThey both use each other to promote their biases
DeleteMy complaint is that in their rush to report breaking news, too often news resorts to trying to predict it. I hate that. There is no accuracy in prognostication.
ReplyDeleteIt too often results in little research
DeleteI am not so sure the news reports ever gives us the truth :(
ReplyDeleteWell, old people like me seem to think the news was accurate at one time.
DeleteCall me naïve, but I do trust mainstream media. If they don't get it right, they correct it. So the CBS radio news on the hour and half hour, the NBC National and local news on TV, the local and national journalists in my Seattle Times newspaper are all fairly accurate. These are not opinion or rapid breaking news reports, but not in depth either, except for some newspaper articles.
ReplyDeleteWe should be following various sources, but we can’t keep up. So, you do your best to follow sources that you trust as much as possible.
ReplyDeleteIt can get quite frustrating at times! I try not to spend too much time thinking about it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Linda about mainstream media. However, I have a very few friends who rely on FOX news for their news and they are Trump supporters. Nothing I say can dissuade them.
ReplyDelete