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What Can the Media do to Improve?


thebluefood

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As some of you know - I'm in my second round as a reporter; this time I'm working for a public radio station down here in North Carolina (though only on a part-time basis).

 

Since that is the case, I believe my job is, first and foremost, a public service (doubly so since I work for a not-for-profit).

 

The news media gets a lot of flack from a lot of sources, including from within, and I'd say a fair share of it is warranted. All that considered, I'd like to get feedback from folks about my work and about the media as a whole and what we can, collectively, do to improve.

 

So, let's have it - what can I (we), as a journalist, do to improve? How can I (we) serve you more effectively?

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Not sensationalize everything.

I don't know how many times I've read the title to an article and thought "oh my, this is horrible" and then read the article and thought "well, this isn't really bad at all".

Unfortunately, it seems to the average person, that media is controlled by revenue and the easiest and most effective way to generate revenue is by "click bait".

So, stop ****ing us around. You're at least partially responsible for decline of decency in America.

PS: This is in no way directly addressed towards you, blue. I really respect you as a poster here. Just wanted to throw that out.

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I don't know know you Blue, but you seem like good people.  Stay true to what you feel is the right way to do what you do.

 

The problem with the media right now is there's too much money and competition for ratings.  When you have execs like the guy in charge of CBS news giddy about how retarded Trump is acting because of the ratings it will generate, that's our problem.  Public TV/Radio news and newspapers aren't that bad. 

 

It's really TV news that's killing us, and they aren't being held accountable.  Do us all a favor and do more reports on that and make it as accessible as you can.

 

Like PJ said, I need the facts so I can formulate my own educated opinion. 

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It's really TV news that's killing us, and they aren't being held accountable. Do us all a favor and do more reports on that and make it as accessible as you can.

I'd argue that Internet news is just as bad, if not worse. Mainly because there is so much out there. They all want a piece of that pie and they'll say anything to get it. It's almost a race to the bottom. This is how sites like Gawker grew in popularity. They write despicable things about people with no concern for negative reactions. Sites like this are taken just as seriously as the main outlets these days. Somehow TMZ, a genre that used to be for old housewives looking for made up news, because one of the most reliable sources for all the "dirt".

So no, all media is killing us. It's a race to the bottom. Ad revenue and page clicks.

I'd argue that the media, the supposed watchdog, is nearly as corrupt as that which it's supposed to be watching. Congress has the lowest approval ratings of all time, and it's the media's fault. Unfortunately, the media's despicable actions are starting to rub off on themselves.

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I'd argue that Internet news is just as bad, if not worse. Mainly because there is so much out there. They all want a piece of that pie and they'll say anything to get it. It's almost a race to the bottom. This is how sites like Gawker grew in popularity. They write despicable things about people with no concern for negative reactions. Sites like this are taken just as seriously as the main outlets these days. Somehow TMZ, a genre that used to be for old housewives looking for made up news, because one of the most reliable sources for all the "dirt".

So no, all media is killing us. It's a race to the bottom. Ad revenue and page clicks.

I'd argue that the media, the supposed watchdog, is nearly as corrupt as that which it's supposed to be watching. Congress has the lowest approval ratings of all time, and it's the media's fault. Unfortunately, the media's despicable actions are starting to rub off on themselves.

 

Meh, I think you're missing that he works for public radio and that's why I was giving specific advice to what HE can do.  They do not get the credit they deserve and need to be more accessible and popularized in terms of their content.

 

Edit: That's a good question, though, what do you do?  I wish there was like a PCI DSS compliance type organization where the media policed itself in terms of being a certified news source, but I could see that going to hell fast.  Same if the government tried to get involved from a first amendment standpoint.  Has to be a combo involving the people reaching a limit and needing someone at the top willing to call out the media and deal with being a target by all ends versus half for half against.

 

Like I wish the President stopped doing the White House correspondence dinners.  Politicians and Media are too buddy buddy right now.

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Generate revenue through subscriptions by making good content and not through advertising. Advertising forces you to appeal to the lowest common denominator to attract the most eyeballs. It hurts all of us. 

 

Encourage more HBOs and less reality tv. 

 

We're so used to things being free that we forget that the good stuff costs (a lot) of money.

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Can we at least recognize that we're not talking about a single monolith when we talk about "the media"?  There is so much out there that the quality gets lost among the dreck.  

 

The explosion of information in the last 30 years is nothing short of miraculous.  But it is a real double-edged sword.  We as consumers have a responsibility to sift through the dreck to find that quality.

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I personally think that local media, such as TV and radio news are among the most trustworthy news sources out there. They mainly deal in local matters and are usually reported on by broadcasters who are less sensational and more informative. There's a lot of fluff with local media, but they generally stick to reporting news instead of creating news.

Which leads me to another complaint about big media. They try to create the news, instead of reporting the news.

Which leads me to another random thought about media. In the face of all the awful media that is out there. The media that reports on Kim Kardashians latest anal bleaching, the media that makes claims that RG3 has been running trains on random transvestite prostitutes, the media that incites **** fights between Donald Trump's wife and Ted Cruz's wife, the media... well, you get it.

... reading about all of these trivial non-sequitur type stuff day in and day out, beats hearing about another terrorist attack on US soil.

Which leads into another random thought on the media. I feel like they are rooting for gun violence. I feel like they are rooting for a black kid to get brutally murdered by a white cop while on film. These awful things gives them ratings, page clicks and thus more cash.

Sorry. I'm kinda jaded.

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I think the big thing that needs to happen is a general philosophical shift. We in the media need to recognize that the race to be the first to break the story is no longer the goal nor is the goal to be louder and more shocking. The reason is simple. Broadcast radio and tv, and print can not compete with the speed of Twitter.  They certainly can't be more controversial, sensational or outrageous than the blogosphere.

 

What the traditional media does have is access to first person reporting. They need to shift to a quality model. Less analysis and punditry and bigger newsrooms, boots on the ground, and a dedication to quality. That's what the traditional media can provide that a blogger can't. That's where value is.

 

It's a tough transition because the FOX/CNN model is much, much cheaper. It takes little money to get a think tanker or professor in a studio, via phone or skype. Newsrooms and actual reporting costs money in personnel and time, but that's what I would like to see. That's what I think public radio does very well, but could do even more of.

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Thanks for the input so far, guys.

 

As far as "just state the facts, ma'am" is concerned - that's what your average, work-a-day journalist is trying to do. It's straight forward, it keeps the public informed, and it keeps us out of trouble (last thing you need is a liable suit on your hands). But "facts are stubborn things" and those facts can lead to more questions, which can lead to more digging and more interviews, which lead to more facts - which leads to more questions, etc.

 

Facts also need context. For example: it's a fact that we're all going to die. A headline that says that will grab people's attention, and it is technically true, but it's probably not as dire as it's made out to be. On the other hand, you can't overwhelm your audience with information that, while important, is relatively tangential. We're writing news copy, after all, not our doctorate thesis

 

It's all about finding the right balance.

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Another thing to keep in mind: the reporter you see on TV, or whose byline you see in the newspaper - they are only the tip of the iceberg. Their copy has to go through layers and layers of editing and approval before it makes it to air or print. Often, the editing process is good (finds grammatical and factual errors - we're only human, you know). But, the editing process can be the place where reporters are "encouraged" to "spice up their copy."

 

We have to sell ad space and copies somehow, and unfortunately, the idea that "if it bleeds, it leads" has been proven true time and time again.

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"Don't choose a profession that's one or two steps above prostitution." ---Bobby Knight, former Indiana Basketball Coach

Kidding of course. :)

Report facts, don't push an agenda or spin to one side, don't word things to make it misleading. Provide all the info you have on a topic and don't leave stuff out. Be honest and straight up with people, no sugar coating.

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By working for public radio, you've already avoided one of the biggest problems in our media, which is the pernicious influence of big money. Public radio and public television are some of the best media outlets because they are not biased in favor of advertisers and ownership.

Sensationalism is another problem, but this is more the fault of the audience than the reporters. The competition for viewers, readers, listeners, and clicks leads to outrageous headlines that aren't really true and pandering to specific audiences that result in echo chambers where viewers have their own biases reinforced.

The upshot of all this is simple: Do not tell us what ownership wants us to hear, do not tell us what advertisers want us to hear, and do not tell us what we want to hear. Tell us the truth.

How do you do that? Don't be a reader of the news. Don't be a reporter of the news. Instead investigate the news. Ask questions. Listen. Dig deeper.

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Thanks for the input so far, guys.

As far as "just state the facts, ma'am" is concerned - that's what your average, work-a-day journalist is trying to do. It's straight forward, it keeps the public informed, and it keeps us out of trouble (last thing you need is a liable suit on your hands). But "facts are stubborn things" and those facts can lead to more questions, which can lead to more digging and more interviews, which lead to more facts - which leads to more questions, etc.

Facts also need context. For example: it's a fact that we're all going to die. A headline that says that will grab people's attention, and it is technically true, but it's probably not as dire as it's made out to be. On the other hand, you can't overwhelm your audience with information that, while important, is relatively tangential. We're writing news copy, after all, not our doctorate thesis

It's all about finding the right balance.

It's not just that facts need context. Facts can be biased as well. Since you cannot possibly report all the facts, you have to select which facts to report and which facts to leave out. The very act of selecting which facts to report will bias a story. It's inevitable.

I'd say the best thing to do here is to report as many facts as possible, and in a way that is fair to different sides of a particular story.

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Which leads me to another random thought about media. In the face of all the awful media that is out there. The media that reports on Kim Kardashians latest anal bleaching, the media that makes claims that RG3 has been running trains on random transvestite prostitutes, the media that incites **** fights between Donald Trump's wife and Ted Cruz's wife, the media... well, you get it.

... reading about all of these trivial non-sequitur type stuff day in and day out, beats hearing about another terrorist attack on US soil.

Which leads into another random thought on the media. I feel like they are rooting for gun violence. I feel like they are rooting for a black kid to get brutally murdered by a white cop while on film. These awful things gives them ratings, page clicks and thus more cash.

Sorry. I'm kinda jaded.

 

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I'd say the best thing to do here is to report as many facts as possible, and in a way that is fair to different sides of a particular story.

One of the first things that really struck home when I started reporting was how everything we put out was a post card. I would get hours of tape, talk to dozens of people, and then have to distill it into a 5-7 minute report... and I was one of the lucky ones. On TV, you're lucky if you get a minute. How do you comprehensively cover a story in such a short time.

 

So, it's not so much bias or even lack of facts, but the fact that you are only allotted so many inches or seconds to convey or relay what you need to.

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