| Does anyone here not trust the media?
Posted: 6/23/2009 10:37:13 AM | When it says "Obama has a 65% approval rating"
Or it says 75% of polled people fell this way?
Or "everyone is glued to this TV program!"
?
And when you vote for president, you compromise vote based off statistics you get from the media. Do you trust them that much, that you'd pick from one of the two they say you should pick from, and ignore the other candidates? | |
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| Does anyone here not trust the media?
Posted: 6/23/2009 12:34:26 PM | Please! I've heard of people voting for a particular candidate because they saw more of that one candidate's signs than the other. Are you serious?
Why don't people realize the reciprocal arrangement they have with media? Does Paris Hilton get as much "media attention" as she does because she's an inherently interesting person? Its because you, the consumer, demand it.
Also, speaking as someone who worked in media, it's not a big conspiracy to subvert personal freedoms. They're just people doing a job. And they operate on the belief that people can make up their own minds. Apparently, we were giving some way too much benefit of the doubt. | |
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| Does anyone here not trust the media?
Posted: 6/23/2009 12:50:08 PM | And when you vote for president, you compromise vote based off statistics you get from the media. Do you trust them that much, that you'd pick from one of the two they say you should pick from, and ignore the other candidates?
I don't really trust statistics (or politicians) in general. Voting for someone just because everyone else is voting for them seems kind of senseless. | |
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| Does anyone here not trust the media?
Posted: 6/23/2009 1:47:16 PM |
Does anyone here not trust the media?
When it says "Obama has a 65% approval rating"
Or it says 75% of polled people fell this way?
Or "everyone is glued to this TV program!"
?
Well, I believe that the statistics are technically true, taking into account their polling methods and such, but I also know that "true" statistics can be extremely misleading. I don't really care about what other peoples opinions are on such things anyway, I just care what I think about it. If 98% of people liked a certain politician, but I thought he was a douchebag, then to me he's still a douchebag regardless of that other 98%.
And when you vote for president, you compromise vote based off statistics you get from the media. Do you trust them that much, that you'd pick from one of the two they say you should pick from, and ignore the other candidates?
Not me, except for voting for Gore and Kerry to try and keep Bush out, I've always voted 3rd party. For smaller offices, like local judges and such, I research the individual candidates rather than voting along any party lines (voting by absentee ballot is great, I vote in front of my computer googling). I'm not under the delusion that I'm typical in this though. | |
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| Does anyone here not trust the media?
Posted: 6/23/2009 2:11:35 PM | First, statistics are an angle to write a story from - you can read them any way you want.
Second, in this country (Australia) there are now more PR people than journalists. This recession has given media moguls a great reason to hack into editorial staff - it always happens in a recession, but this time, there will be no bounce back. All eyes are focussed on the internet and staffing costs are a big reason - together, of course, with printing costs.
So...when you've got a situation where "news" is being pumped out by PR hacks and a newspaper is being filled by young and reasonably inexperienced reporters, yes you should read between the lines of a news story very carefully.
The reporters don't have the time to really look behind a press release - they don't have the time or the experience. So, lots of stories are simply unimitigated media releases. | |
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| Does anyone here not trust the media?
Posted: 6/23/2009 3:56:37 PM | | Agreed, which is why I'm glad I'm not a wingnut. IMO, wingnutism is characterized by such beliefs, which is why there are wingnuts on both sides of the political spectrum. Fortunately, it's the repubs who put the wingnuts in charge of their party. | |
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| Does anyone here not trust the media?
Posted: 6/23/2009 4:26:19 PM | It depends on what's being discussed. Those polls are probably reasonable that you see on tv. Due to the concentration of media ownership, I can see why you'd ask that question. One can argue that the free press is being slowly silenced. A scary thought would be that eventually there is only one news station, and most citizens don't care enough to do their homework on issues.
I combine alternative news with the big news outlets & use my brain to try to make sense of it all, lol. Always check the facts whenever you can & never blindly follow the leader :)
(I'm Canadian and I wish Ron Paul won, or Dennis Kucinich) | |
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| Does anyone here not trust the media?
Posted: 6/23/2009 4:28:54 PM | I trust the media only when it works n my favour!
Ok....usually a few different sources are used before I try to make an opinion...unless it is a blatently obvious thing that needs little research, but more common sense. | |
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| Does anyone here not trust the media?
Posted: 6/23/2009 8:35:45 PM | I generally don't trust the media for the same reason I don't trust advertisements - there's too much room for deception. Even seemingly-innocuous statements like "65% of people support Bill X" can be misleading; the wording of the question to the respondents could have been leading or they could have sampled a disproportionate number of Democrats or Republicans and they'd never tell you anything about that.
I've picked up the habit of doing my own research to draw my conclusions. I report, I decide  | |
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| Does anyone here not trust the media?
Posted: 6/23/2009 8:41:37 PM | | I don't trust the media at all, after thoroughly watching their treatment of presidential candidates several times around. | |
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| Does anyone here not trust the media?
Posted: 6/23/2009 10:39:02 PM | | I've worked in social research/market research for about 10 years, and I can tell you personally.. the "studies" are weak at best. 9 out of 10 times, you've got a survey worded in a way which not everyone will understand while only interviewing a fraction of a demographic. Survey research is botched and yes the media relies on it too much.. | |
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| Does anyone here not trust the media?
Posted: 6/23/2009 10:57:18 PM | | So basically our society is dumbed down enough to be taken advantage of and the networks guide the home audience thinking direction... | |
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| Does anyone here not trust the media?
Posted: 6/24/2009 12:14:24 AM | With less and less verification going on before releasing a story, what's to trust?
As times get tougher, their overall impartiality seems to suffer. They'll say what they're paid to say. They do it all the time. Nothing new there.
Think of all the idiot media moguls who framed and broadcast Bush under that "Mission Accomplished" banner. Just one tiny example.
As hard copy media become caualties, you have thousands of wannabe bloggers trying to replace them, posing as impartial observers - almost every single one with some sort of agenda behind their words. So again - what's to trust? Just throw some raw video on and let the viewer decide for themselves without all the interpretation. | |
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| Does anyone here not trust the media?
Posted: 6/24/2009 12:16:12 AM | The networks do put their own spins on everything. Just look at the difference between MSNBC and FOXNEWS, and the polls they show. They are as different as night and day.
You can find a poll that will back up any claim in America.
What bothers me is that every major network has a bias, whether it is to the left or right. Most news networks lean left, with FOX being the only exception and they lean hard right.
(At least with nightly news on ABC, NBC and CBS, as well as MSNBC and CNN) | |
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| Does anyone here not trust the media?
Posted: 6/24/2009 1:31:19 AM | Since the stage-managing of the first moonwalk (MJ was second), since the Chinese rigged the Olympic lightworks (it was all going so well 'til then), since Bill lied to us about not having s*e*x*u*a*l relations with "that woman", and since my childhood was ruined when local TV told me Santa was really just a fat bloke in a red suit on a Christmas card.... I've become, mmmm, somewhat sceptical.
Trust the media at your peril, (sigh), but we continue to create the demand for fodder and lies, because we're simply too lazy to be imaginative. | |
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| Does anyone here not trust the media?
Posted: 6/24/2009 9:14:26 AM |
Voting for someone just because everyone else is voting for them seems kind of senseless.
You people completely missed my point. I did not say you'd vote for candidate #1 over candidate #2 because everyone was voting for #1.
I implied if there are THREE candidates, and one is predicted to get 49% of the vote, and another 48% of the vote, and the third 3% of the vote, and your favorite is the 3% candidate, and your second choice is the 48% candidate, would you vote for the 48% candidate to keep the 49% candidate from winning? If so, does this not give the media a lot of power to tell you whom to vote for? | |
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| Does anyone here not trust the media?
Posted: 6/24/2009 9:43:46 AM | I implied if there are THREE candidates, and one is predicted to get 49% of the vote, and another 48% of the vote, and the third 3% of the vote, and your favorite is the 3% candidate, and your second choice is the 48% candidate, would you vote for the 48% candidate to keep the 49% candidate from winning? If so, does this not give the media a lot of power to tell you whom to vote for?
Well, why didn't you say so in the first place?
And, no. It doesn't. First of all, you're assuming people heed polls. Some do, some don't. You're assuming a particular "intent" of "media." You're wrong. As fun as it is to try and place the blame of the world's problems on the shoulders of big, bad media, people are only shooting the messenger. The purpose of news is to cover the news. If you don't like what they're reporting, too bad.
You're also assuming that polls are going to accurately predict the final outcome of an election. They don't. People change their mind. People tell pollsters one thing when they actually are thinking of something else. Polls themselves, as someone pointed out, can be skewed by the pollster.
I make my decision based on what I've heard from the candidates themselves. I particpate in the process. I go to debates. I listen to their words on TV and the radio. I check the party websites. I've voted for the front runner. And I've voted for the underdog because I was annoyed with the action of the top three parties.
And, as I pointed out, I've heard of people voting for a particular party because they saw more of their signs than anyone else. In the end, our vote is our own responsibility. However, the electoral process is a lot more complex than the picture you're painting. | |
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| Does anyone here not trust the media?
Posted: 6/24/2009 10:20:50 AM |
Also, speaking as someone who worked in media, it's not a big conspiracy to subvert personal freedoms. They're just people doing a job. And they operate on the belief that people can make up their own minds. Apparently, we were giving some way too much benefit of the doubt.
I don't think it's an intentional conspiracy or anything. But you have to remember that people in the media (including yourself) are human. We all have our own views and opinions on things. And even when we make an effort to suppress those things for the sake of doing our jobs objectively, they can still sometimes subconsciously slip out. It's natural.
Also, ultimately, you only have X amount of air time or page space. Some things are not going to get reported. Unless, of course, we're talking about the internet.
I also think some of it is just laziness. Some members of the media don't seem to do enough to research the accuracy of what they're reporting. That university student who kept posting the made-up quote from a recently deceased composer on wikipedia did a pretty good job of exposing a handful of newspapers for doing that.
Agreed, which is why I'm glad I'm not a wingnut.
*stifles laughter*
I generally don't trust the media for the same reason I don't trust advertisements - there's too much room for deception. Even seemingly-innocuous statements like "65% of people support Bill X" can be misleading; the wording of the question to the respondents could have been leading or they could have sampled a disproportionate number of Democrats or Republicans and they'd never tell you anything about that.
I've picked up the habit of doing my own research to draw my conclusions. I report, I decide
And this, my friends, is how you do it. I completely agree.  | |
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| Does anyone here not trust the media?
Posted: 6/24/2009 10:26:57 AM | I don't think there's some big conspiracy - but I do think that people in the media are just that - people. They are supposed to be subjective, but they are still human, and very much have their own ideas, thoughts, opinions...the side of the fence you are on influences your thinking. Time and place influences your thinking. I am sure people in North Korea are reading about how the "evil" US, etc., wants to keep them from having nuclear capabilities...they are on the other side of the fence, and their side of the story would, of course, be opposite of what we hear. You can skew anything to make it fit your agenda - remember, 150 years ago preachers in churches used the bible to prove that slavery was not only a good practice, but one instituted by God himself...
It's all about the angle at which you are viewing something. | |
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| Does anyone here not trust the media?
Posted: 6/24/2009 3:58:49 PM | For small everyday things which they can blow all out of proportion, they do rather well.
Give them a story that would shake the "powers that be" to the roots and they don't want to touch it.
Meh....maybe I ought to take on a news web page...report those tings that interest me and my own little slant on life! LOL! | |
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| Does anyone here not trust the media?
Posted: 6/24/2009 8:42:22 PM |
Give them a story that would shake the "powers that be" to the roots and they don't want to touch it.
Of course not....they are a party to it. | |
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