After the terrorist shooting in Pittsburgh where only religious minorities were killed, the far right, and our President gave the event a shoulder shrug and then twisted the knife in his relentless attack on the media. Yeah, killing sucks, but the media, am I right people?
However, how off is he?
First, let's get out of the way that this President has called for violence against his political opponents. He refused and continue to refuse to condemn hate groups, mostly because then it would be against a large swath of people who voted for him and actively campaign for him (and because he kinda agrees with them). He's demonstrated that in addition to religion (anti-Islam/Judaism) he's also anti-environment, anti-women, anti-Native American, and anti-poor. WORDS HAVE MEANING AND CONSEQUENCES!
But, he's right about a slanted media. "Headlines," and I use the term loosely, have been sensational and alarmist and accusatory against this administration, or at least, presenting facts and drawing conclusions that the administration doesn't either want to admit or believes to be false, hence, fake news. So, why submit misleading headlines? Blame FaceBook.
The Pew Research Center has been gathering information on newspaper and periodical distribution since the 1940s, and, according to this report the news industry is in a death spiral: "A Pew Research Center analysis of data from AAM shows that total weekday circulation for U.S. daily newspapers – both print and digital – fell 8% in 2016, marking the 28th consecutive year of declines." Not only that, but the L.A. Times reported on September 25 that TV network news ratings are also slipping. "Broadcast network news continued to fight a rear guard attack as audience levels slipped again in the 2017-18 television season, which ended last week. Only one daily program, 'ABC World News Tonight With David Muir,' showed year-to-year growth, according to data released Tuesday by Nielsen." Fewer people paying attention equals a drop in advertising revenue and makes it harder for these organizations to staff experienced journalists and editors to get the real news out there.
So, if the populace isn't getting their news from papers or TV networks, where are they getting their news from? Well, that's the FaceBook link. In a report that the Pew Research Center released back in 2014, it was estimated that roughly 2/3rds of Americans used FaceBook, and 30% of those got their news from headlines posted on the site. That's tremendously ominous as we know that much of what is posted or shared on FB are opinions, not researched news. We also know that in the last 4 years, FaceBook and Twitter influence has grown substantially globally, i.e. the numbers aren't likely to be less if that same study was updated today. And, finally, the most troubling fact is what the Washington Post reported on in 2016 is that "According to a new study by computer scientists at Columbia University and the French National Institute, 59 percent of links shared on social media have never actually been clicked: In other words, most people appear to retweet news without ever reading it."
That's right, no one actually reads an article which makes our collective information problem less click-bait and more share-bait, which is healthy and strong, regardless if it's from a trusted news source or not. Many of us are guilty of doing it, including and especially the President who has the intellect of a white-tailed deer: "ooooh, look at all of those lights getting brighter, I'll just stand here and watch the show!"
So, what can we do about it? First, we must all resist that dreaded "share" button for opinion pieces that aren't vetted. Second, we need to focus on actual news sources that aren't just writing headlines for us to push around. Forbes, which I believe is a bit right-of-center when it comes to political leanings, has a list of news institutions where the journalists are held to a higher standard. The full list of their 2017 recommended sites is here, but you already know that the Huffington Post is not, nor should it be, on this list. Next, pay for your news. I'm not saying that you need to have a paper delivered every morning, but absolutely subscribe to a real news agency and help support the distribution of verifiable content. And, finally, vote. We're in the final week before mid-term elections, and there are so many politicians who are the ones circulating poor data and bad science. We need people making policy who believe in both social science and environmental science, or at least have staffers who are digesting that information for the candidates allowing them to make informed decisions based on undisputed scientific fact!
What happened in Pittsburgh is atrocious. None of us wants to be a target of extreme hate and violence. However, if we aren't able to enact common-sense legislation based on facts because our representatives are kowtowing to a neanderthal minority with deep pockets, then we need to vote them out.
No comments:
Post a Comment