Media Tracker (1 Viewer)

[SaintForLife]

I figured we needed a thread specifically about the media.

There was a very big correction recently by the Washington Post.


That story was supposedly "independently confirmed" by CNN, NBC News, USA Today, ABC News, & PBS News Hour. How could they all have gotten the quote wrong if they actually independently confirmed the story?






Why do all the errors always go in one political direction and not closer to 50/50?

 

[MT15]

I'd be curious to see how this chart looks after any election cycle, and you had the added drama of Trump not conceding. That has to fuel all of the talk shows.

I found this, but it doesn’t support the assertion above. Seems like maybe a better apples to apples comparison though.

 

[wardorican]

Even local news does it.

"Is a common item in every home causing brain damage to your children?, Tune in tonight at 11 to find out."

I blame capitalism.

I don't mind those kind of teasers. And yes, they've been doing it forever. But when you stretch out that 15 second teaser to tune in, and then extend that confusion for 6 hours... I want to choke them through the screen. I better have an idea of what it is in 5 minutes.

 

[MT15]

Looks like SFL’s example could be a good example of “cherry-picking”.

 

[wardorican]

Looks like SFL’s example could be a good example of “cherry-picking”.

I recall an older data analyst who called into a radio show a while back. Seemed like a sharp guy.

But, he made a comment I try to remember. Data is dumb. Data requires thoughtful analysis to create any actual meaning.

 

[MT15]

Yes, the first analysis seemed kinda sketchy when I saw the dates that were picked. First of all it limited the comparison to a single week, which automatically limits the usefulness if you are wanting to gauge trends. Then it picked these two weeks that were very different in times of year and in the context of current events. Two pretty big red flags.

 

[UncleTrvlingJim]

There's a good story in the NYT today about a study on how the US media is more routinely negative in its coverage of COVID than the international media. Basically when cases are falling the US media focuses on places where the cases are still rising. Stories about the vaccines tend to emphasize their limits and not their potential, and so on. (line to the study... https://cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/sites...03/Why-Is-All-Covid-News-Bad-News-3_22_21.pdf). The author of the article speculated the reason being that modern journalism is focused on being skeptical, which can lead to cynicism.

This was true for Fox News as well as MSNBC.

This also sort of correlates to a study I saw (can't remember the link) about how Democrats tend to believe the virus is more severe than it is and Republicans tend to believe the virus is less severe than it really is. We don't do middle ground very well.

 

[MT15]

When any news outlet engages in stoking false outrage, we need to shine a light on it.

 

[DaveXA]

When any news outlet engages in stoking false outrage, we need to shine a light on it.

I saw that. Fox needs to find better things to complain about. This one is pretty dumb.

 

[wardorican]

There's a good story in the NYT today about a study on how the US media is more routinely negative in its coverage of COVID than the international media. Basically when cases are falling the US media focuses on places where the cases are still rising. Stories about the vaccines tend to emphasize their limits and not their potential, and so on. (line to the study... https://cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/sites...03/Why-Is-All-Covid-News-Bad-News-3_22_21.pdf). The author of the article speculated the reason being that modern journalism is focused on being skeptical, which can lead to cynicism.

This was true for Fox News as well as MSNBC.

This also sort of correlates to a study I saw (can't remember the link) about how Democrats tend to believe the virus is more severe than it is and Republicans tend to believe the virus is less severe than it really is. We don't do middle ground very well.

I'm not sure I believe you.

 

[Farb]

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/associated-press-denies-that-border-crisis-is-a-crisis


"The current events in the news – a sharp increase in the arrival of unaccompanied minors – is a problem for border officials, a political challenge for Biden and a dire situation for many migrants who make the journey, but it does not fit the classic dictionary definition of a crisis," the memo reads.

“Therefore,” it adds, “we should avoid, or at least, be highly cautious, about referring to the present situation as a crisis on our own, although we may quote others using that language."

A spokesman for the Associated Press confirmed the authenticity of the memo, which was circulated online first by journalist Julio Ricardo Varela, in a statement to Fox News.

If reporters are to use the word “crisis,” the memo reads, they must first ask “of what and to whom.”

"There could be a humanitarian crisis if the numbers grow so large that officials cannot house the migrants safely or in sanitary conditions," it continues. "Migrants may face humanitarian crises in their home countries. In theory, there could be a security or a border crisis if officials lose control of the border, allowing people to enter unencumbered in large numbers. But, in general, avoid hyperbole in calling anything a crisis or an emergency."

I would hate to see this thing grow into a crisis like the last administration had to deal with.

 

[samiam5211]

I would hate to see this thing grow into a crisis like the last administration had to deal with.

The crisis then was that we were separating children from their parents. That was a crisis.

What is happening now is routine for people who work in immigration. It is a little more than usual, because last year we didn't have many people come.

 

[DaveXA]

The crisis then was that we were separating children from their parents. That was a crisis.

What is happening now is routine for people who work in immigration. It is a little more than usual, because last year we didn't have many people come.

I'm not saying it's not normal or unexpected, but it does seem like it's worse than it has been in a while. This pictures and videos of people crammed into small indoor spaces doesn't make me feel so good.

 

[samiam5211]

I'm not saying it's not normal or unexpected, but it does seem like it's worse than it has been in a while. This pictures and videos of people crammed into small indoor spaces doesn't make me feel so good.

I’m not trying to say that it isn’t bad, but at the moment it isn’t beyond what we could have handled before 2017.

A big part of our current problem is that our capacity to deal with these situations a has been deliberately eliminated for the past 4 years.

Like I said before, in 1981 and 1982 combined, we took in about 450,000 refugees, mostly from Vietnam. In 1983, 1 out of every 600 people living in the United States was a refugee who had come to the US since 1980.

We’ve done this many times before. It is what has made the United States what it is.

We have become a selfish country. It’s sad.

 

[DaveXA]

I’m not trying to say that it isn’t bad, but at the moment it isn’t beyond what we could have handled before 2017.

A big part of our current problem is that our capacity to deal with these situations a has been deliberately eliminated for the past 4 years.

Like I said before, in 1981 and 1982 combined, we took in about 450,000 refugees, mostly from Vietnam. In 1983, 1 out of every 600 people living in the United States was a refugee who had come to the US since 1980.

We’ve done this many times before. It is what has made the United States what it is.

We have become a selfish country. It’s sad.

Maybe, but I don't think capacity has changed all that much. But what does make this different is this coming on the heels of a pandemic. Which would dramatically impact capacity if they're trying to practice distancing and needing facilities that cam accommodate testing,, quarantining and such. Would be a logistical nightmare.

 

[wardorican]

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/associated-press-denies-that-border-crisis-is-a-crisis


"The current events in the news – a sharp increase in the arrival of unaccompanied minors – is a problem for border officials, a political challenge for Biden and a dire situation for many migrants who make the journey, but it does not fit the classic dictionary definition of a crisis," the memo reads.

“Therefore,” it adds, “we should avoid, or at least, be highly cautious, about referring to the present situation as a crisis on our own, although we may quote others using that language."

A spokesman for the Associated Press confirmed the authenticity of the memo, which was circulated online first by journalist Julio Ricardo Varela, in a statement to Fox News.

If reporters are to use the word “crisis,” the memo reads, they must first ask “of what and to whom.”

"There could be a humanitarian crisis if the numbers grow so large that officials cannot house the migrants safely or in sanitary conditions," it continues. "Migrants may face humanitarian crises in their home countries. In theory, there could be a security or a border crisis if officials lose control of the border, allowing people to enter unencumbered in large numbers. But, in general, avoid hyperbole in calling anything a crisis or an emergency."

I would hate to see this thing grow into a crisis like the last administration had to deal with.

The AP is usually all about the facts. There is nothing wrong with them wanting to remind people to reign it in and not add value statements to factual information.

Calling a situation a crisis is a value statement deciding for the reader that something is not only bad, but very bad. That's not factual, that's opinion.

They gave very sound reasoning for when to use the term crisis and when not to, and also what to ask, so that it's not just thrown out there willy nilly.

Maybe Fox could use a similar idea for when they use the term "Under Attack"

Isn't Hyperbole in Journalism a bad thing? I thought that was one of your complaints.

 

[Farb]

Now 'surge' is a no no word to use. It always amazed me that he media has all these rules on word play, usually for one side. I know, I am being a snowflake, but it is pretty obvious.

 

[samiam5211]

Now 'surge' is a no no word to use. It always amazed me that he media has all these rules on word play, usually for one side. I know, I am being a snowflake, but it is pretty obvious.

AOC is a drama queen.

Arguing over a word like that in this situation is petty. So is caring that anyone is complaining about the use of the word.

We will never solve problems if we are fighting over semantics. It takes two sides to fight.

 

[Farb]

We will never solve problems if we are fighting over semantics.

We don't often agree but this 100%. I think that is the goal of the word play used by the far left and I would concede there are some far righters that play the word game, but just not as much as I have noticed on the far left. IMO