Post ASSR9trF19JldBi6Pg by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
(DIR) More posts by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
(DIR) Post #ASRZfkzW7iQBsFK5Eu by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-02-07T17:58:06Z
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**** About the Press ****Greetings. I'm going to risk more obscene replies by noting the following, that I think is extremely important. I frequently see people on #Mastodon dissing the mainstream press and media. "Go back to #Twitter!" "We don't need you here!" "You're useless and evil." -- and other voluminous words to that effect. You may personally feel that the press/media are evil incarnate (I don't. Mostly -- with some notable exceptions -- they're just trying to do their jobs amidst a disinformation maelstrom.) But I still cannot emphasize how utterly SELF-DESTRUCTIVE it is to ignore or otherwise dis mainstream press/media.Even when you disagree with them. ESPECIALLY when you disagree with them!I started being asked to give press/media (hereafter I'll just say "press") interviews many years ago in early ARPANET days. Since then I've done innumerable interviews of all kinds -- print media, web media, radio, recorded TV news interviews (e.g. "soundbites"), live satellite news interviews, live and recorded TV shows, etc. -- and I've been doing a (currently weekly) tech/tech policy segment on network radio to over a million listeners for many, many years. I could write a book about all this and what I've learned about the process and how to make it work in the best possible ways, but I'll just say this right now:**** If people who know the truth don't work with the press to get the true stories out, then bad actors -- evil people -- will happily fill the vacuum that you've left and spread their own disinformation and propaganda that will not only hurt you, but society at large. ****So you do the interviews -- and that's a learned skill, you do learn over time for example how to maximize the probability of your statements being intact and featured in recorded "soundbite" interviews for example. You learn not to squirm when they feed the mic cable up under your shirt to the wireless pack they put on your belt.You let them do the damned makeup before you go on camera (and yes as a guy I *hate* that), because if you don't you'll end up looking like a corpse on air under the lights.And you do this and much more because you're willing to put out the effort to get accurate information out there, and not cede the battlefield to evil.If you aren't willing to make such an effort when the press comes calling, as far as I'm concerned you shouldn't be complaining about the press. Period.Best, -L
(DIR) Post #ASRa7Z9Nk0gPG5CIy0 by PirateRoberts@defcon.social
2023-02-07T18:03:00Z
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@lauren The media may not be evil incarnate, but they choose which stories to carry, and which to bury. Lest history repeat itself, let’s go back to a SCOUYS case. “It is also axiomatic that a state may not induce, encourage or promote private persons to accomplish what it is constitutionally forbidden to accomplish.” ~ Norwood v. Harrison (1973).
(DIR) Post #ASRaDEPpkFOugkatqC by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-02-07T18:04:16Z
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@PirateRoberts And your job when doing interviews is to help make accurate stories the ones they want to push out.
(DIR) Post #ASRdDROxlNXcpHyipc by JamesWNeal@mstdn.social
2023-02-07T18:37:49Z
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@lauren thank you.
(DIR) Post #ASRdPlAW5zwPbj5yNs by Doug_Bostrom@scicomm.xyz
2023-02-07T18:40:02Z
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@lauren I think there's some displaced frustration going on with regard to this.Leaving aside that as professional wordsmiths knowing that exact means of expression should be of the utmost priority during the tiny window of attention of the lede and headline that is the first thing read and likely main payload conveyed to members of the public:It's not the job of "news" to ceaselessly repeat what people should already have paid attention to. "News." New. It's our job to pay attention.
(DIR) Post #ASRfSb2yNsYezc2zQG by Nora1Can@mas.to
2023-02-07T19:02:58Z
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@lauren You allude to different issues in one post which makes it hard to respond. Maybe some don’t want mainstream orgs here, but it’s not the prevailing view in my feeds. Regardless, what’s wrong with being wary of speaking with anyone who, of necessity, must maintain access to power to keep food on the table? Don’t blame us for a system we didn’t create and don’t make us conflate MSM with the journalists it exploits. Period.
(DIR) Post #ASRhRMLZkilH1KHoae by tivasyk@mastodon.social
2023-02-07T19:25:10Z
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@lauren «If people who know the truth don't work with the press to get the true stories out, then bad actors -- evil people -- will happily fill the vacuum that you've left and spread their own disinformation and propaganda».are you saying the «press people» don't give a musk about what they «spread» and will happily go ahead to propagate whatever some «bad actors» shovel their way while «good people» look away?omg, this is worse than i feared =( not sure i need that kind of press at all.
(DIR) Post #ASRiLRR816Ax1QcqTQ by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-02-07T19:35:19Z
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@tivasyk If only evil people will give their side of the story to the press, that is the story you're going to see. Is it up to non-evil people to provide the other side. If the press goes to the non-evil people and the non-evil people refuse to talk to them, the evil people have the forum.
(DIR) Post #ASRimcesP1N1e117L6 by bezoar@mastodon.social
2023-02-07T19:38:48Z
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@tivasyk @lauren It's easy to overestimate the spare cognitive capacity that reporters have when covering stories. Those of us who don't have to research a new (to us) topic and write intelligently about it may think that disinformation trolls are obvious. But in many situations, they aren't. A lot of reporters don't know what they don't know, and that's where bad faith actors get in and do damage.
(DIR) Post #ASRimdF2EaIHS9vzhQ by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-02-07T19:40:14Z
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@bezoar @tivasyk Reporters are dealing with all sorts of topics all the time (most of them, anyway). They depend on "experts" to give them information that they don't have about topics they don't know about or don't understand. If it's left to evil to give their side, that's the side that goes out.
(DIR) Post #ASRjRmBhsQOJ4YzrBA by lucybeahere@mastodon.lol
2023-02-07T19:47:35Z
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@lauren @tivasyk I think we’re talking about two different issues here. You’re talking about whether people, politicians, etc should be willing to speak with the press. Most of us are talking about what most media chooses to publicize and emphasize and why that pisses us off. I don’t think the press focuses on Republican talking points because only Republicans talk to the press. It’s a choice.
(DIR) Post #ASRmMJiKc8AlB3LSVc by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-02-07T20:20:18Z
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@lucybeahere @tivasyk They will tend to focus on whomever will talk to them the most. That doesn't mean that they AGREE with them, but they report what they have available to report. That's their job.
(DIR) Post #ASRnVNXLrzMFau5u6K by lucybeahere@mastodon.lol
2023-02-07T20:33:05Z
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@lauren @tivasyk I’m sorry, we’re going to have to disagree entirely. I refuse to believe that only Republicans are willing to talk to reporters. And I definitely disagree that it is the media’s job to be a mouthpiece for whoever will speak to them. I mean, they certainly can and do, but I’m not going to respect them for spreading misinformation. So much for the esteemed Fourth Estate holding the powerful accountable.
(DIR) Post #ASRnjCyxuNf0uibYci by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-02-07T20:35:38Z
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@lucybeahere @tivasyk Why do you think that Talk Radio is almost entirely conservative voices? It's because most nonconservatives refuse to go on the shows. That's why I *DO* engage routinely on talk radio, to provide an alternative view. It's the same across media. Liberals tend to not want to engage, conservatives are always happy to. It's been this way for many years and I've seen it close up all that time.
(DIR) Post #ASRoajPc48TQqCagoS by mtomczak@qoto.org
2023-02-07T20:45:16Z
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@lauren @lucybeahere @tivasyk This cannot be emphasized hard enough. They will tend to focus on whomever will talk to them the most.Their job is to fill airtime or column inches. Like most professionals, they will do that to the best of their ability and will take shortcuts when necessary, and the easiest shortcut is “run what you have and don’t burn time on investigation.” The press and investigative journalism aren’t synonymous.I’m reminded of a piece I read on Nintendo ages ago where the author was decrying the imminent doom of the company because they had nothing in the pipe: no new games announced, no new systems, and Microsoft and Sony were going to eat their lunch in the console market as an aging Gamecube failed to keep up with new innovations. With mobile phones taking the place of dedicated portable consoles and no plan to compete with high-end consoles, opined the author, Nintendo was doomed.I had a fascinating flash of “Wait… But this is Nintendo. Famously tight-lipped Nintendo. I’m… I’m reading one newshound’s opinion based on the fact that he asked Nintendo and they told him nothing.Like a week later, Nintendo announced the Wii.(When it’s entertainment and game consoles, this game is fine, but when it leaks into public policy, science, and other fields that impact people’s fates, it’s way less okay).
(DIR) Post #ASRpomNVvzMi34s5eC by mtomczak@qoto.org
2023-02-07T20:49:23Z
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@bezoar @tivasyk @lauren And a key part of this situation is that reporters specialize in reporting. That’s a talent of summarization, focusing on key facts, crafting disjoint information into narrative, and getting all of that in front of people.There’s nothing in the minimum qualifications for the job that require them to know anything about the fields they’re talking about and, in general, they are not held accountable for passing along information that is later found to be false (empirically speaking; few people cancel a newspaper subscription because any given story is full of bullshit, though they may cancel for an unpopular story).It’s their job to report on a field, not to be masters of it.
(DIR) Post #ASRrZrl5qdgOIeuuq8 by lucybeahere@mastodon.lol
2023-02-07T21:18:46Z
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@lauren @tivasyk I’m glad you’re doing that. But talk radio isn’t conservative because only conservatives come on the shows. It’s because the hosts and the listeners (and likely the station owners) are conservative. And they choose to push simplistic, hot button, conservative ideas. They have no interest in context or truth. They want drama for dollars. I’m not going to respect them.
(DIR) Post #ASRsNrgKPLpwXaWsng by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-02-07T21:27:50Z
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@lucybeahere @tivasyk You're making a very broad statement that simply is incorrect in its scope. I deal with this stuff continually. Do you?
(DIR) Post #ASRuQhbcWgiq4GoAG8 by lucybeahere@mastodon.lol
2023-02-07T21:50:41Z
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@lauren @tivasyk Wait a minute. You start out with telling us not to complain about media because the problem is that liberals don’t talk to the press. You’re telling me that I’m the one that’s being too broad? I’m going to say this once more: Media can do as it pleases, and it does. I can be critical of it, and I very much am. Thank you for your efforts, because it’s going to take a lot to pull us out of the hole we’re in.
(DIR) Post #ASRwoA9kk42dBV5Vgm by lucybeahere@mastodon.lol
2023-02-07T22:16:23Z
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@mtomczak @bezoar @tivasyk @lauren If this is truly what reporting is now, then we are doomed. This is the opposite of what we should aspire to. This is Russia level nihilism where truth is meaningless and all that matters is who has the megaphone.
(DIR) Post #ASRwoAZzAX1cUrMSZs by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-02-07T22:17:22Z
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@lucybeahere @mtomczak @bezoar @tivasyk That's what it's always been. That's what it is *supposed to be*. Reporters report the info they can obtain. That's why they're called reporters.
(DIR) Post #ASRzU3qwlel9hpOjQm by lucybeahere@mastodon.lol
2023-02-07T22:47:19Z
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@lauren @mtomczak @bezoar @tivasyk I’m old enough to remember when journalists published lies, they lost their jobs for it. Some still believe in journalistic standards necessary for democracy to thrive, such as @froomkin, @markjacob, and @jayrosen_nyu. Check them out. You’ve convinced me that journalistic criticism is essential to help those searching for reliable sources.
(DIR) Post #ASRznOlPFLki3r1jl2 by bezoar@mastodon.social
2023-02-07T22:20:56Z
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@lucybeahere @mtomczak @tivasyk @lauren We need not be doomed if enough of us who have useful knowledge get in front of the bullshit, which is what Lauren advocated in his original post. (Of course, "enough" probably looks like way more than we see now, but I choose to believe that it's achievable.)Teaching media literacy would help quite a lot too, to help audiences think better/more critically.
(DIR) Post #ASRznPI1I5q9h0Hmam by lucybeahere@mastodon.lol
2023-02-07T22:49:54Z
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@bezoar @mtomczak @tivasyk @lauren And how does a consumer, who doesn’t know any more than a reporter, know what information to believe? If there is no expectation of accountability, no criticism?
(DIR) Post #ASRznPtx14BJae24iO by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-02-07T22:50:51Z
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@lucybeahere @bezoar @mtomczak @tivasyk They make that choice via what news sources they choose to read and view. Again, as it always has been (except in fascist and communist countries, for example).
(DIR) Post #ASS7dLMfpP5qG0Auf2 by PirateRoberts@defcon.social
2023-02-08T00:18:37Z
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@lauren Would that they would have more accurate stories, and have less personal bias in their reporting, rather than writing op-Ed’s as news.
(DIR) Post #ASS7f9JLc8ytS7Tq1g by PirateRoberts@defcon.social
2023-02-08T00:18:54Z
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@lauren Would that they would have more accurate stories, and have less personal bias in their reporting, rather than writing op-Ed’s as news.
(DIR) Post #ASSHacw32mLdQM43e4 by lucybeahere@mastodon.lol
2023-02-08T02:10:11Z
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@lauren @bezoar @mtomczak @tivasyk Looking at media critically is how consumers choose. Telling people not to be critical of media is impossible and quite ridiculous, and in direct opposition to the critical thinking skills they attempt to teach in choosing sources at school. It’s the only hope we have against disinformation. I can not believe we even have to have this discussion. What truly depressing times we live in.
(DIR) Post #ASSMUgRNb7LQKShl9k by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-02-08T03:05:11Z
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@lucybeahere @bezoar @mtomczak @tivasyk Study after study shows that there is very little critical viewing going on, because almost everyone naturally migrates to the news sources that they like. How often have you heard people here say they'd never watch FOX News? I watch it, because I want to know what they're saying over there, in addition to multiple other sources. It's like people here saying they now ignore what's happening on Twitter, they feel happy here and want to pretend Twitter doesn't exist. These are the same sorts of behaviors, just different shades. Misinformation can only be effectively controlled by preventing it from being disseminated in the first place, but court decisions are likely going in the opposite direction (in the U.S.). That's just the reality.
(DIR) Post #ASSQWTn9zns5Un0Kjw by lucybeahere@mastodon.lol
2023-02-08T03:50:10Z
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@lauren @bezoar @mtomczak @tivasyk Then I guess you’re wasting your time going on talk radio, because misinformation is already out there and people have already picked their sides and believe what they want to believe. I will continue to be critical of the media and search for reliable sources, and I’m grateful to those who share that information with me. Truth matters, otherwise we fall. We can already see proof of that.
(DIR) Post #ASSR9trF19JldBi6Pg by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-02-08T03:57:28Z
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@lucybeahere @bezoar @mtomczak @tivasyk Ah, but you may be missing the point! The reason one goes on those shows is that this is where an unfamiliar view will be heard when it normally wouldn't be! And that is one of the few ways to see some changes. It's almost impossible to get people to switch shows, but if you turn down opportunities to be on them, you miss the chance to (however briefly) get inside the filter bubbles. And by being invited on those shows, you get credibility with listeners who ordinarily would ignore you. This is one of the few ways to actually change some minds in this context. And it works.
(DIR) Post #ASTUaHmjAoEIODpfm4 by lucybeahere@mastodon.lol
2023-02-08T16:10:30Z
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@lauren You’re missing my point, which is: what you are doing matters because (I assume) you are trying to open people’s eyes to the truth. Truth still matters to people, and they are looking for it (maybe in the wrong places!) If there is no belief in truth, they disengage. It becomes about survival, not a functional society. That is why the GOP is trying to eliminate the concept of truth. That is why having high quality, pro democracy journalism matters.