In short a New York Times article, an article from The Newspaper of Record, is based entirely on a reporter talking to her chums.
In short a New York Times article, an article from The Newspaper of Record, is based entirely on a reporter talking to her chums.
Yes, it’s not surprising. Tune into TV news and what do you see? A journalist interviewing an “expert” — Who is (of course) also a journalist.
Do you want to know about the war in Afghanistan? Ask Eric Margolis (king of the cappicino circuit) rather than asking a soldier who’s BEEN THERE.
Do you want to report on the economy? Ask the finacial editor of newspaper X rather than a leading businessman.
Journalists are useless dicks. They quote other journalists because they know they can get EXACTLY what quotes they want. So rather than reporting the news they get to report the way they want the news to be.
When I first heard about Facebook and Youtube I thought they were probably stupid and useless.
I was very very very wrong.
And from what I can see they are both growing by leaps and bounds daily.
This practise is WAY too common on CTV and CBC as well. Rather than having clips of PMSH speaking and responding to questions, we usually get the reporter and liberal analysts’ views and spin. This is why I turn to the blogger world or local press to get the real stories, these days.
Gord,
You’ll find that the 20-28 year old trendsetters are now getting out of facebook. Many still use it for the message service, but the constant band advertisements and hucksters have ruined it. Same as uncontrolled busking and selling on a beach can ruin its beauty
Similar fish from a smaller pond:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2009/08/31/nb-telegraph-journal-apology-plagiarism-1015.html
“The Telegraph-Journal expects its journalists to operate with honesty and integrity; a bare translation without credit or attribution is plagiarism and is contrary to the Telegraph-Journal’s core ethics and principles,” the apology said.
In May, the newspaper was criticized for firing an intern over a story about opposition to [NB] Premier Shawn Graham receiving an honourary degree from the University of New Brunswick, while the publisher and editor who approved the story weren’t disciplined.
And last month, the Telegraph-Journal was forced to admit an article on Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s handling of a communion wafer at former governor general Roméo LeBlanc’s state funeral was not factual.
“It’s hard to say whether all of these things are coming together by coincidence or whether they reveal real editorial problems.”
Actually no, it is not.
Jon, you read the ads? Why?
I set both sides of the page to “ignore” and just read the messages. Like reading Google results.
I have a Facebook account in case somebody I used to hang out with wants to drop a line. Doesn’t happen much, but every once in a while…
The piece in question is an opinion column written by a columnist, not a “news article” written by a “journalist”.
Nothing to see here… Move along.
Phantom said “I have a Facebook account in case somebody I used to hang out with wants to drop a line.”
Likewise Phantom. I kept my “friends list” to under 20 and those 20 have hundreds of friends each. I am amazed at the number of photo’s from the “old days” that have surfaced. Never cared about any trendy aspect. It’s a tool and it works. When it stops working I’ll stop using it.
Lee @ 8:54pm: “This practise is WAY too common on CTV and CBC as well. Rather than having clips of PMSH speaking and responding to questions, we usually get the reporter and liberal analysts’ views and spin.”
Saw an example of this a few days ago. Dan McTeague was in studio being interviewed by a CBC news anchor on the issue of Canadians stranded abroad, and what McTeague called the “Conservative government’s failures” on the matter. Not once did the anchor bring up the names Samson or Arar, and the Liberal govt’s record — of which McTeague was a part — on those individuals, choosing instead to allow him to smear the gov’t without being challenged. The “What about when your gov’t was in power” rebuttals only come when it’s a conservative criticizing Liberals.
Gord,
the band advertisements come from my friends and family who have started terrible bands and want me to attend their shows. It’s not the ads on the site, it’s the spam that I get from the people I knew in grade school who are in a NuMetal band.
A facebook profile is nothing more than a new age location in a phone book.
So Phantom,
I agree with what you say. Despite the fact that your friends might be too old to play rock concerts…
I think the way people under 30 use facebook is far different from how people over 30 use facebook.
Interestingly enough, Twitter is used more by +30 people. Most ‘youth’ don’t get why you would tell people where you’re eating, rather than inviting them to eat with you in the first place.
here is CTVtass standing in for CBCpravda
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090831/home_birth_090831/20090831?hub=TopStories
the usual CBCpravda headlines or stories are Omar Khadr, midwifery, abuse, first nations and that puke Rufus Wainwright.
Jon said “my friends and family who have started terrible bands and want me to attend their shows.”
Ok. I get ya. I have a similar problem. I have friends who were in bands in the 70’s and 80’s who are doing reunions. More professional but painful none the less.
I don’t think I’d equate Facebook to a phone book. There is far too much information being traded on Facebook to compare it to a contact type list like a phonebook. Then again it’s probably all relative. What can be done with it and what you do with it. I tend to keep it simple. Computers tend to complicate complicated scenarios.
With columnists of this quality what really separates it from say, the innisfail province?
Like general motors they have failed long before they actually see catastrophic sales reductions.
Dead Media Walking
With columnists of this quality what really separates it from say, the innisfail province?
Like general motors they have failed long before they actually see catastrophic sales reductions.
Dead Media Walking
Journalists interviewing journalists is happening everywhere, even on the Jim Lehrer News Hour which is one of the best.
‘Anything to do with diminishing budgets or can it simply be attributed to the media’s increasing lack of professionalism and journalistic principles?
I’m sure this has happened since forever, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing: Think “War Correspondance comes back from ‘Useless War IX – The Return of Barbarism’ ” and it’s legitimate, I think to ask him or her their impressions and what they saw.
That being said I thought they had editors at the NYT?
“Do you want to know about the war in Afghanistan? Ask Eric Margolis”,
that guy is a flake. When you look at his commentaries on the break-up of the soviet union, 20 odd years ago, and what really happened. You find him wrong 100 percent of the time.
People seem to over look those facts.
hey kate can i start an sda facebookgroup and those who aren’t part of facebook would you join and join her sda facebook group ? LOL ..just a thought .
paul in calgary
cal2, when you write “the usual CBCpravda headlines or stories are Omar Khadr, midwifery, abuse, first nations and that puke Rufus Wainwright,” you are way too hard on the CBC.
They also do tasers.
I disagree, @djb.
First, the article is influential. I’ve been asked about it by people ever since it appeared, before i blogged about it.
Second, because it’s not an article, but a column (a fine difference), should it be exempt from… making sense, or doing research, or *fact checking*?
Third, note that the Times built Select precisely around columnists. They clearly value these guys.
That dead dinosour resprisents the state of the main-stream media its vastly becomming extinct