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Is the media irreparably broken

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Shoeless Joe, Apr 19, 2013.

  1. Shoeless Joe

    Shoeless Joe Active Member

    I'm not talking about one particular outlet or even one branch, but has the 24-hour news cycle and social media irreparably broken the media? Every major event creates a new level of mistakes reported as fact only to be proven false information. But then it's too late. People just remember what they heard first because it takes on a cyberspace life of its own.

    It's clear that in today's world, getting something out first is far more important that being correct. Will the tide ever turn back to accuracy being more important than speed?
     
  2. BTExpress

    BTExpress Well-Known Member

    Not until there is major accountability for being wrong.

    Just look how fast people on this site try to be the first to post things. And this isn't even their job. Just some ego-driven need to "post news" before someone else.

    With zero repercussions beyond a few seconds of shame (if that) when the information is shown to be wrong.
     
  3. DanOregon

    DanOregon Well-Known Member

    It's not journalism what we're seeing. Not when every morsel of information is given the same weight without context.
     
  4. dooley_womack1

    dooley_womack1 Well-Known Member

    deweydefeatstruman.jpg

    Figured I'd get that in first and accurately.
     
  5. Riptide

    Riptide Well-Known Member

    It's not journalism.
    It's televised ejaculations.
     
  6. dreunc1542

    dreunc1542 Active Member

    It's happened on all forms of media, not just television.

    Also, as discussed on other threads - journalists have misreported major pieces of information in the heat of big crises for a long time. Now, though, instead of just the wires and a few TV stations being able to report information as it happens, basically everyone can.

    There are definitely issues about coverage of breaking news that need to be addressed, but I also think it's short-sighted to act as if the rush to be first and beat the competition is something new to recent news coverage.
     
  7. Pilot

    Pilot Well-Known Member

    It's not like there's a better option. Have Reddit users finished the gallows they're building for the missing Brown student? Or at they still focused on the world's greatest crowd-sourcing investigation which found two athletes with backpacks and dark skin guilty?
     
  8. JackReacher

    JackReacher Well-Known Member

    I'm still not entirely sure what Reddit is.
     
  9. Here me roar

    Here me roar Guest

    Short answer? No.

    Sincerely hope that weeks like this will lead to the media remembering that bring accurate is more important then being first. Source facts. Say where they came from. Say if they haven't been independently confirmed. If you really don't know or think it's wrong don't use it. My goodness. Be professional.
     
  10. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    Disagree. Would love it to shake out this way, but momentum is such a powerful force, and the dollars too follow the irresponsible.

    Watch the New York Post. The most disgraceful week maybe ever for a single journalism entity. And yet the next time they have a "scoop," it will be cited all over the place.

    Stewart's bit on CNN was tremendous too. But it's not going to change anything at CNN.
     
  11. Pilot

    Pilot Well-Known Member

    Neither am I, honestly.

    I once figured I'd like it because it's kind of a message board and hey, I like message boards, right? But I'm too dumb to navigate it easily, I guess, because I can't ever seem to figure out what's going on. But, at least I didn't accuse multiple innocent people of being terrorists all the while mocking the "traditional media" for being slow and stupid, only to be wrong over and over again.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 1, 2015
  12. Lugnuts

    Lugnuts Well-Known Member

    No, but we're in the midst of a giant seismic storm surrounding the way we get information.

    Some entity will figure out a new system for organizing and disseminating correct information. That entity will rise from the ashes.

    If success is sustained, the formula will be replicated.
     
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