Gosh, let me think of an example... how many stories did we read about Heath Ledger's death before he was dead 24 hours? In that time, we thought maybe he had snorted coke (one headline read: "Rolled up $20 bill found near Ledger's body..."). That's just a small example. Many stories printed before we knew the truth.
Journalists have a Code of Ethics to follow -- their number one code is the "seek the truth and report it." In an era of trying to get the story first, being the news organization that gets it out the faster (which feeds into their success and their bottom line economically) they will report ANYTHING just to get the story out there. In the days of an evening and morning paper, there wasn't the urgency. Stories were checked out. They were doublechecked. That is relatively gone. Media people will tell you it's gone.
Journalists have a Code of Ethics to follow -- their number one code is the "seek the truth and report it." In an era of trying to get the story first, being the news organization that gets it out the faster (which feeds into their success and their bottom line economically) they will report ANYTHING just to get the story out there. In the days of an evening and morning paper, there wasn't the urgency. Stories were checked out. They were doublechecked. That is relatively gone. Media people will tell you it's gone.
Originally Posted by tramp
Don't get me wrong. We're in a era of blogging, too, and quite often, we get information the mainstream media doesn't report. We often find things out that contributes greatly to the truth being spread.
Originally Posted by tramp
My point is this: we are still navigating through this new era of the media. And there is no denying that the more information thats out there, it can often lead to confusion, sometimes on purpose. This is where those that know how to control the media can play their game. They can put so much crap out there to hide a truth and they will often do that for their own purposes. That is where the relationship of government and media can be very dangerous.
Originally Posted by tramp
A democracy only survives with an independent media. When the two are connected, we are no longer in a democracy. The government that controls the media is no longer a democratic government. It then begins to resemble a dictatorship.
Originally Posted by tramp
I have to go to bed... sorry I contributed so much in this thread. But this very subject is something I feel very strongly about.