Subject: BS: State of the fifth estate From: Donuel Date: 07 Mar 16 - 01:44 PM Some of the contributors on mudcat have journalistic talents, backgrounds and perhaps bona fides. When America attacked Iran I was shocked at the cowardice and ignorance in the reporting during the call to war. Gradually voices emerged that seemed authentic in uncovering truth. How would you rate Journalism and small Bloggers in this decade? |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: Stilly River Sage Date: 07 Mar 16 - 02:11 PM Teeny tiny blog posts, perhaps (140 characters at a time) - Twitter was crucial in getting the word out about reporting wars and incidents. Citizen reporters at work. |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: Donuel Date: 07 Mar 16 - 04:23 PM I have never tweeted. I am not a witness to truth. As to whom to trust I suppose a consensus of a kind of democratic truth telling may be as good as it gets. Regarding the big names in journalism, who has fallen from grace in your opinion and who is rising? Is the NYT still the global paper of record. I hear they are having troubles, or is that just right wing propaganda. With a few exceptions like Maddow I find most cable and broadcast news/editorials to be centralized talking points. |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: GUEST,HiLo Date: 07 Mar 16 - 04:49 PM I am very Leary of Twitter as a source of news or current events. It can be a " voice" for many things. It can also be a source of very skewed opinion. amateur "journalists" can be a curse or a blessing, so I am always Careful of tweeted "news". |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: Steve Shaw Date: 07 Mar 16 - 05:17 PM I don't even know what tweeting is. Or Facebook. Sod all that. |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: Greg F. Date: 07 Mar 16 - 06:14 PM I am very Leary of Twitter as a source of news or current events. Good for you! Shitter is no source for anything besides utter bullshit. childishness and exhibitionism.. |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: Donuel Date: 07 Mar 16 - 07:07 PM Greg are you an eye witness? |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: Greg F. Date: 07 Mar 16 - 07:47 PM If it helps, Steve, Tweets are univeraslly made by and for twats. |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: GUEST,Mrr Date: 07 Mar 16 - 08:13 PM I have one word for you: Infotainment. |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: Joe Offer Date: 08 Mar 16 - 12:30 AM I hate to hear myself say anything nice about FoxNews, but I have to admit that they've been doing a good job of being a thorn in Donald Trump's side. -Joe- |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: Donuel Date: 08 Mar 16 - 12:46 AM The Fox News method of preaching racism is candy coated compared to Trump. |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: Greg F. Date: 08 Mar 16 - 09:59 AM I hate to hear myself say anything nice about FoxNews, but I have to admit that they've been doing a good job of being a thorn in Donald Trump's side. That's only to keep Trump at the top of the media circus, Joe. Just Ailes helping his frankensteinian creation. |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: Bee-dubya-ell Date: 08 Mar 16 - 08:13 PM At its best, Twitter can be a source of valuable information and a platform for enlightened discourse. At its worst, Twitter can turn into a virtual lynch mob. But most of the time, Twitter is exactly what its name implies: noise made by little birds announcing "I'm here! Look at me!" |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: Stilly River Sage Date: 08 Mar 16 - 09:02 PM Twitter works depending on who YOU choose to follow. If you look to the trending stories, it can be odd. But if it doesn't work for you, it's because you didn't poke around and find good journalists or thinkers to follow. |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: Thompson Date: 09 Mar 16 - 06:43 AM Ireland is now adjudged to have a more damaging concentration of media ownership in few owners than Russia; in Turkey, which the EU centre wishes to have as an EU member, the government has just taken over the largest-selling newspaper, which was in opposition to its policies… |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: Steve Shaw Date: 09 Mar 16 - 06:51 AM You won't see Turkey in the EU in our lifetimes. |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: GUEST,# Date: 09 Mar 16 - 10:55 AM Freedom of the press is no longer. With instantaneous communication available, truth is just as likely as untruth to hit the www. We have seen news being slanted and on occasion created. Read the Jessica Lynch story if you doubt that. http://thewe.cc/weplanet/news/armed_force/us/jessica_lynch.htm The government of the day spun that just a bit huh? And the Fifth Estate helped all they could. The Fifth Estate has become an arm of corporations and wealth. When they want your opinion they'll give it to you. But I'd guess most of you know that. There IS no more Fifth Estate. What we have now is the New and Improved Fifth Estate, brought to you by a few dozen owners worldwide. It is not in their best interest to tell the truth. So stop expecting it. YMMV (and probably does). |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: Greg F. Date: 09 Mar 16 - 11:00 AM Mine don't differ hardly at all, Bruce. |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: GUEST,# Date: 09 Mar 16 - 11:11 AM Greg, I expect you'bve seen this (because I know you stay informed). However, for those who haven't, here's 'news' today. The interviewer is typical of the 'let us tell you what you think' broadcasts so often fronted by Fox. https://www.facebook.com/OccupyDemocrats/videos/1080899312003122/?fref=nf |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: Greg F. Date: 09 Mar 16 - 11:26 AM Thanks, Bruce - hadn't seen it. Fox - Ailes - Murdoch - Trump: part of the same slimy Continuum. |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: GUEST Date: 09 Mar 16 - 10:15 PM State of the fifth estate They're at their best when they're doing their worst (mostly) |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: Thompson Date: 10 Mar 16 - 01:55 AM Steve Shaw, I may remind you of your statement in the next year. Irish people who voted against eastern European countries which had engaged in race war being admitted to the EU were sent back to vote again and get it right this time. Europe, the EU, is not a fan of democracy. Getting back to what's become known as "the media", look at writers - book writers. In most countries the income of full-time writers is plunging to the point where it's not possible to make a living. Two years ago the Guardian reported that authors' incomes had 'collapsed to abject levels'; this collapse has continued and accelerated since then. At that stage, "the median income of the professional author in 2013 was just £11,000, a drop of 29% since 2005" (I'll leave you to do your own £/$/€ comparison - just type "£11,000 in $" into a Google search and it will automatically give you the current exchange rate.) In the US, another report said 'median income from writing was $8,000, which is down a whopping 24% since the prior survey six years before. "Fifty-six percent of writers earned less than the U.S. poverty level for a one income household: $11.640. What was surprising about this report was that even full time authors have really taken a hit. The average income for full time authors dropped from $25,000 in 2009 to $17,500 in 2014. Part-time authors fared even worse, with a 38% drop income over the previous six years." |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: Steve Shaw Date: 10 Mar 16 - 06:38 AM I would actually like to see Turkey get up to speed on such matters as human rights, treatment of minorities, the decentralisation of its rather authoritarian government and press freedom so that it could get closer to joining the EU. I don't see much progress right now, they have some stern opposition within the EU and I'm an old-age pensioner in June. That's what I meant, Thompson. I wasn't saying I was against, just that it's going to be a long time coming. |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: Joe Offer Date: 10 Mar 16 - 01:50 PM I watched the movie Spotlight last night. It did a great job of telling the story of the Boston Globe reporters who uncovered the Catholic Church coverup of sexual abuse of children by Boston priests. It's clear the reporters did a remarkable job. One of the supplements to the movie said the Globe staff has been cut to half the size it was in 2002, when the Spotlight team uncovered the sex scandal. Could the Globe afford to do such an investigation in 2016? The Boston -Joe- |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: CupOfTea Date: 10 Mar 16 - 05:59 PM Sad, that's the state it's in. Dunno about elsewhere, but in the US we are getting just what we asked for, with the majority clamoring for infotainment, tabloid TV, "reality" shows (and isn't that where they dredged Trump up into every home?) and opinion masquerading as fact. Spirited debate has been drowned out by people who can't tell the intrinsic difference in seriousness between a WWE match and the slanging match that presidential debate has devolved into. It seems that fewer and fewer people are familiar with critical thinking, and it's harder and harder to find news sources who indulge in it. As Joe pointed out, news outlets are downsizing their reporting staff. We are all the poorer for it. The skills in getting blather up on a pretty website seem to be the most sophisticated part of many mainstream "news" these days. I feel like an old curmudgeon ranting like this, but as I slide down the backside of the digital divide, I know those whose lives are made up of twiter, Facebook, instagram, (and all the whatevers that follow) will be running the world from small niches while I watch the big picture get dimmer and dimmer with the silent minority. Well, we're not really silent, we just can't be heard in a Trump/JudgeJudy/Kardasian/PR world. Ok / end rant Joanne in Cleveland |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: Greg F. Date: 10 Mar 16 - 06:10 PM No rant, Joanne - you tell it like it is!! Oh, ye generation of morons..... |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: Donuel Date: 11 Mar 16 - 11:39 AM Turkey is requesting another 3 billion dollars from the EU to deal with Syrian refugees but this time to deport them. |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: GUEST,JTS Date: 11 Mar 16 - 11:52 AM As it always has been, money speaks loudest, Look who pays the bills. When learning the news, pay attention to the nouns. The adjectives are just spin. The only difference between the news now and the news in Edgar R Morrow's day was more of a national consensus. |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: Greg F. Date: 11 Mar 16 - 12:11 PM The only difference between the news now and the news in Edgar R Morrow's day was more of a national consensus. Absolute nonsense. You either weren't there, or you've forgotten. |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: GUEST,# Date: 11 Mar 16 - 12:24 PM "the news now and the news in Edgar R Morrow's day" Any relation to Edward R Murrow? |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: olddude Date: 11 Mar 16 - 12:33 PM News what news just lies and half truths to spin a media circus for ratings |
Subject: RE: BS: State of the fifth estate From: Thompson Date: 11 Mar 16 - 01:02 PM One of the series of The Wire was about the death of the Baltimore Sun. |