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Do you trust the Mainstream Media?

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Lovewins 5 Apr 7
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41 comments

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0

Love Fox news

gater Level 7 Apr 7, 2018

lol

you're kidding - right?

@shockwaverider No - I watch it every nite - love Hannity

@iamjc I know what Fox news is, I've just never come close to anyone who actually watches it.

@shockwaverider About 1.3 million daily viewers - nearly double of CNN

1

Nope, I don't trust any of them. I browse the web looking for solo journalists and any news reports they have, and then base a decision. In short, if money is involved in the equation (which all major media sources are in it for money, none operate for free), then it's a safe bet the public is not getting the truth/facts.

And you think "solo journalists", presumably not working for money, are the real deal?

@NoTimeForBS Never said that...I said I browse the net looking for such journalists and see what they have to say, and then form an opinion. That doesn't mean I believe them, as all human beings are capable of telling lies. Reread the first sentence in my first comment very carefully.

I thought I had read your post carefully enough and the sense of your second sentence was:
"if money is involved......[you are] not getting the truth/facts".
That wasn't qualified in any way.

@NoTimeForBS The first sentence of my original comment would have been enough to answer your query. Wasn't qualified you say? People have agendas, especially those in positions of power, and money fuels their respective agendas further. Where do you suppose the mainstream media sources get their funding from aside from maybe a few private donors? You got it...through ad revenue, and in turn said media sources could conceivably become swayed by the ad sourcers own agendas, think about it. Money has corrupted many people and continues to do so. I don't for one moment believe any of those in modern day journalism care about me receiving the truth on topics reported about.

"Where do you suppose the mainstream media sources get their funding from aside from maybe a few private donors?"
In my country the main 'mainstream' media source would be the BBC. It gets no money from advertisers and none from donors. It is entirely funded from taxes and end-users.
Let me assume you are only aware of US media (my apologies if that is not the case).
I took The New York Times as an example and looked at its revenue figures. As best I could ascertain, its quarterly revenue of £399m included digital subscriptions of $79m and paper sales of around $60m. In other words, about a third of its revenue is independent of advertisers or donors and without whom it would not really have a business. TV and web media will obviously be less end-user dependent, but in a non-monopoly they will also be not only free to, but almost obliged to critique one another's objectivity and independence, which is a wonderful corrective to systematic bias.
PS "qualified" can mean "limited" or "restricted".

@NoTimeForBS As I live in the US, I was strictly referring to the news sources in my country. While it may be true that some revenue comes from subscriptions, you still cannot forget about ad revenue all the same. No bias there, that's the truth. Regardless, money is still involved no matter which way you look at it, no telling for sure that there wouldn't be any corruption of facts while reporting on stories. Just a third of the way isn't good enough, not for me anyway, but keep in mind that's also just my opinion.

4

Mainstream media is all about the money.

Do you grow all your own food, because supermarkets are all about the money too?

Oooo, @NoTimeForBS. You're a real cynic.

Ironic, much?

2

YouTube is the last place to get news. MSM is propaganda paid by the donors and advertisers. Think there’s an exception? Think again.

Marz Level 7 Apr 7, 2018

Could you clarify what you mean by "last place", speaking of YouTube?

The Young Turks is the number one online news source (progressive). The Jimmy Dore Show is another progressive news source, but delivered by comedians. There's also The Humanist Report and Secular Talk for progressive news. All of these are funded by the viewers, not by corporations.

If you're wondering by what I mean when I say "progressive", I mean that report political policies and how they effect people, not what someone was wearing or a tweet. They also cover civic engagement. They covered Bernie Sanders when the MSM didn't. Same with the march against DC corruption, the protesters getting beat by cops during wall street protests, and the Indians getting hosed during freezing temperature as they protested DAPL.

1

Have not watched TV or read a news paper since 1988, so for all I know they may be wonderful and honest by now.

In that case, I've got some bad news for you Rugglesby. Bob Hawke is no longer PM and we lost the Republic referendum. Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings. 🙂

@David1955 awww. dude, bummer.

1

Independent news reports via the internet are much more reliable these days, I find, especially if you read a few and cross-check facts and follow up sources.

You really do have to take everything you read online with a grain of salt. Fortunately, the interwebs gives us the ability to check multiple sources from across the globe.

2

Stick to the mainstream outlets, ignore 95% of what you see on Facebook, 99% of what you see in online sites/blogs (basically some guy in a room by himself), and, if it sounds really newsworthy,(tRump in murder/suicide pact with Putin!) go onlineand check several other national/international media outlets. nadif it still soundsover the top -snopes it. British websites and places like Reuters are usually better than American outlets for American news, but watch out for their basis as well. I stopped following a bunch of liberal sites because they were basically repeating each other with really annoying hyperbolicclickbait headlines. andconservative sites are even worse.

I quit watching NBC news, it's way too far left, the same as Fox is too far to the right. Unfortunately they are both mainstream medias.

9

Trust MSNBC, CNN, Washington Post and NY Times and NPR and PBS

I don't watch MSNBC any more, just way too far left in reporting, the rest you cited I agree with

1

Outside of the Onion and your local weather forcaster, what use are they? Really?

0

I only trust PBS

0

The telecommunications act of 1996 is basically an update to an existing law, in keeping with First Amendment rights, I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner. It also nicely dovetailed with the explosion of the Internet; the time had come and there was going to be no stopping that train. It was initially enacted in 1934. In 1996, it was updated by Congress. It’s not Clinton’s. He signed the bill that Congress updated. We never heard of fake news until Trump came on the scene and he’s a shrewd mother jumper because he’s always been good at scamming. Just look at all of his failed businesses and his bankruptcies; he’s a Con artist; he is a professional Con artist. Someone has done a Poll here asking do you trust mainstream media ? The results do not surprise me. People are jumping on that bandwagon without really understanding in my opinion what they’re actually saying because there’s no concrete examples for supporting the idea. On the other hand, rather than accepting the news from any sources, do any of us check multiple sources or weigh the likelihood of it being true or even plausible or checked for verification? There is some fact checking but we need more. Saint Bonaventure University is a very prestigious and respected journalism school not far from where I live. I know that true journalists are held to a higher standard with expectations and they risk losing their jobs or reputations if they are not credible. Good news organizations make public corrections. Fox and Breitbart are not in that group. This fake news term is overused populism not vastly different from Hitlers reign. He controlled the news. Trump would love to control the media and he has already sewn seeds to confuse people. Trump is the spin doctor who is assisted by Fox News. They work well together, cut from the same cloth. Just look at Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch, the operations power behind Fox and the owner, respectively.
I could go on but I’m trying to stay on point.

0

I still trust the MSM and I will leave it at that. I’m reading generalities, and innuendo and not getting a shred of evidence that msm has it wrong. Show me. References to TYT isn’t enough. They are annoying af to watch, they go off on tangents, occasionally have side conversations. I can’t watch them anymore. I check multiple sources and verify certain statements. I also listen to NPR all day. I’m basically satisfied. This is a non issue perpetuated by Trump. He’s as useless as tits on a bull.

the bbc seem to have lost their very good name its been a long time coming but I can only think that they are pretty much in hock to the Tory Government

2

I think they show just what they want.
But definitely not FAUX...

4

I do my best to avoid mainstream media. When I do want to know more about a person or event, I try to hit up multiple sources to attempt to glean some semblance of truth. Even then, there’s a lot of reading between the lines required.

1

Never ever and I question everything.

7

I liked when Al Jazeera was on in the US, I wonder which politician got worked to get rid of them. OK I'm ready to be flamed.

1

Listen to Democracy Now and read blogs.

BillF Level 7 Apr 7, 2018
2

Not really no. I listen to commentaries but I don't forget that it's opinions.

2

Sources need to be cited.

7

So long as we exclude Fox and all extreme right wing media from the term "mainstream", I generally trust all of the others.

2

The only thing they are good at is reporting the glorified news. They make it sound like a Hollywood script the majority of the population is way undereducated and they believe the fiction pouring out of the mouths of the commentators like diarrhea of the brain.

2

This is when I ask the question... Define trust?

2
0

Lies and omissions provided by the oil , chemical and arms industries

4

I trust myself, but the quality of information obtainable from the mainstream media is better than anywhere else. They and their news feeds such as Reuters and AP pay real journalists to do real research and investigation. If there's a better way of being informed, I've yet to hear of it.

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