Is it News?

When it comes to news, today’s world is much different from the days of old.  The time when newspaper, radio and later the tv ruled the day and were the only sources of news are gone.  The internet and social media have changed both the way people get their news and who they get it from forever.

This has shown to be a double edge sword as the very real phenomenon of “fake news”  has taken the spotlight in American media.  While it’s always good to hear different opinions, opinion based on other opinions or emotional arguments are not fact.  News should be based on fact and facts alone. And the interpretation of the facts should be left up to the individual.  Now that false information is spread so easily it’s the individuals responsibility to ensure the news they take in is factual and accurate. While the previous statement was never a bad thing there was trust in the media to provide verified factual information. Sadly this is no longer the case. That said, the days of blindly believing the things you see, read or hear are definitely over.

So how did we get to this point?  From news organizations not being reliable enough to just report the facts - all the facts.  Many times they choose what information to share. They became biased, support certain positions or agendas or policies and push particular narratives often by over representing one ideology and under representing another.  They spin any bad press or even ignore contradictory evidence entirely.  They'll frame stories to purposely be misleading. They also often make big issues from unimportant events. They've lost their credibility and the public trust is broken.  Many people knew these things were going on for a long time, others chose to ignore it, but neither had options. When the internet offered a way to get news from a variety of sources with alternative views the people flocked to it.  After years of craving different ideological views, usually similar to their own, social media provided millions of liked minded people to connect with. Once the population embraced this platform the media again chose to use social media not to regain lost respect but to spread more false information. They chose the business model of presenting click bait for advertising dollars over genuine organic traffic from honest reporting. These moves have only led to even worse viewership, ratings and profits. Creating way for smaller fact based reporting to gain traction and reap the rewards by filling the voids left behind. These voids wouldn’t have existed had the mainstream media not let the public down repeatedly.  So while the mainstream media may complain about the situation they’re in today it is mostly their own fault.  You reap what you sow.