From Pine View Farm

Dis Coarse Discourse 0

At the Bangor Daily News, Stefano Tijerina pens a lengthy analysis of what he believes has gone wrong with news coverage. He suggests that the primary issue is not “fake news,” but a much broader one of “useless news,” arguing that accuracy and well-reasoned analysis have been sacrificed to entertainment value and ratings.

As with a piece I posted a couple of days ago, I quibble that he uses the term “media” when the context of the piece shows clearly that his primary focus is broadcast media, particularly television. Nevertheless, the piece is well worth a read. Here’s an excerpt (emphasis added):

In the past it was common to read two or three newspapers on a daily basis, and it was normal to find well-researched news programs on radio and television. Journalists and media outlets were committed to fact-finding research and professionals in the field had high ethical standards that were shaped by social and democratic values and not the market. This was the case not only in the United States but also around the world.

Today global media and its professionals are motivated by market value systems that have replaced the integrity of the profession. Media relies less and less on research and more on speculation camouflaged by invited guests and “experts” that magically predict and loosely interpret the basic facts and rumors of the day. For example, instead of thoroughly explaining to the public the degree of interdependence that exists between the North American Free Trade (NAFTA) agreement partnership and the complexity of dismantling the trade agreement that has resulted in an energy, pipeline, telecommunications, infrastructure and industrial trilateral integration, media opts to water down the information in order to simplistically argue that either the Trump administration policies on NAFTA are good or bad.

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