The business of newspapers
is to sell newspapers. Like anything else they're a money-making enterprise. Though now and again you do get good journalism out of them in spite of that.

Same goes with television and net media whose job it is to attract customers so that the advertising works.

You need something like the BBC to overcome this problem to get journalism to work as it ought, but even they are subject to political bias from on high, who have their ties to various politicians. Also they're constrained by broadcast minutes as to the depth they can go into news stories, which is why their rolling news channel is seems to be the same half hour of shite repeated over and over. Still, it gave us Rico Hizon.
(Dildo Bugger destroyed a ring on, Wed 7 Dec 2011, 14:53, 2 replies)

The best thing about the BBC
is that right-wing politicians complain that it's too left-friendly, and the left complain that it's too right-wing and reactionary. So they're probably getting it about right, overall.
(moon monkey is busy making memories worth repressing, Wed 7 Dec 2011, 14:57, closed)

or that it's just shit and everyone finds it a problem
just throwing in an alternative there
( rob, Wed 7 Dec 2011, 15:02, closed)

If either side of the political divide thought the BBC was fair and balanced,
then we'd know it had a problem.
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Wed 7 Dec 2011, 15:07, closed)

yes - this is my point basically
we have these commercial interests which set the news agenda. This is actively harmful to the world as it misrepresents the issues facing us as a species. We all know this is a problem but we all sort of give up and go well that's just the way it is, market forces, who can blame them etc?

But we actively need better.
( rob, Wed 7 Dec 2011, 15:26, closed)

You're the one with the widely read website.
You could use it to publicise the truth.

Of course, you'd lose all your readers, pretty quickly.
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Wed 7 Dec 2011, 15:33, closed)

also all I genuinely know about is animated gifs
and how to build html tables.
( rob, Wed 7 Dec 2011, 15:40, closed)

You're doing yourself a disservice there, Rob.
What about songs and quizzes?
(Professor Kenny Martin Hmm? What?, Wed 7 Dec 2011, 15:57, closed)

actually I was fibbing
I'm not very good at animated gifs.
( rob, Wed 7 Dec 2011, 16:07, closed)

A few twinkly stars
would certainly brighten up this place.
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Wed 7 Dec 2011, 16:05, closed)

There's enough b3tans with media savvy on here
and my rusty degree is in journalism. Could probably have a half-decent stab at B3ta Wikinews if you called for volunteers and put your mind to it.
(Dildo Bugger destroyed a ring on, Wed 7 Dec 2011, 16:08, closed)

It would just be this.
( Happy Phantom has been to Hastings, Brighton, and Eastbourne too, Wed 7 Dec 2011, 23:24, closed)

Well no argument there
And when you look at the media the rest of the world gets, we don't do so bad with the old BBC. Whilst I'm no fan of the licence fee there is a case to be made that, since few enough of us will voluntarily pay for what's good for us, a light tax so that we can be furnished with public service broadcasting that actually serves the public and not economic interests isn't entirely a bad thing.

It would be interesting to see if a better model that did deliver impartial news, excellently reported could be organised though I'm not sure on what economic basis it would operate. You'd also be up against AP and Reuters though, whose business is to supply the news media with news stories as few media organisations have sufficient resources to cover the lot.
(Dildo Bugger destroyed a ring on, Wed 7 Dec 2011, 16:04, closed)