Are journalists serving Virginia's voters well? Election could offer insights on media on national level
Jeff Souththeconversation.com
Are journalists serving Virginia's voters well? Election could offer insights on media on national level
The traditional view of the press was never based on some contrived, mathematical notion of “balance,” i.e. five paragraphs of Republicans for every five paragraphs of Democrats. The ideal instead was that we showed you everything we could see, good and bad, ugly and not, trusting that a better-informed public would make better decisions. This visi... See more
Matt Taibbi • The American Press Is Destroying Itself - Reporting by Matt Taibbi
There is voting, of course, but to become an informed voter all one needs to do is read a short guide about the candidates and issues before the election. There’s no need to have to suffer through the daily back-and-forth of allegations and counter-allegations, of scurrilous lies and their refutations.
Aaron Swartz • I Hate the News (Aaron Swartz's Raw Thought)
Pundits on television news programs discuss politics as a horse race or compare the effectiveness of pseudo-events staged by candidates. They do not discuss ideas, issues, or meaningful reform.
Chris Hedges • Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle
Journalists aren’t wrong to interview people in power. But when that’s all they do, they let power – rather than expertise – define the boundaries of legitimate public debate. - Peter Beinart
To succeed in today's media environment, “political leaders must appear as accessible, authentic, and relatable,” she argues,
Conor Friedersdorf • The Charisma-vs.-Charm Election
In a democracy, we the people are supposed to be guiding the ship of state together. To do that, we need to be able to talk to one another, which suggests that engagement, rather than confrontation, can be a civic act. It can also be an act of friendship, because one thing we want to do is to save our friends from making serious mistakes. Just bear
... See morenytimes.com • Should I Stop Speaking to My Trump-Supporting Friends?
Not only does political coverage often lose the signal—it frequently accentuates the noise. If there are a number of polls in a state that show the Republican ahead, it won’t make news when another one says the same thing. But if a new poll comes out showing the Democrat with the lead, it will grab headlines—even though the poll is probably an outl
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