For Those who read/watch the News

[Minibit]

my textbook exercise recommends interviewing five people as an extra activity, but I'm ambitious so I'm polling the whole lot o ye!

In answering, please remember to be net safe and do not specify your town/city or, by association, name your local paper/news station or anything like that. Instead, use general statements such as "I read the local newspaper". For obvious reasons, do not worry about naming broad sources like CNN, The Globe & Mail, etc.

what media do you use to get news? (Ie: local television, national television, local newspaper, etc)
Do you use a different media for breaking news? Which one?
Do you use a different media for in-depth coverage on a news item? Which one?
Would you say you trust news media in general? (Serious news sources, not parodies or tabloids)
Would you say you trust local media more or less than national and international media?
Why or why not?
What would the media need to do to earn/increase your trust?

 

[Gwazi Magnum]

What media do you use to get news? (Ie: local television, national television, local newspaper, etc)

Nothing specifically, it's either whatever articles are popping up in places I frequent (Forums, Facebook etc) or Video Channels like Phillip Defranco or John Oliver.

Do you use a different media for breaking news? Which one?

Not really. News is news, I'll grab it form whatever reliable source I can find.

Do you use a different media for in-depth coverage on a news item? Which one?

In-depth for me usually means multiple sources may it be articles, videos (mainly videos) etc.

Would you say you trust news media in general? (Serious news sources, not parodies or tabloids)

If you mean Profressional News on TV, I trust that they will take anything that can be made to sound exciting or dangerous and then twist it that way.

So in other words, no. I don't tend to trust them much on average, but the specific level changes from station to station and topic to topic. For example:

-Fox News? I can expect them to twist anything.
-Feminism Stories? I can expect them to milk the victim card like crazy.

Would you say you trust local media more or less than national and international media?

Local VS International doesn't mean much, they're in it for the same reasons and have the same motivators.

Why or why not?
​

What I care more about is whose in charge? Is this a business looking to profit like crazy, or is this a lone individual who relies on the support of others? The loner I'll trust more just because the motivation of "Impressed the Big Boss" isn't going to be there.

That being said though, that can also lead to some rather unethical journalism. But some corrupt > all corrupt. At least in this case I can enter aware of the risk, and evaluate each one to see how much logic/reason do they use, and how much are they just appealing to one's emotions?

What would the media need to do to earn/increase your trust?

Stop milking stories for views, just say it how it is. Rationally, and with good arguments.​

 

[Alan]

what media do you use to get news? Internet! I use a wide variety, such as local news stations' websites, CNN.com, Foxnews.com, Christian Science Monitor, BBC, AlJazeera, and the CBC.
Do you use a different media for breaking news? Which one? No. If something is important enough, I'll view them all for the variety of perspectives.
Do you use a different media for in-depth coverage on a news item? Which one? I love the detailed reporting from AlJazeera's in-depth specials, but otherwise, it doesn't matter too much
Would you say you trust news media in general? No
Would you say you trust local media more or less than national and international media?
Why or why not? I trust international media above all others. The bias tends to not be so obvious.
What would the media need to do to earn/increase your trust? The bias really needs to stop, and report just the facts.

 

[Brovo]

what media do you use to get news?

Internet typically. I don't have cable and paper news is quickly becoming more and more outdated.

Do you use a different media for breaking news? Which one?

Same media. Most Internet articles are constantly updated over time if on breaking news topics.

Do you use a different media for in-depth coverage on a news item? Which one?

If I'm looking for news about science, I'll aim for science journals and scientifically literate sources over general media. General media tends to be behind on things. It's not uncommon for me to find them pushing stuff from the days of Aristotle, like that we only have five senses.

Would you say you trust news media in general? (Serious news sources, not parodies or tabloids)

No. I'm a skeptic, I inherently doubt anything until it can provide a reasonably cited argument. Even then, I'm always ready for that argument to be later disproven when further evidence is dug up that shoots holes in the prior theory. Everyone and their mother knows that most news media is owned by large media conglomerates--who in their right mind is going to believe they'll be devoid of bias? Nothing is. Always take what you hear with a grain of salt. It's a great way to learn if something has happened, but not necessarily why it's happened.

Would you say you trust local media more or less than national and international media?

I distrust them all fairly equally. The companies have agendas pushed on them from above and individual journalists can succumb to peer pressure or their own biases, on any level. Again: They're good for learning if something is happening (ex: war in the middle east, your city is expanding the LRT, et cetera) but not necessarily why that thing is happening. You have to think critically for yourself.

As a note: The more politically charged the topic, the more likely it is to succumb to some form of bias on the part of the writers.

Why or why not?

I inherently distrust anything until it provides citable sources. The very nature of news media often precludes it from doing so, yet that doesn't stop them from drawing conclusions from thin air nonetheless based on either their own personal feelings, or what their company has told them to write. There is no better possible example than Gawker, which owns several other sites from which it pushes its platform of "get hits", even if it comes at the cost of personal integrity.

What would the media need to do to earn/increase your trust?

Learn how citations work, stop pushing political agendas, be honest and disclose relationships the news media group might have with a particular topic (ex: If reporting on a company that gives you money, fucking mention that they give you money), et cetera.

So, basically, it would involve ripping apart the entire establishment as it presently stands and starting over... Which isn't liable to happen.

So I'll just keep wielding my skeptical glasses whenever I hear incredulous claims. Albeit, individual journalists and reporters who dive into the shit (like a war zone) and just report things as is without a political spin--they'll generally always have my respect.

 

[Jorick]

What media do you use to get news? Local newspaper, national newspapers (New York Times and Wall Street Journal specifically), and the internet (a wide variety of sources there).

Do you use a different media for breaking news? Which one? I go to the internet for breaking news, so nope, I guess that doesn't count for a different media.

Do you use a different media for in-depth coverage on a news item? Which one? It depends entirely on the subject matter. If it's tech news, I'll go check what a site like Ars Technica is saying about it. If it's politics stuff, I might check something like Politico or go hit the politics news section of sites I know to be slanted a particular way.

Would you say you trust news media in general? I'm heavily skeptical of all news sources, so not really. They all come with some form of bias, some worse than others, and so if it's something important I make sure to get multiple perspectives on an issue before I make up my mind about it.

Would you say you trust local media more or less than national and international media? Less.

Why or why not? My local paper is heavily biased toward particular political and social views, whereas national and international news sources usually give a more balanced view. It's not a general feeling of local media being less trustworthy, it's my specific circumstance that makes it less trustworthy to me.

What would the media need to do to earn/increase your trust? Be less blatantly biased. Having a slant is okay, but when your coverage of a topic is 90-100% leaning a certain way with little to no mention of dissenting opinion or opposing facts, then you're doing journalism wrong.

 

[Grothnor]

What media do you use to get news?

Facebook.

Do you use a different media for breaking news? Which one?

Google.

Do you use a different media for in-depth coverage on a news item? Which one?

Google.

Would you say you trust news media in general?

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! No.

Would you say you trust local media more or less than national and international media?
Why or why not?

If it's American, I don't trust it, because 90% of American news media is owned by one of six companies.

What would the media need to do to earn/increase your trust?

Report factual, relevant stories, lose their bias, and not be owned by only six companies.

And they need to report ALL stories, based on their importance to the people of the nation (ie. Bernie Sanders, Ferguson MO, etc.).