nigel99 138 #1 Posted June 6, 2020 A month or two ago I was talking to someone whose spent considerable time holidaying in the US. He has just come back from a year travelling there. This is his observation about a core problem in the USA and it makes sense. When he first travelled to the USA late nineties, in the small town news was ONLY local. Maybe a big national issue would get some coverage and essentially no international news. Fast forward 20 years and now people have access to the internet and therefore information. However as a school teacher he says ‘most’ Americans are not taught or have not gained the skills for critical thinking and how to research properly. As a result they soak up CNN or Fox being poorly equipped to properly analyse the information. Aside from his views, the US doesn’t appear to have a strong public sector based news provider. In Australia we have ABC news, UK have the BBC. Not being for profit and being accountable to a higher standard means generally more balanced and objective reporting. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,089 #2 June 6, 2020 NPR is probably the closest to this on the radio, and it's leaning left in its talk shows more and more. If you stick to the news shows (Morning Edition and All Things Considered) it's not bad, with a story format that keeps one's interest. PBS on TV is similar, but again in a limited manner. I don't watch news on TV really, but the Evening News Hour at least used to be really good, going into depth on several stories after a quick roundup, rather than trying to be all things to all people. Wendy P. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nigel99 138 #4 June 6, 2020 3 minutes ago, wmw999 said: NPR is probably the closest to this on the radio, and it's leaning left in its talk shows more and more. If you stick to the news shows (Morning Edition and All Things Considered) it's not bad, with a story format that keeps one's interest. PBS on TV is similar, but again in a limited manner. I don't watch news on TV really, but the Evening News Hour at least used to be really good, going into depth on several stories after a quick roundup, rather than trying to be all things to all people. Wendy P. Thanks. Ive always thought the birth of 24 hour news channels was a mistake. The only way to properly fill the hours is with lots of Opinion and that is NOT news! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,089 #5 June 6, 2020 Just now, nigel99 said: Thanks. Ive always thought the birth of 24 hour news channels was a mistake. The only way to properly fill the hours is with lots of Opinion and that is NOT news! I agree. Wendy P. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nigel99 138 #6 June 6, 2020 1 minute ago, ryoder said: Yes I like that chart. I first saw it here, think possibly Bill posted it. I tend to read the Hill to catch-up on US news. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ryoder 1,362 #7 June 6, 2020 2 minutes ago, nigel99 said: Yes I like that chart. I first saw it here, think possibly Bill posted it. I tend to read the Hill to catch-up on US news. Yes, someone else first posted it here. I liked it, so I put the link on my internal web server so I always have it for reference. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,089 #8 June 6, 2020 (edited) For me the problem with watching things like ABC News is that it generally comes in a local TV news broadcast, and local TV news is all about whatever sells -- disaster, fire, etc. I kind of like the fluffy kitties-and-bunnies news sometimes as leavening. Crime -- how could I forget crime! It's all about the news trying to make itself essential, rather than simply informing. Wendy P. Edited June 6, 2020 by wmw999 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 1,611 #9 June 6, 2020 https://www.economist.com/international/2020/06/03/fake-news-is-fooling-more-conservatives-than-liberals-why https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-are-republican-baby-boomers-more-likely-to-share-fakenews-on-facebook-2019-01-10 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/nov/19/locality-labs-fake-news-local-sites-newspapers https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/24/fake-news-twitter-shared-mostly-older-conservatives/2668529002/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites