The medias obsession with infantile cliches
You’ve probably seen the common media-talk where actors “open up”, influencers “clap back”, and the weather report calls snow “The White Stuff”. It’s the infantilization of fake news, mostly.
Fake news: Microsoft did not “brick” Windows 10 PCs
Totally fake news headline claims Microsoft has “bricked 400M PCs”. Nonsense.
Media: “In NY, Muslims are a political force”
For New York State, the share of the population that is Muslim is 3.6%, and 9% for NYC. Not a big political force.
Media: The end of “BigMedia” story telling”
The modern world needs reporters with modern science and technology knowledge. But 80% of reporters including “Senior Science” or “Senior Medicine” reporters have humanities degrees and no formal training in the subjects they cover. Independent journalists on YouTube and X, with backgrounds in the subjects they cover, are demonstrating higher quality than mass media. BigMedia reporting is continuing to fade as it is no longer the right tool for today.
Is this an AI written faux news story?
Probably. It’s a content mill web site and the form, generalities, no first-person information – reads like an AI written click bait story.
Prominent journalists come from prestigious backgrounds
We graduate 10,000 new journalism degree holders each year into a field where the number of jobs is actually declining by an average of 500 jobs per year. It’s become a field for rich kids with affluent family backing.
Why do people invest in expensive degrees to pursue “journalism”?
The financial ROI makes little sense but among some circles, it’s seen as a prestige job with influence.
Social: The serious problem and challenge of misinformation on social media
Misinformation (things that are not true) is widespread on social media. Often heavily promoted, untrue claims become viewed as “truth”. There is no easy solution to this problem.
Media: Can you live on one income?
The proportion of households living on zero, one or two incomes has remained nearly constant for 25 years.
Media: The high prevalence of bias in media reporting
Media stories have gender bias based on the topic. Travel, entertainment, and “domestic”/home stories are highly biased around women, while business and adventure stories are highly biased around men.