Welcome back to another blog hop, with #OpenBook. Here’s this week’s prompt.
Don’t forget to click the link to see what everyone else has to say on this week’s subject. It’s at the end of my post.
Do you think the rise of independent media is taking over from corporate media? For instance, the news is increasingly going independent, providing a level of legitimacy to written independent media.
Before we begin, it’s worth remembering this truth.
I’ve always shied away from reliance on one source for news and current affairs. Every outlet has bias, no matter how much they claim impartiality. I’ll read or watch as many sources of information as I can before I draw any conclusions.
Travelling the world and seeing how so many different countries control what their populations know taught me to open my eyes and accept that there are always at least two sides to every story; only by reading widely can you attempt to cut through the fog and obfuscation.
It also showed me how those in power use the media as a means of control.
For that reason, the emergence of more news outlets can only be a good thing. I’d like to think that it will force everyone to improve the quality of their output. Maybe it’ll even inject a bit of honesty into the coverage?
As long as they are prepared to challenge the cosy relationships that often exist between the big media groups and those with an agenda and the money to promote it. And I don’t necessarily mean politicians.
The more people you have trying to investigate any story, especially if they are not beholden to any of the protagonists, the greater the likelihood of discovering what might otherwise have been overlooked or hidden.
You can judge the effectiveness of the new kids on the block by the way the establishment treats them. In general, the more they are vilified or dismissed, the better they are doing at getting to the important or embarrassing bits.
Which is not to say that you will ever discover the truth. But you will be better informed about the argument.
What do you think about this week’s subject?
Let me know by leaving me a comment.
While you’re here, please click the InLinkz link to check out what my fellow writers have to say about this week’s topic.
I’ll be back with another post on Thursday, see you then. Meanwhile, have a great week.
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Lela Markham
As a former journalist, I totally agree except…I don’t think the media has ever been particularly honest and I don’t think they ever will be. Everybody has a bias. I was taught in school to check my biases and then I got out into the real world and found out the editors wanted me to affirm their biases…in a town where people would call you at home to tell you how you got the news article you wrote that day wrong. And they weren’t wrong.
So, I think the best we can do is read a variety of news sources and hope we end up with some version of most of the facts. There are some news sources that are better than others and there are some news sources that are pure propaganda (and even they get things right occasionally). By and large, I think the legacy media have so embarrassed themselves with they unstated but obvious political biases over the last 10-20 years that I can no longer rely on any of them to give me factual news. That doesn’t mean I think the alternative media are 100% unbiased but that at least some of them are honest about their biases so you know going in to also read or watch their competitor. It’s really sad we have to do that, but I don’t see it changing anytime soon.
Richard Dee
My father in law was a newspaper man, as was his brother. Their views on the veracity of the press were enlightening.
P.J. MacLayne
Getting US news from non-US sources is always eye-opening. I find them more reliable (depending, of course, the source.)
Richard Dee
You can never have enough different opinions, as long as you filter them.
Kelly Williams
It’s a sticky thing. I think, tho, independent media is giving us better standing as authors. It’s interesting that people just trust the big media outlets and publishers because they heard of them. What is the vetting of those journalists and authors under big umbrellas? Nothing more than someone liked them.
Richard Dee
To answer that, you should just follow the money 🙂