Media: Rely on Appeal to Authority to vet information
In the same week, probably half a dozen allegedly independent media outlets all run stories saying “trust the experts, do not think for yourself”. Wild.
Media: “Negativity drives online news consumption – PubMed (nih.gov)”
“Negative words in news headlines increased consumption rates (and positive words decreased consumption rates).
Content mills: News you cannot trust
An easy way to spot content mill garbage – the stories have no author! Of course, some AI sites have created fake author bios with AI generated head shots.
Media: Communities face “News Deserts”
Communities face “news deserts” as journalism shuts down (except not really). Implies we need to have government funded journalism (really?)
Media Public Health: “White Lung Syndrome”
Media caught making up new scary disease “White lung syndrome” to describe well known “walking pneumonia”.
Media: Genius level journalism here – if you live a long ways from a trauma center, then you live a long ways from a trauma center
Wow. If you live a really long ways from a trauma center then you live a really long ways away from a trauma center. Apparently, little populated areas should have the same hospitals as bigger cities.
Media: David Axe and his hysterical Covid headlines are back!
David Axe, the reporter who has spent years writing basically the same story week after week about Covid, with hysterical, fear-inducing and wrong headlines, is back at it again!
Media experts
Washington Post’s expert reporter on food wrote an entire book that she later concluded was completely wrong. The problem may be that she has no formal training in food, nutrition or health – she has a BA in English.
Media: Who Reports the News?
Who reports the news? Surprisingly, and especially at national levels and national “news” web sites, a disproportionate number of reporters have very elite backgrounds, having attended private (and expensive) universities, studying and working abroad. 77% have a BA in the humanities – typically English lit, history and so on. Their backgrounds are quite different than those of their audience. This may lead to having a skewed perspective on life and news. This is an issue the industry itself is aware of – but their idea of diversity does not address their mono culture.
Journalism
Nothing like being off by 1000x.