this post was submitted on 29 Oct 2024
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What is happening with editorial boards is not normal. You need to understand this first.

They are not part of the newsroom, so anyone telling you that is lying. What happened at the LAT and WaPo are the beginning. Have you not read history? They come for you. You just think it's more steps away.

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 2 months ago (8 children)

Journalism died when the nightly news used puns in every story. When reporters were sent to a dark parking lot or out into a torrential storm just so they could be "LIVE". It died when every headline was clickbait even before the internet. It died when "journalists" thought they were the saviors of our society by constantly reminding us that they were our saviors, ego much? The "news" is always about the 99% of things that are going bad in the world. How utterly biased and pathetic. There are good things happening everywhere, all the time. But according to journalists, newspapers, & TV stations, we are always one breath away from the entire fucking planet exploding. People are sick to death of the industry wide systemic negativity, and they tune out and shut it off. Those who are addicted to the doomsday garbage join twitter.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

On the negativity point; you get what you pay for.

There IS definitely negative stuff punished by the NYTimes and The Atlantic (as examples) but there's also quite a bit of neutral and even positive news.

These are all from the last few days:

Gaza Cease-Fire Talks Resume, but Are Overshadowed by U.S. Election https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/28/world/middleeast/gaza-cease-fire-us-elections.html?smid=nytcore-android-share

The Rebellious Scientist Who Made Kamala Harris https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/28/science/shyamala-gopalan-kamala-harris-mother.html?smid=nytcore-android-share

If You Think You Can Hold a Grudge, Consider the Crow https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/28/science/crows-grudges-revenge.html?smid=nytcore-android-share

New Covid Tests Are Here. They Test for Flu, Too. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/25/well/covid-flu-combination-tests.html?smid=nytcore-android-share

Ford Foundation Gives $10 Million to Studio Museum in Harlem https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/28/arts/studio-museum-in-harlem.html?smid=nytcore-android-share

https://www.nytimes.com/card/2024/10/28/arts/phil-lesh-fans?smid=url-share

Five Science Fiction Movies to Stream Now https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/25/movies/best-science-fiction-movies-streaming.html?smid=nytcore-android-share

Watches That Look Similar in Everything but the Price Tag https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/27/style/patek-philippe-cubitus.html?smid=nytcore-android-share

Just When You Thought Sneakers Couldn’t Get Any Weirder https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/26/style/erl-vamps-skate-shoe.html?smid=nytcore-android-share

Obviously, there are more that are negative, but negative stories are often the most important so that we know what problems still need attention.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (3 children)

When I think of journalism collapsing, I think of the persecution of Julian Assange or the targeting of journalists in Gaza. The blocking of editorial boards' endorsements seems trivial in comparison.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 months ago (8 children)

It’s a big deal. The endorsements are mostly worthless from a political perspective, but the willingness of otherwise powerful people to place themselves obedient to Trump’s dictates is relatively new, and is a terrifying sign.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/26/anticipatory-obedience-newspapers-endorsement-refusal

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago (13 children)

These papers have been privately owned by billionaires for years.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago (2 children)

What are you referring to?

[–] [email protected] 27 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (3 children)

Major stories from last week, concerning the Washington Post and L.A. Times refusing to endorse a presidential candidate. In both situations, the ownership veto'd the paper's editorial board, which traditionally endorses candidates.

'Washington Post' won't endorse in White House race for first time since 1980s (NPR)

'Los Angeles Times' editor resigns after newspaper withholds presidential endorsement (NPR)

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Thank you. I don't have the energy.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago

No worries. Crazy times we live in. Have lived in. Continue to live in. Tiring, indeed.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (2 children)

This is not where I'm going to provide media literacy. We're a bit past that.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 months ago (4 children)

So you’re speaking only to people who are not aware of the #1 or #2 biggest story of the last 24 hours, but are eager to get themselves fully up to speed on it from somewhere else, based on only the vaguest of hints?

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Okay, well it seems a bit odd for a news community mod to post a vague rant, which isn't news, and then not explain themselves.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I ran newspapers. What is happening here is wrong. This is fully wrong.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Congratulations for running newspapers.

I think the world at large has figured out that it's wrong. 200,000 people have cancelled their WaPo subscriptions so far, and some people have written some pretty in-depth essays about exactly why it is such a huge problem:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/26/anticipatory-obedience-newspapers-endorsement-refusal

https://www.cjr.org/political_press/the-washington-post-opinion-editor-approved-a-harris-endorsement-a-week-later-the-papers-publisher-killed-it.php

The CJR's previous piece about anticipatory obedience also, as The Guardian notes, looks highly prescient now:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/anticipatory-obedience-bassin-potter-scheppele-orban-trump-hungary-media-punish.php

There have also been some pieces about how to try to keep good media alive now that conditions are becoming hostile to it:

https://www.citationneeded.news/i-am-my-own-legal-department/

Glad to have you in the conversation, I guess. Yes, it's not normal, it's very bad.

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