chris wick’s Post

Yes, we all wish people were more discerning about what they see online. The good news: As journalists, we can help people become smarter news consumers. In this week's newsletter, we share tips and strategies for how journalists can do this (plus we highlight a neat The News Literacy Project tool). https://lnkd.in/g9S2cu2K

Most journalists wish the public were more news literate. It’s a reasonable wish — when bad information spreads it’s harmful to journalists and to the public. While we can’t control the spread of bad or inaccurate news, what we can do is give our users basic knowledge about the news-gathering process to help empower them to be smarter about their own news consumption. The more the audience understands how to spot fact-based information, the more likely they are to turn to the right organizations as a trusted news source. https://lnkd.in/gQAk3gRm

The public’s trust in news media keeps declining. But journalists can change that. 💪 That's why we created Trust Kits — self-guided training tools that have everything journalists need to start earning trust with their audiences. trustingnews.org/trustkits

Check out this excerpt from #Byline in Current: News for Public Media today! "Who tells the story matters. It has always mattered, but today it matters to readers more than ever before. It matters because people are hungry to see and understand the world differently."

Exploring the readiness of the media for potential extinction-level events. An insightful read raising critical questions about our media landscape. #MediaAnalysis #ExtinctionEvent https://lnkd.in/d88yD89v

In the 21st century, the role of the media has become crucial in combating misinformation, presenting unbiased facts, and enlightening society. A responsible and well-researched media is essential for safeguarding accurate information and fostering an informed and engaged citizenry. As information continues to proliferate, the media serves as a robust defense against falsehoods through fact-checking and investigative journalism. Its role in presenting objective facts contributes to understanding and tolerance in our diverse global society. Moreover, a well-informed public, empowered by the media's accurate reporting, plays a crucial role in democratic processes. In the digital age, the media's speed in disseminating information highlights the need for rigorous research and fact-checking to maintain credibility. A responsible media, committed to ethical standards, builds and sustains trust by providing reliable information. The impact of the media extends beyond informing—it inspires collective action, holds those in power accountable, and addresses pressing global challenges. In essence, a responsible media is indispensable in our collective pursuit of truth, enlightenment, and positive change in the world. #MediaResponsibility #InformationAccuracy #21stCenturyMedia

Media is the in-between, like medium or median: that which comes between two things. Media is thus the means by which reality (thing ONE) is conveyed to distant persons who, ostensibly, need-to-know (thing TWO). Newspapers,

Interesting piece. I broadly agree with the points about the mainstream news media needing to do better in reporting more factually and truthfully.   However, there is a bigger and more worrying problem. The news media produces nonsense because people want to read it.   With revenues plunging (due to technology undermining traditional news business models), the news media now follows the clicks to maximize readership and viewership. By following the clicks, news media are giving readers what they want, as opposed to what is important and factually correct.   I wish we lived in a world of an educated, informed, and engaged citizenry where high quality and factually accurate news was what people wanted. However, there is little evidence to support this notion. If that was the case, then following the clicks would lead to high quality news, but what has happened is the opposite.   The rot has set in, but it has done so just as much at a social and citizenry level as at a news media level, and bad reporting is both a contributor to and consequence of that.   I find it hard to be optimistic. There is still plenty of great journalism being produced but it is being read by fewer people and drowned by partisanship and nonsense.   The problem is clear but how solve it less so.   What can be done? #media #journalism #news #politics

From today's Washington Post and it's former executive editor, Leonard Downie, Jr. An excerpt: “The Fake News Media should pay a big price for what they have done to our once great Country.” --Donald Trump on Truth Social last September. Each of the following quotes appeared in a piece I wrote for my fedupgman blog on July 16, 2019, titled, "Sorry Mr. President, Words Do Matter." “The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly – it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over.” “Think of the press as a great keyboard on which the government can play.” “That propaganda is good which leads to success, and that is bad which fails to achieve the desired result. It is not propaganda’s task to be intelligent, its task is to lead to success.”   “It would not be impossible to prove with sufficient repetition and a psychological understanding of the people concerned that a square is in fact a circle. They are mere words, and words can be molded until they clothe ideas and disguise.” “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.” All of those quotes were from Josef Goebbels, Nazi Germany’s Reich Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda.