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Journalism, Online Media and Freedom of the Press.


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#141 aastra

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Posted 19 July 2022 - 03:12 PM

Why should they be reformed? Why should any thinking person ever desire automatic and unquestioning trust in big government and big corporations?

 

If the very concept of human government is ever going to acquire any legitimacy then it must be founded on the premise that the people should never automatically trust big government or big corporations (or the intimate partnership between big government and big corporations, for crying out loud). Some of us might even have believed that France and the USA and some other places had already made a half-decent effort to clarify these considerations in plain language way back in the late 18th century. (Apparently some of us were a bit optimistic in this regard.)

Everything should always be scrutinized. Not just the daily dose of fear **rn, but everything. It's not merely an individual's right to do so. It's an individual's responsibility. If as individuals we desire to relieve ourselves of the obligation and responsibility then big governments and big corporations will always take advantage of it. Literally, they will take advantage of it every single time.

 

I'm reminded of a conversation I once had with someone from a large Asian country where most western manufacturing is now based. This individual was expressing his frustration about the sheer audacity of western political corruption. Why do people in western countries tolerate the never-ending lies and machinations? So I asked him some questions about the situation back home. How do people react to corruption there? He went on to explain that if ever there was ever a corrupt official back home, it would surely be exposed right away. Let's say if somebody ever shortchanged a restaurant bill, or if they ever fudged the time they arrived at the office, it would be a major national scandal. Something like that would never be tolerated, even for a second. Just hypothetically speaking, of course, because officials in that unnamed country are generally above reproach, the best of the best, composed of the highest moral fiber and entirely selfless about all things. And so forth.


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#142 aastra

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Posted 19 July 2022 - 03:15 PM

In other words, if people desire an atmosphere that enables them to plant their heads firmly inside their rear ends full time, then congratulations. You're now living it.


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#143 aastra

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Posted 19 July 2022 - 03:21 PM

A suspicious person might wonder if all of this was orchestrated, to destroy confidence in institutions and processes and create the impression that the established ways were suddenly in desperate need of radical overhaul. If a suspicious person ever joins this board I'll be sure to ask him about it.


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#144 dasmo

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Posted 19 July 2022 - 03:22 PM

Journalism is a useful institution as a concept IMO. It is too time consuming to do your own research on everything and some things do affect your decisions. As it stands now the "news" is simply selling and stoking up rooting or hating.

Also the notion of leadership and administration is also a useful concept. Try to run a large organization without either. 

So I don't think the idea of these institutions is what the problem is. It's their perversion into their present forms that is. Thus the question of how to reform them. 


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#145 Nparker

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Posted 19 July 2022 - 03:23 PM

...If the very concept of human government is ever going to acquire any legitimacy then it must be founded on the premise that the people should never automatically trust big government or big corporations ...Everything should always be scrutinized. Not just the daily dose of fear **rn, but everything. It's not merely an individual's right to do so. It's an individual's responsibility. If as individuals we desire to relieve ourselves of the obligation and responsibility then big governments and big corporations will always take advantage of it...

Agreed. Unfortunately, many people find it easier to believe that corporations and especially governments tell them the truth, so they fail to be critical or scrutinize what they are told.



#146 dasmo

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Posted 19 July 2022 - 03:24 PM

A suspicious person might wonder if all of this was orchestrated, to destroy confidence in institutions and processes and create the impression that the established ways were suddenly in desperate need of radical overhaul. If a suspicious person ever joins this board I'll be sure to ask him about it.

You might have something there. 



#147 Nparker

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Posted 19 July 2022 - 03:28 PM

You might have something there. 

Or not. I am suspicious of everything I read. Especially on VV.  ;)



#148 aastra

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Posted 19 July 2022 - 03:31 PM

 

Also the notion of leadership and administration is also a useful concept. Try to run a large organization without either. 

So I don't think the idea of these institutions is what the problem is.

 

For sure, but I'm saying people are people. One day in the far future we may have cats and dogs serving as our high officials, but for now we're stuck with people. And after a few thousand years of this same routine I'm going to suggest we shouldn't have too many lingering uncertainties left about the nature of people, and in particular about the nature of people who seek (or inherit) positions of power, influence, and material reward.


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#149 dasmo

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Posted 19 July 2022 - 03:35 PM

For sure, but I'm saying people are people. One day in the far future we may have cats and dogs serving as our high officials, but for now we're stuck with people. And after a few thousand years of this same routine I'm going to suggest we shouldn't have too many lingering uncertainties left about the nature of people, and in particular about the nature of people who seek (or inherit) positions of power, influence, and material reward.

Sure, It is an eternal struggle to find balance. But everything has it's tide. At this point cats and dogs as our high officials sounds preferable. 


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#150 aastra

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Posted 19 July 2022 - 04:11 PM

 

...It is an eternal struggle...

 

Speaking of that, I really do wonder if it's all part of the big test. Flip-flopping, inconsistencies, and double-talk have always been elements of the manipulations of politics and control, but recently everything has gone way over the top. Way beyond ridiculous. And yet many people still want to blindly trust, even when the agents they trust are saying one thing one day and then saying something else the next day that should absolutely blow away even the most gullible person's confidence in them. It's as if the absolute limits of human gullibility are being probed.


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#151 dasmo

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Posted 19 July 2022 - 04:15 PM

Speaking of that, I really do wonder if it's all part of the big test. Flip-flopping, inconsistencies, and double-talk have always been elements of the manipulations of politics and control, but recently everything has gone way over the top. Way beyond ridiculous. And yet many people still want to blindly trust, even when the agents they trust are saying one thing one day and then saying something else the next day that should absolutely blow away even the most gullible person's confidence in them. It's as if the absolute limits of human gullibility are being probed.

This has felt like a test for me personally. How to sail into this clown world storm without letting it get to you. Doing what you love helps and putting that out into the world. I have done a lot of that. 


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#152 aastra

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Posted 19 July 2022 - 04:16 PM

Maybe gullibility isn't even the right word. It's almost like an episode of the Twilight Zone (the good old episodes). The aliens are serving up premises, then casting immense doubt on those premises, and then seeing how people react. And then they do it again, but they turn up the dial a bit.


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#153 Nparker

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Posted 19 July 2022 - 04:28 PM

Most people only seem to remember the last thing they are told, even if it completely contradicts what they were previously told. Attention spans and memories seem to be getting shorter.

Never forget that we live in a world where people think "reality TV" is unscripted.


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#154 Victoria Watcher

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Posted 19 July 2022 - 05:10 PM

In other words, if people desire an atmosphere that enables them to plant their heads firmly inside their rear ends full time, then congratulations. You're now living it.

 

There is certainly some evidence to suggest that many people would rather watch news with their particular slant, rather than "straight" news.  


Edited by Victoria Watcher, 19 July 2022 - 05:11 PM.


#155 dasmo

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Posted 19 July 2022 - 05:35 PM

There is certainly some evidence to suggest that many people would rather watch news with their particular slant, rather than "straight" news.

Where do you get the straight news?

#156 Victoria Watcher

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Posted 19 July 2022 - 05:48 PM

Where do you get the straight news?

 

Find something here I suppose.

 

Media-Bias-Chart-9.0_Jan-2022-Unlicensed



#157 Sparky

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Posted 19 July 2022 - 06:00 PM

^ Nope. Nothing there.

#158 Victoria Watcher

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Posted 19 July 2022 - 06:01 PM

Not even Wall Street Journal?

 

Reuters?


Edited by Victoria Watcher, 19 July 2022 - 06:02 PM.


#159 Sparky

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Posted 19 July 2022 - 06:11 PM

Here are some Reuters mistakes.

https://www.reuters....ive/corrections



#160 Sparky

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Posted 19 July 2022 - 06:15 PM

^^ Wall Street Journal

 

https://www.poynter....ditorial-pages/



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