Right now there is a great deal of talk about journalism all across our media; mainly because so many newspapers and magazines in the US are going out of business. People assume it is because folks are reading the papers online but there is also a lot of discussion about blogging. Many so-called or self-professed “professional” journalists have decried the amateurs which seem to be taking over the web. Many of these upstarts have become quite powerful very quickly. The Perez Hilton’s of the world do not have to be politically correct and can entertain by being outrageous. Gossip, rumor and innuendo are all fair game and good for readership numbers and hits.
Here in the Seattle area many have decried the loss of the Seattle Post Intelligencer. But where did the PI come from? It is a Hearst paper and Randolph Hearst in his day was thought of being a “yellow journalist” for publishing something akin to a National Enquirer of its day. Hearst bumped up crime coverage to 24% of the paper and published rumors about suicides, affairs and printed pictures considered to be very racy to gain circulation. He catered to large population of immigrants where English was a second language and reading content and accuracy were deemed secondary to a good story.
Both Hearst and Pulitzer (now Murdoch), discovered that when going after advertising revenue more circulation meant more money for them. The Spanish American war prequel of 1895 is where Hearst really went nuts, publishing lurid tales of Spanish brutality of very dubious accuracy. He was pushing a war-hawk agenda. In fact when the war started in earnest Hearst actually claimed credit for it. So that is where our beloved PI came from, a quick buck artist who cared little about the integrity of journalistic ethics.
This latest swine flu epidemic scare has already been beaten to death shamelessly by the local media. KING5’s coverage can only be described as hysterical. Clearly they are still selling fear, the meat and potatoes of the FOX NEWS network. It goes deeper than that though; these news organizations get in bed with those they cover. They have reporters that cover things like “Aerospace” and if you think for a minute they are going to be critical of the decision making going on at the Boeing Company you are nuts. If they were they would lose their privileged status and would be persona non grata. Besides that it would be more work. They literally take the company news releases and print whatever they are told, amazing.
Here in the Seattle area many have decried the loss of the Seattle Post Intelligencer. But where did the PI come from? It is a Hearst paper and Randolph Hearst in his day was thought of being a “yellow journalist” for publishing something akin to a National Enquirer of its day. Hearst bumped up crime coverage to 24% of the paper and published rumors about suicides, affairs and printed pictures considered to be very racy to gain circulation. He catered to large population of immigrants where English was a second language and reading content and accuracy were deemed secondary to a good story.
Both Hearst and Pulitzer (now Murdoch), discovered that when going after advertising revenue more circulation meant more money for them. The Spanish American war prequel of 1895 is where Hearst really went nuts, publishing lurid tales of Spanish brutality of very dubious accuracy. He was pushing a war-hawk agenda. In fact when the war started in earnest Hearst actually claimed credit for it. So that is where our beloved PI came from, a quick buck artist who cared little about the integrity of journalistic ethics.
This latest swine flu epidemic scare has already been beaten to death shamelessly by the local media. KING5’s coverage can only be described as hysterical. Clearly they are still selling fear, the meat and potatoes of the FOX NEWS network. It goes deeper than that though; these news organizations get in bed with those they cover. They have reporters that cover things like “Aerospace” and if you think for a minute they are going to be critical of the decision making going on at the Boeing Company you are nuts. If they were they would lose their privileged status and would be persona non grata. Besides that it would be more work. They literally take the company news releases and print whatever they are told, amazing.
So all I can say is this: thank god for the internet, thank god for bloggers and the niche news people all over the world, thank god these established papers and TV finally have real competition from real people who aren’t always just after more circulation, more money and keeping the status quo. Most have nothing to really gain, only that wonderful feeling of community and connectedness.
If you think these people that have been in charge of information dispersion for so many years really did their jobs admirably during the Iraq War, or 9-11, or the torture scandals of the last 8 years, then watch FOX NEWS read the Times and go to bed scared witless every night. So what was the headline today in the online PI? One guess.
Nowadays, with a little work the truths of the world can in fact be gleaned out. This is a tremendous time for people who are citizen journalists all over the world to tell the real, non-commercial, non-politically correct, un-strained, un-washed gritty naked truth.
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