Media Watch: What can we learn from 6 months saturation coverage of 1 missing child?

[taffboy gwyrdd]

The last few weeks I've been working at a job which afforded me a lot of time to watch the idiot box in the staffroom. Something I very rarely do at home (we have a very nice TV but shit reception we never do anything about).

Im sure the news agenda has dumbed down even in the last couple of years.
There is way more focus on celeb toss as news. The Channel 5 "news" seems to be more celeb gossip than news, I dont know what happened to the Trades Descriptions Act.

Other news shows very very rarely go beyond scratcing the surface. But they do go to some effort to SEEM intelligent.
Its quite a trick to misinform and underinform us while making us seem informed. Things have come on a very long way from Goebels and Stalin.

there are 2 possibilities. They either think we are stupid or want us to be stupid. Either is likely to be making us collectively more stupid (politically). The evidence I see is that we are doing. It is not condescending to say that most peoples appreciation of politics and economics is appalling. This is not a matter of class or education either.

 

[david dissadent]

there are 2 possibilities. They either think we are stupid or want us to be stupid.

Or people are inherently satified with there world and do not want to be troubled with news and information that would require thought and introspection to digest and be intellectually challanging.

It is possible that ratings have driven the news to where it is not the news driving people to where they are....

 

[taffboy gwyrdd]

Or people are inherently satified with there world and do not want to be troubled with news and information that would require thought and introspection to digest and be intellectually challanging.

It is possible that ratings have driven the news to where it is not the news driving people to where they are....

The obvious answer is that it is probably something of a chicken / egg symbiosis.

Perhaps though it is often not "inherent satisfaction" (which has an air of the smug and alienated) but just too busy or diverted.

When you think of the amount of hours people work and commute to service debt, and the mega billion mind programming of advertising it is easy to see how people might think they dont have the time or inclination to have a bettter understanding of events.

There is a strong idea out there that politics is "boring" which suits the establishment very well. Politics is dull, but Kate n Gerry in a car is news. As are the latest misfortunes of (enter random celebs name here).

Problem is, if people do have that time or inclination they wont be getting that understanding from establishment media. Alternative media can be pretty hit and miss too.

 

[david dissadent]

There is a fair bit of politics in the MSM, but not on the main news bullitins or in the rolling news channels. It tends to be slightly more out of the way in shows on a Sunday or late night like the Politics Show. They are not all that hard hitting and deep but again there are good articles in the likes of the Guardian or on radio 4.

Its there if people want it, just in my experiance people on the whole have little apatite for current affairs and politics.

 

[taffboy gwyrdd]

There is a fair bit of politics in the MSM, but not on the main news bullitins or in the rolling news channels. It tends to be slightly more out of the way in shows on a Sunday or late night like the Politics Show. They are not all that hard hitting and deep but again there are good articles in the likes of the Guardian or on radio 4.

I agree that broadsheets and R4 can be passable or better, but we both know they are sought out by a fairly small niche which include the establishment themselves.

"in my experiance people on the whole have little apatite for current affairs and politics"

On the surface that's true. But most people become very engaged on certain topics (often pre-programmed by MSM like violent crime and migration)

Now, these 2 topics alone are highly sophisticated. Without me digressing on either, people claim an interest but are IME actually very badly informed. Such opinions as they do have often sound like direct quotes from a tabloid.

One function of the Mcann Story I guess is that it is ultimately disempowering. There is clearly NOTHING anyone can do to change the outcome and amateur sleuths will have to wait a long time to figure out what went on. It is strictly spectator rather than the participation event that politics could and should be.

 

[winterinmoscow]

One function of the Mcann Story I guess is that it is ultimately disempowering. There is clearly NOTHING anyone can do to change the outcome and amateur sleuths will have to wait a long time to figure out what went on. It is strictly spectator rather than the participation event that politics could and should be.

absolutely