Media Reporting

@treebee Said
So please, check sources, look from all angels and please think for yourselves.

@jonnythan Said
I don't believe in angels.

(You know I'd be the one to make fun of the typo in that well thought out, intelligent post.)

@digidave Said
government influence over editorial comment is an age-old problem - the propoganda machines may be more sophisticated now but the inherent decepetion is ancient - something that we're good at here in Australia (so good in fact thet we've exported this particular skill) is editorial control by the CEO - see the late Kerry Packer (PBL) and Rupert Murdoch (NewsLtd) - from what I understand of the FOX network, unsubstantiated right-wing tirades are not just encouraged by management, they are compulsory - and here in Oz the Packer family have long had such media control that they have been able to influence the outcome of Federal elections - the political party that spurns PBL will soon find itself in the wilderness...

not sure how many truly impartial reporting networks still exist - even every individual journalist has their own bias...

I think your advice is very wise treebee - must come to our own conclusions - guess we've just got to have faith that we have access to correct information

@brainfarmer Said
i tend use the bbc and find it reasonably balanced but i do look at other things such as apf reuters. im a sceptic so i do tend to question everything and i do get cross when people mix fact with opinion .

@treebee Said
I had a very interesting conversation last night about how media is very different worldwide. How News is worded, how it can be so biased by the Governments of the originating countries.

How "worldwide" we are given different priorities via our education and upbringing. Of course the government completely run our education systems, therefore we are rarely taught anything that is not our governments policy for us to learn.

My freind has been working in Japan for a year, shes going back real soon for another year. She was telling me about how the media and government work there and how there is a national ethic.

At first it sounded shocking but actually thinking about it, isnt patriotism the same thing?

Anyways my point being very similar to Doug's last week. About getting a whole story, getting opinions from both sides before drawing your own conclusions.

Reading through the Israel/Lebnanon threads i can see how media works, i can see how people have absolutely different views because geographically they are a long way away from each other and they are subjected to different media.

I know quite a few people on here DO take a look at the news in asia, africa, americas, australasia, europe and can draw thier own conclusions from this.

All i really want to say is, in another part of the world the same story can be told in a very different way. So please, check sources, look from all angels and please think for yourselves.

@buffalobill90 Said
The media has become so powerful in swaying the minds of the masses,
it has huge power over government policy and politics.

@buffalobill90 Said
The worst thing is, media organisations aren't democratically elected,
yet they have more power over people than governments.