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1214 points jbegley | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.201s | source
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aucisson_masque ◴[] No.43656830[source]
I like to think we are in a better place than russia for instance with all its propaganda and jailed journalists, but then i see these kind of article come over and over....

Most of the people in the 'free world' goes on mainstream media, like facebook to get their news. These companies are enticed to 'suck up' to the government because at the end they are business, they need to be in good term with ruling class.

you end up with most media complying with the official story pushed by government and friends, and most people believing that because no one has the time to fact check everything.

One could argue that the difference with russia is that someone can actually look for real information, but even in russia people have access to vpn to bypass the censorship.

Another difference would be that you are allowed to express your opinion, whereas in russia you would be put to jail, that's true but only in a very limited way. Since everyone goes on mainstream media and they enforce the government narrative, you can't speak there. you are merely allowed to speak out in your little corner out of reach to anyone, and even then since most people believe the government propaganda, your arguments won't be heard at all.

The more i think about it, the less difference i see.

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NoTeslaThrow ◴[] No.43656968[source]
Indeed. The editorial boards of these newsrooms are often staffed with people who attended the same schools and classes as those running the country. The social circles of the two worlds are extremely closely linked.

Of course, this means that the reporting isn't very good at addressing its blind spots–i.e., most of the news in the country, let alone the world, that isn't relevant to the ivy league coastal elites. And I say this as a member of that same class. Most of the political perspectives in my life are completely unrepresented in the opinion columns, which generally tend to pander upwards rather than downwards.

I don't tend to put much weight in freedom of the press so long as that press is floating on the cream of society and asking the government permission to report on what they're doing.

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banannaise ◴[] No.43660889[source]
More importantly, these newsrooms are run by people who get their money from the same places.

How much are they going to tolerate narratives that go against their financial interests?

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mmooss ◴[] No.43661559[source]
Just endless conspiracies. Which newsroom leaders get their money from what places? Why do leaders in government and business hate journalists so much and invest so much in discrediting them?
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Whoppertime ◴[] No.43666360[source]
https://www.emarketer.com/content/pharma-companies-increase-... https://www.fiercepharma.com/marketing/pharma-passes-tech-cl... Newsrooms, online or otherwise get a lot of money from Big Pharma Pharma has overtaken tech to become the second-largest industry for ad spending in 2023.
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1. mmooss ◴[] No.43675766[source]
I'm not sure what your point is. Journalism needs funding, they must get it somewhere. Many journalism outlets have turned to subscriptions and donations, but whoever provides funding can be accused of influencing them. If they are funded by subscriptions, can they publish something their readers dislike?

The GGP comment said that journalists conspired with the country's leaders, not business.