Sick of bad, sensationalist journalism - where to get news?

Lawry

Lawry

Hi, I think I am going to stop reading the newspapers (i.e. their websites),

it just seems like everyday they are highlighting extreme cases to make sensationalist headlines, not doing any research, not including any actual facts etc. I'm not just talking about property articles - pretty much everything. (Maybe this should be in the 'whinge thread')

But at the same time I don't want to live in a cave and not know what is going on in the world / Australia.

So, where do you go for informative, factual, unbiased(?) news reporting?
 
Hi Lawry,


As you know, it all comes down to the headline and what will sell the paper. Sensationalism and over-reaction sell.

However, if it weren't for journalists digging for dirt.....for example the MP Craig Thomson and his supposed forged signature on a credit card for an Escort service.......we wouldn't know what these lying politicians were up to.:p

Gillard and Brown complain that journalism is biaist and Julia wants the papers to stop writing "crap." COuldn't agree more....if her party stopped destroying and stuffing up everything they touched...perhaps the journalists would dig deeper into the LIberals.

Unfortunately...we have to take the bad with the good, sort through the rubbish for ourselves, ask questions and make our own call.:)

Regards JO
 
josko said:
However, if it weren't for journalists digging for dirt.....for example the MP Craig Thomson and his supposed forged signature on a credit card for an Escort service.......we wouldn't know what these lying politicians were up to.:p
Click to expand...

Wasn't that a joke.

Yeah sure - someone forged his sig, forged his drivers licence and happened to look exactly like him (staff described him to a T).

Could be an election soon.
 
She was talking specifically about the anti Labor, right wing, sensationalist bogan tabloid "The Daily Telegraph".

I think you are repeating exactly what the initial poster is complaining about.

josko said:
Gillard and Brown complain that journalism is biaist and Julia wants the papers to stop writing "crap." COuldn't agree more....if her party stopped destroying and stuffing up everything they touched...perhaps the journalists would dig deeper into the LIberals.
Click to expand...
 
specifically - ignore the "news" and listen to the 5 minute "quip" slots about the NBN, tax dollars, carbon tax etc etc.

then research the quips further and ignore the rest. that's what I do anyway - i've been able to filter out a lot of junk.
 
josko said:
Hi Lawry,


As you know, it all comes down to the headline and what will sell the paper. Sensationalism and over-reaction sell.

However, if it weren't for journalists digging for dirt.....for example the MP Craig Thomson and his supposed forged signature on a credit card for an Escort service.......we wouldn't know what these lying politicians were up to.:p

Gillard and Brown complain that journalism is biaist and Julia wants the papers to stop writing "crap." COuldn't agree more....if her party stopped destroying and stuffing up everything they touched...perhaps the journalists would dig deeper into the LIberals.

Unfortunately...we have to take the bad with the good, sort through the rubbish for ourselves, ask questions and make our own call.:)

Regards JO
Click to expand...

Is that because Liberals are like better people and the problem of bad journalism just doesn't actually exist, just bad labor exists ?

Strangely enough I clearly remember the Libs, John Howard and I thikn the immigration minister particularly, whinging to & about the ABC when they happened to not report everything the Lib's did 100% positivley and mentioend Howard & his minister menitoned that the Aussie public listen to the ABC and how they, the liberals don't like tthe ABC talking like that, especially when the governemtn pays them money to exist - good opl fashiioned fair journalism is what the Libs were asking for (hmmm?)

I don't think either of those 2 examples, your labor one or my liberal one are the point of this topic.

I think the point of those 2 stories is more that our politicians are as stupid as the rest of us and will act that way, depsite being in a postioin of responsbility which suggests they should not, bull ****ting us that they are actilng legitimately - and a lot of us will believe them becusae we just heard what we wanted to hear.
 
evand said:
She was talking specifically about the anti Labor, right wing, sensationalist bogan tabloid "The Daily Telegraph".

I think you are repeating exactly what the initial poster is complaining about.
Click to expand...

You are right about the Daily Telegraph and I don't even look at it....but you must know more than I about this poster if she (?) is talking about what you suggest. Then perhaps the question ought to be more specific in relation to politics?

Can you tell me what The Australian Labor Party has POSITIVELY done for this country since Kevin 07' which is news worthy?

That is the problem. You can say the papers are biaised all you want but as I said: If the Labor Party stopped stuffing up in every direction, the reporters would dig deeper into the Liberal Party for some juicy news. Atm....they don't need to do any hard work. Left, right, Labor, Liberal a lying, cheating MP will sell papers.

Negativity sells...and this Labor Party are damn good at it.

If you want something positive from a newspaper...how about yesterday's Sydney Herald with the HEADLINE: Solar Energy Hits par with Coal Fuel. That's positive for current Governemnt policy isn't it?

In this article you can read how China is taking over a flat panel invention that we invented here, 1/4 of the states solar energy businesses are closing, 416 jobs are lost and..not only that, the solar industry wants the Government to pay MORE to households to make it even MORE parable. Just fantastic news.:rolleyes:

I'll give the journalist 10 points for his headline.

I have personally been on the negative side of journalistic sloppiness or whim, and know how they cut corners and manipulate. Journalists remind me of Real Estate agents.

Regards JO
 
jaycee said:
Is that because Liberals are like better people and the problem of bad journalism just doesn't actually exist, just bad labor exists ?

Strangely enough I clearly remember the Libs, John Howard and I thikn the immigration minister particularly, whinging to & about the ABC when they happened to not report everything the Lib's did 100% positivley and mentioend Howard & his minister menitoned that the Aussie public listen to the ABC and how they, the liberals don't like tthe ABC talking like that, especially when the governemtn pays them money to exist - good opl fashiioned fair journalism is what the Libs were asking for (hmmm?)

I don't think either of those 2 examples, your labor one or my liberal one are the point of this topic.

I think the point of those 2 stories is more that our politicians are as stupid as the rest of us and will act that way, depsite being in a postioin of responsbility which suggests they should not, bull ****ting us that they are actilng legitimately - and a lot of us will believe them becusae we just heard what we wanted to hear.
Click to expand...

Hi jaycee...NO not at all..

I was actually trying to explain that if the ALP wasn't so good at being in the limelight....the journalists would spend more time trying to get the dirt on the LIbs. Look at Malcolm Turnball. Everything he says is front page news with some back-stabbing undertone. It's news and sells.

In reference to Howard, totally agree and remember well (I was pretty pissed myself) becasue journalists knew the public wanted change and bad publicity for Howard was what the public wanted...it sold...(and look where it got them! :rolleyes:)

On the point of topic, let me try and get my head out of politics, you might be right and I could use a less contraversial topic.

I was trying to say, that we might hate them, but in their greed for a headline and to keep their jobs...they will dig into stories and get to the bottom and sometimes find evidence that has otherwise not been found, over looked or purposely hidden.

That was my main point.


PS: Politicians are human, but when they use tax-payers money to cover expensive court costs.....and when Gillard backs it...I think it's newsworthy. The Callgirl/prostitute rubbish is a problem for him and his poor wife and children.

Regards Jo
 
sorry - did i miss something?

how does a political party and their complaints about bias have anything to do with the lack of quality journalism in this country?

FWIW, i watch RT News, Al Jazeera, SBS news.
 
josko said:
Hi jaycee...NO not at all..

I was actually trying to explain that if the ALP wasn't so good at being in the limelight....the journalists would spend more time trying to get the dirt on the LIbs. Look at Malcolm Turnball. Everything he says is front page news with some back-stabbing undertone. It's news and sells.

In reference to Howard, totally agree and remember well (I was pretty pissed myself) becasue journalists knew the public wanted change and bad publicity for Howard was what the public wanted...it sold...(and look where it got them! :rolleyes:)

On the point of topic, let me try and get my head out of politics, you might be right and I could use a less contraversial topic.

I was trying to say, that we might hate them, but in their greed for a headline and to keep their jobs...they will dig into stories and get to the bottom and sometimes find evidence that has otherwise not been found, over looked or purposely hidden.

That was my main point.


PS: Politicians are human, but when they use tax-payers money to cover expensive court costs.....and when Gillard backs it...I think it's newsworthy. The Callgirl/prostitute rubbish is a problem for him and his poor wife and children.

Regards Jo
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if the politcial example was controversial, maybe irreleavant - they were exampels of governemtns whinging about normal journalaism which paitned them in a bad light.... not examples of bad journalism
 
Lawry, just to your original question:

SBS

ABC

I like quite a few magazines, The Economist is one.

Victorian newspaper, The Age.

Internet stuff I have Twitter set up and 'follow' the sites and things that interest me, globally. Too many to mention.
 
josko said:
PS: Politicians are human, but when they use tax-payers money to cover expensive court costs.....and when Gillard backs it...I think it's newsworthy. The Callgirl/prostitute rubbish is a problem for him and his poor wife and children.
Click to expand...

I am glad you are concentrating on the right issues. I am concerned Australians will concentrate on the call girl issue rather than where the money came from.

I guess I hope if Thomson goes he goes for all the right reasons.

The issue is only that he used a corporate card of a union to obtain callgirls not the service itself. If he was a merchant banker taking out clients I could understand it to a degree but a union boss? There is no valid reason at all to use the unions money.

On Labor trying to cover it up, that is one thing, but Thomson not declaring it till uncovered is even worse.

The thing about people who use their corporate cards like this, once you find one incident it is usual that the person does it all the time and you can normally easily find more and other indiscretions.
 
Sometimes I like to watch the international news on SBS, I dont understand it but sometimes i see things and begin to get the gist and research it.

I remember about 4 years ago a story where the guy being interviewed was speaking english and it had german subtitles so i could understand the story and he was talking about Russian Generals running out of money to pay their soldiers so they were selling nuclear weapons and they were being smuggled across the slovakian border into germany(i think)

Pretty important news but nothing on Aus News at all.

I just wish I could understand the foreign languages or if they had english subtitles, it would help alot :)
 
Lawry said:
Hi, I think I am going to stop reading the newspapers (i.e. their websites),

it just seems like everyday they are highlighting extreme cases to make sensationalist headlines, not doing any research, not including any actual facts etc. I'm not just talking about property articles - pretty much everything. (Maybe this should be in the 'whinge thread')

But at the same time I don't want to live in a cave and not know what is going on in the world / Australia.

So, where do you go for informative, factual, unbiased(?) news reporting?
Click to expand...

I stopped reading newspapers ages ago.

Basically a print version of the commercial tv stations offerings, with a lot more phone/car ads, and a lot more stuff about celebrities and what they did on the weekend. yawn.

I read magazines when I go to the doc and dentist for the yearly check up. They're good for a perve...celebs in bathing suits :D. that's about it unless you are into cooking.
 
evand said:
She was talking specifically about the anti Labor, right wing, sensationalist bogan tabloid "The Daily Telegraph".

I think you are repeating exactly what the initial poster is complaining about.
Click to expand...

I read the Telegraph a few time each year, and every time I am amazed by the seemingly equal quantities of complete BS and advertising. It really is a rubbish paper.

Back to the OP, I don't really know where to get decent news. The ABC runs some ok stuff, but there's still junk mixed in. I tend to look at OS news sites to get different views.
 
I read The Australian daily, both online and hard copy.

I like that it has a good cross section of news from medical and science, to business and finance, to international and domestic.

I particularly like the Politics and opinion aspect of this paper and the fact that there is a decent mix or left, right and center opinion.
 
I agree, papers are terrible, I dont buy papers anymore, sometimes get the Saturday, and the net is getting worse so not sure what to do.

Radio stations are just as bad I find same with the talk back, the best of bad bunch seems to be jjj in the morning.

Funny / coincidence because I was listening to a motivational tape in the car this morning on the way to work because I am sick of the radio stations and he said not to read the newspapers it is all doom and gloom and does you more harm than good, advised a quick skim on the net and move on.

Another thing he mentioned, it doesent matter if the economy is booming or tanking there are always businesses starting up and succeeding, obviously some failing but concentrate on the positive.

Chomp
 
The remedy is not to retreat into a cave, it is to read more broadly and more deeply.

You won't learn much from newspapers, but they will alert you to issues affecting the world that are worthy of further investigation.

With the web you can follow the commentary of key commentators to your liking (and their arguments against their critics) on issues you think are worthwhile of deeper evaluation.

The thing you soon realise in so doing is that the 'news' is little more than a fleeting and superficial glance at events taking place in a very complex and very cynically power-driven world.

The 'news' then appears as a player rather a neutral commentator in that larger game.
 
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