Mental Health Warnings

[poliphilo]

I'm all for freedom of the press, but maybe newspapers ought to come with warnings (printed across the front page in banner headlines) like those that are now mandatory for cigarette packets.

For example:

This paper is owned by tax exiles and contains Conservative party propaganda

or

This paper is written by and for left-wing people living in Islington

or

This paper is howlingly right-wing and once supported Hitler and Oswald Mosley.

or

This paper is owned by Rupert Murdoch (nuff said)

Most of us buy our newspaper for things other than its political bias; we buy it for the footie or the women's page or the arts coverage or the pictures of celebs- but the bias comes attached- like a virus- and- unless we're extremely self-aware- it'll infect us. I think we should be alerted to the risks we run.

Comments

[matrixmann]

Would indeed be a progress.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I think all media outlets- so radio and TV too- plus things like Thinktanks and other groups that presume to to inform the public should at the very least have to disclose where their funding comes from.

[matrixmann]

I only had a bad feeling for the typically sharp left-wing newspapers, but on the other hand - who knows what would happen if every conservative newspaper with transatlantic-minded journalists did have to apply this openly to their foreheads?
Let's say, people notice anytime who's got the higher hit ratio for rightness.

Edit: The only people where this would become very problematic are those people which in general already have to hide because of the political persecution of their kind. (Yes, in Western States such things exist. Talking about hatred towards communists, and these days "people which admit that Putin sometimes is right".)

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Every society has its heresies. I myself subscribe to the
view that Putin may not always be wrong.

So burn me....

[matrixmann]

Don't know how much that is an issue on the island, but in German journalism it seems like "Fuck, how dare you!!" - lots of talking of the great newspapers about (paid) Putin trolls, only that the blogsphere which speaks it out the most doesn't seem to have gotten richer of it and they seem to be way better doing their journalistic homework than the established ones (talking about the several hoax sightings of Russian tanks which through a simple picture search that even Google offers turn out to be made during the last conflict with Gruziya).

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

I think these days that most of us don't buy newspapers period, which is why they are (thankfully) dying.

I gave up a couple of decades back when the supposedly left liberal Guardian decided that hiring transphobic hacks sold their paper...........

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I read the Guardian, Independent and Mail online- and sometimes look at The Mirror.

My mother has the Telegraph delivered so I see that too.

I understand your disgust but if the newspapers disappear will the media that replace them be any more trustworthy?

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

Probably not, but I live in hopes that they may learn.

[matrixmann]

That was also my thought why different newspapers were closed during the last couple of years - nobody buys them anymore.

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

At least two of our national dailies here- the Express and the Independent are on the slide and the rest don't do much better.

[matrixmann]

Here it still didn't hit one of the big ones, but several smaller newspapers which are somewhat attached to the bigger publishing houses were cut away.
Some local newspaper in the area is very aggressive with 14-days-for-free trial subscriptions (the only thing about them otherwise is, they build up a net over years by which they can send letters - and I think, already even packages? - cheaper than the regular postal service and it's very commonly used meanwhile.)

[redatt.livejournal.com]

I could support that.

Often when I read an article or watch the news I'm reminded of these Philosophical Warning labels: http://bertc.com/subfour/truth/warninglabels.htm

Cartesian Evil Genius Alert:

The reader is advised that he or she may be subject to an illusion generates by an evil genius, and that his or her "sensory fibers" may be falsely manipulated at any time with neither advance warning nor any possible legal remedy.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

That's good.

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

Ooh i like that!

[raakone.livejournal.com]

At the very least, require that the front have an indication as to where the "information" is, which would be somewhere that can be read even if the paper has a band or tape holding it shut, or is in a plastic bag (some places do sell newspapers in plastic bags). The info would be about the slant, but also about what entity or entities either own it, or are the "primary supporters" (in the case of any theoretically "non-profit" paper, this would be even more important. But it would also let you know what companies or parties are paying the bulk of the revenue, so that the buyer can be informed).

Is it true that there's one newspaper in the UK that lets you know what party is in power just by looking at the title? (Next to the title is a picture of a warrior, if the Conservatives are in power, he's holding a sword and shield, if Labor is in power, he's chained up. Methinks said paper is either pro-Conservative, or anti-Labor)

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I remember when the Express- and it's owner Lord Beaverbrook- were powers in the land. It was my granny's paper of choice and I used to like the Giles cartoons.
I hardly ever see it now. It seems to have been totally eclipsed by the Mail.

[raakone.livejournal.com]

I looked up Beaverbrook, very interesting man, and his title was almost "Lord Miramichi", but he was advised against it because it would be hard to pronounce, and his title ended up with a very Canadian ring to it.

Didn't know he was around 'till the 60's!

[kamomil.livejournal.com]

I don't know about where you live if you have these, we have talk radio stations, they seem to exist to gather listeners, and to do that, they are not above getting the audience angry so that they call in.

I used to listen to one. The host hammered it home every day about how we pay too much in taxes and I thought, yeah we do. (well at the time my dad did pay a lot in income tax) So I drank the kool aid and voted for the guy that he talked about, who would lower taxes.

Years later I realized that it was not necessarily the truth, or what was good for society, but put-on opinions to get people to listen passionately.

When I heard that Rob Ford, our buffoon of a mayor, was interviewed on one radio station, I was not too shocked that he got voted in.

I feel that hearing an opinion, every day, passionately expressed, instead of balanced journalism, damages the brain eventually, or at least its ability to think straight.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

We do have talk radio but it a niche phenomenon, not the huge cultural force it is with you.

I'm a leftie, but I do make a point of reading some of the right wing media- so as not to become totally indoctrinated.

[michaleen.livejournal.com]

Are there enough left-wing people in Islington to support a newspaper?

Sounds refreshing, but then the grass is always greener, I suppose.