#news reporting

[aylathebunny]

So. Words matter. It's not the First Felon's "second term," it's his "final term."

I just wrote my local news station (not f0x obvs.) the following feedback. If you hear something like that on your own local news station, consider reaching out to them with a similar suggestion.

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"Thank you for your coverage of this critical time in American history. I’m writing with a suggestion about how you refer to Donald Trump’s current presidency.

I’ve noticed the phrase “Trump’s second term” being used frequently in your reporting. While technically accurate, I urge you to consider using “Trump’s final term” instead.

Referring to this as his “final term” helps anchor the constitutional reality that this is the last term he can legally serve. It also subtly communicates the urgency of the moment: there will be no future elections to hold him accountable and he is already talking about a third term. Language like this matters. It sets expectations, frames public understanding, and reinforces democratic norms—at a time when those norms are under sustained attack.

Thank you for considering this adjustment, and for your continued reporting on these unprecedented events."

[rosewind2007]

This was the first major news story I followed via BlueSky, and I am slightly in love with the reporter…

I'm fucking blasted and hanging out in the weirdest scene because history happened at a deeply inconvenient hour. so it goes.

[scribbled-margins]

Due to the recent influx in news coverage of the situation in Ukraine, I'd like to remind people to be careful with what information is being spread and how we interact with news. Stay safe and be critical towards what you come across online.

Links in the texts: Google, TinEye, and Amnesty

The original text is by Sveriges Radio (Sweden's Radio) P1 and can be found here, however the article is in Swedish. The text is translated by me.

[lesbiansandgayssupporttheminers]

Really weird that the news headlines today are all “Huge fall in coronavirus cases” talking about the fall in cases since January- as if there’s anyone out there with half a brain who didn’t know that. And not, if they want to talk about case numbers “fall in case numbers starts to slow”.

The fall in cases compared to the last 7 days is now at 19.2%- it’s been ages since this figure was under 20%. Obviously falls week on week will be less in numbers, but the last 30th-6th saw a fall of about 6000 cases, the 6th-13th saw a fall of about 5000 cases, and this week we’ve seen a Saturday to Saturday fall of <3000 cases.

Propaganda campaign, what propaganda campaign?

[sophieakatz]

Thursday Thoughts: Consequences

I’m writing this on Wednesday, January 6, 2021. I’m watching CNN, and I’m rolling my eyes every time someone says that they’re shocked.

This is upsetting, yes. But it is not shocking. We’re seeing the direct result of the last decade of politics and news reporting. This is the culmination of years of storytelling.

It feels like everyone just conveniently forgot that the things you say and the stories you tell actually have an impact in the world. When you give lies and conspiracy theories a platform, there will be an impact. When you pretend that every issue is a debate with two equally good, just, and valid sides, there will be an impact. When you let people get away with saying and doing unspeakable things, and all you can say is, “How can he think he can get away with this?” as you let him get away with it, there will be an impact. We are now seeing that impact. The world we live in now – this is the consequence.

We need to stop being shocked. We need to stop saying that this is unheard of, because it’s happening, and therefore we are hearing of it. We need to stop saying that this is unexpected or unreasonable, because it is the direct consequence of years of fearmongering, of prioritizing monetary gain – getting clicks and views, or getting re-elected – over serving our democracy. And we need to get back to the work of serving our democracy.

We are what we do. We are not our ideals, we are not our hopes and dreams, we are not our past statements – we are what we do. And we need to do better.

[ahb-writes]

It's easy to get caught up in the things that offend people, not the things that affect people.

Trevor Noah

[kereeachan]

Kind of an interesting show in how news can get slanted happened to me last night. So, our local station is owned by Sinclair, and told the same story as ABC news national news.

The story was of a family with an unvaccinated toddler who had a dangerous fever, took him to a doctor, and ignored the doctor’s advice to take him to the emergency room. CPC was called, and the family refused to turn over the kid, eventually culminating in a SWAT raid to take the children from the family.

The Sinclair coverage focused on the parents and their being upset, the mother claiming the baby’s fever had broken before they left the doctor. The ABC coverage, on the other hand, revealed that the baby’s fever had merely reduced to 102 degrees, still a very dangerous level, and showed an interview with the father where he was dismissive of the danger, claiming things were fine and the baby had been sleeping. So it’s very interesting to see how the two different slants were applied. Both asked if the SWAT team was too much, but the Sinclair reporting left out key details that could swing things against the parents.

Honestly, imo, if your baby has a 105 fever and it only goes down to 102, go to the freaking ER.