China Bashing: The Power of a "Free" Press, American-Style

[CardSharp]

Not the best of reasons but still is better than a lot of half-assed answers I get from other forum goers.

What he said was pretty much true.

Aint' this the truth. Many countries lack the resource to have their own writters, and news camera men to travel around the world to promote their own version of events, so they rely on a few Western news company to provide them news.

Unfortunately, these news are always littered with a "Western point of vieew" and very Euro-white centric.

I mean, I pick up a couple of my local ethnic news paper in the US and they are litter with article from Voice of America, and Radio Free Asia.

It is pretty amazing actually. I hope some day, we can listen to our own story instead of some white man version of our story.

People around the world need to stop listening or paying attention to Western media. Western entertainment are also littered with propaganda.

It goes with having media dominance and a sense of cultural dominance. What is west is still seem as higher social status, more desirable, and more positive things/qualities associated with. Unfortunately, I don't see it going away in time soon, maybe in my lifetime as China gains in economic clout, there will be a credible challenge to this one-sidedness and sense of entitlement.

 

[Akasa]

A biased press is not a free press.

 

[CardSharp]

A biased press is not a free press.

No a biased press can be a free press, though the more common misperception is that a free press is a unbiased press.

 

[Vassnti]

Its simple bad news sells.

No one is going to by a paper with a headline Bejing man grows perfect chrysanthemum but there will be a stampede to buy a paper saying tainted milk harms thousands.

If you want balance just get the e version of The Nation and you can have 20 pages of America bashing

 

[Akasa]

No a biased press can be a free press, though the more common misperception is that a free press is a unbiased press.

"Free" information is information that can be interpreted differently. Many news sources don't provide that.

 

[gambit]

No a biased press can be a free press, though the more common misperception is that a free press is a unbiased press.

A 'free press' is free in the sense that no one compelled -- or can compel -- the press (or the media) into a biased viewpoint. If a newspaperman or the entire newspaper for that matter is biased against or towards a political persuasion, it is because of something internal to the newspaperman or the newspaper, not that someone from the outside is holding a gun to the man's head.

But I see no one is losing any sleep over America bashing in many countries...

 

[CardSharp]

Its simple bad news sells.

No one is going to by a paper with a headline Bejing man grows perfect chrysanthemum but there will be a stampede to buy a paper saying tainted milk harms thousands.

If you want balance just get the e version of The Nation and you can have 20 pages of America bashing

Two extremes doesn't mean you meet in the middle. You are more likely to end up with two shitty incongruent viewpoints.

A 'free press' is free in the sense that no one compelled -- or can compel -- the press (or the media) into a biased viewpoint. If a newspaperman or the entire newspaper for that matter is biased against or towards a political persuasion, it is because of something internal to the newspaperman or the newspaper, not that someone from the outside is holding a gun to the man's head.

But I see no one is losing any sleep over America bashing in many countries...

Did I say anything to the contrary?

 

[siegecrossbow]

Two extremes doesn't mean you meet in the middle. You are more likely to end up with two shitty incongruent viewpoints.



Did I say anything to the contrary?

Guess you are the pro "reporting facts and facts" type. Unfortunately straightforward articles with no "spice" in it probably won't sell as well. A successful journalist doesn't necessarily spin his own biases into an article... he needs to spin his readers' biases into the article.

 

[gambit]

Guess you are the pro "reporting facts and facts" type. Unfortunately straightforward articles with no "spice" in it probably won't sell as well. A successful journalist doesn't necessarily spin his own biases into an article... he needs to spin his readers' biases into the article.

A 'free press' needs objective observers/reporters as well as opinionated commentators. A 'free people' demands them and a 'free market' will supply them. As a biased person, inside as well as outside the US, I want to see opinionated commentators that runs counter to myself. I may not have enough time to read/hear them all, but I want them to be available nonetheless. I want to see opinionated commentators spins as much as he can and I want to see his supporters. I want all such people to flourish, professionally and financially.

 

[CardSharp]

Guess you are the pro "reporting facts and facts" type. Unfortunately straightforward articles with no "spice" in it probably won't sell as well. A successful journalist doesn't necessarily spin his own biases into an article... he needs to spin his readers' biases into the article.

People generally like being told what they already believe is right. We are social animals after all and there is nothing like that validating feeling when someone in the place of importance echoes your views on something, because for that moment you feel important too. Though this is where we as a society can fall into the trap of becoming an echo chamber. Our leaders and our media take their cues from what people want to hear and the people take their cues from our leaders and our media (again social animals, striving to fit in, wanting to follow the leader of the pack)

Quite fascinating if you think about it.

 

[CardSharp]

A 'free press' needs objective observers/reporters as well as opinionated commentators. A 'free people' demands them and a 'free market' will supply them. As a biased person, inside as well as outside the US, I want to see opinionated commentators that runs counter to myself. I may not have enough time to read/hear them all, but I want them to be available nonetheless. I want to see opinionated commentators spins as much as he can and I want to see his supporters. I want all such people to flourish, professionally and financially.

As I said to Vassnti,

Two extremes doesn't mean you meet in the middle. You are more likely to end up with two shitty incongruent viewpoints.

I do agree with your analogy of freemedia being like a freemarket, and the similarities go further because just as freemarket is vulnerable to manipulation, so is a freemedia. Experts and journalists can be bought directly or indirectly, whole networks can be co-opted, manipulation of public opinion can be planned, even faux political controversies can be staged.

The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.

 

[Meengla]

People generally like being told what they already believe is right. We are social animals after all and there is nothing like that validating feeling when someone in the place of importance echoes your views on something, because for that moment you feel important too. Though this is where we as a society can fall into the trap of becoming an echo chamber. Our leaders and our media take their cues from what people want to hear and the people take their cues from our leaders and our media (again social animals, striving to fit in, wanting to follow the leader of the pack)

Quite fascinating if you think about it.

Nice way to put it.
Yes, 'social animals'. Follow the path of least resistance. Why bother digging deeper when the 'officials' are saying it? Why bother when the 5-7 major news outlet saying what the officials say that? Why bother wasting time when, if for some reasons, the same officials, the same media portray a radically different picture some time later?
Well, all these could be dismissed as 'academic' but we shouldn't because much of the violence and injustice in the world is because of distortion of facts.
Anyway, my favorite philosopher Nietzsche wrote a brilliant article in 19th century about how a society constructs 'truth'. A life-changing read. Go look up 'On Truth and Lies in Non Moral Sense'.

 

[no_name]

People generally like being told what they already believe is right. We are social animals after all and there is nothing like that validating feeling when someone in the place of importance echoes your views on something, because for that moment you feel important too. Though this is where we as a society can fall into the trap of becoming an echo chamber. Our leaders and our media take their cues from what people want to hear and the people take their cues from our leaders and our media (again social animals, striving to fit in, wanting to follow the leader of the pack)

Quite fascinating if you think about it.

People can even train themselves to reinforce their believe when presented opposite viewpoints. That's why you have so many conspiracy theories.

Cognitive dissonance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia