Any time I see an article in a "mainstream" news outlet on a topic I'm familiar with, the inaccuracies make me cringe. The more familiar I am with the topic, the more inaccuracies I spot. The charitable interpretation is that news outlets have been so decimated by changes in their business model that they can't afford good editors. There are plenty of less charitable interpretations.
Sounds like the Gell-Mann amnesia effect[1]. We notice the innacuracies in the fields we are familiar with and then readily believe stories outside of our expertise.
Disclaimer - reporting is critically important and by and large journalists are doing their best to understand and describe incredibly complex and esoteric subjects. It's always good to remember there is a lot more nuance behind just about every story than surface level would indicate.
>reporting is critically important and by and large journalists are doing their best to understand and describe incredibly complex and esoteric subjects.
No, by and large they absolutely aren’t doing their best. If they were the Gell-Mann amnesia effect wouldn’t be so prominent because it’s trivial to run stories by experts on topics. Most reporters are crunched for time and just churn out crap as fast as possible.
I agree they reporting is important but how can we tell that journalists are doing their best? I've seen plenty of instances of straight up lies from journalists in just the past few years that I'm unsure whether I will believe such an assertion anymore. Look at the Trump-Russia collusion story or the Covington kids. If "some guy" on Twitter gives me better information by showing me actual unedited video footage of what happened as opposed to journalists that edit the videos to portray the events in a different light then how am I supposed to believe that they are doing their best?
I think journalists are doing their best, but I think it's in specific niches. For example, when I read articles or see videos from "the tech press" I believe them. When I read an article on anandtech I don't have to think "this is what they're saying, but is it actually true?"
tl;dr we are entering an election cycle and many articles appearing in the main stream press are nothing more than trial balloons for campaigns fishing to see what sells. If you find issues with subjects you are familiar with then you should assume subjects you are not well versed in have the same issues.
You should apply that same process to any article they publish even on statements you agree with but don't actually have full knowledge of. It is not they cannot afford editors it is that they are politically aligned and floating trial balloons for ideas spouted by favored candidates. We will have a flood of stories submitted that if you look under the covers are no more than talking points you can walk right back to a candidate.
Expect the upcoming year to be full of stories directed to make you think the whole process is unfair, how you have no voice, how your rights are being eroded, how someone or some company has wealth they don't deserve, but if you just hand it all over to the politicians they will fix it.
All they will do is secure their people into money making positions and sell you a bill of goods under a law with a nice sounding name that does very little of what it implies and a whole lot more under the covers you never would have wanted.
