What is the purpose of newspapers and so-called news media?

[kentuck]

What should people expect from them?

7 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	Nothing more than to be entertained and distracted?
	0 (0%)
	To be used for background noise and for birdcages?
	0 (0%)
	For sports updates and funny personal stories?
	0 (0%)
	For weather and cartoons schedule?
	0 (0%)
	For political propaganda purposes?
	1 (14%)
	To report the facts and the truth to the best of their ability?
	6 (86%)
	Other?
	0 (0%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
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[PatrickforB]

1. Well, to report the facts to the best of their ability is what we SHOULD

expect. What we get is propaganda designed to create controversy and polarize us.

[elleng]

2. A Well-Informed Electorate Is a Prerequisite for Democracy.

T. Jefferson

[dweller]

3. To sell ads

for shit we don’t need


✌🏻

[Sherman A1]

4. To sell ad space or in the case of cable noise

to fill airtime between ads for drugs we never knew we needed.

I am actually disappointed that this is even a question.

[kentuck]

5. I know. It is so obvious.

But shouldn't people expect the truth and the facts from everyone that sells newspapers and spouts stuff on cable television?

Surely, they don't expect to be lied to on life and death matters, or on issues vital to our national security?

People need to be truthfully informed.

[Sherman A1]

10. I see the problem as what I believe to be blind expectations

of the news media. In a perfect world, sure they would just deliver us the facts and both sides of the issue. However, we all know that our world is far, far from perfect and the news media is a part of that imperfection. Add in the profit driven nature of how our media operates and you end up with 24/7 breathless breaking drivel with dramatic music lead-ins between commercial breaks.

It's about dollars and not anything else.

I watch NHK, BBC, PBS, France 24 and DW for my information. Simply cannot stand and will not watch CNN, MSNBC as they are simply there to fill airtime.

[stillcool]

6. to write whatever the owners want them to

[I_UndergroundPanther]

7. Ads should be limited

To 3 an hour.

The ads last longer than the shows do.

Advertising has gotten too much and take up too much space.

The news is chopped up into soundbytes to accommodate the time ads take up that we see over and over.

Fuck the rich and fuck corporate greed fuck the growth imperative.

[0rganism]

8. selling advertisers access to potential customers

seems to be about the same as what most commercial mass media does

[Kid Berwyn]

9. The Truth is what Democracy requires.

It’s the only business mentioned by name in the Constitution, the Press.

[brooklynite]

11. Why is the media "so-called"?

[kentuck]

12. FOX calls itself "News"...

It is possible to report differently on the same subject but that is not the same as lying intentionally to deceive your readers or viewers. I think their purpose is to inform the public in the most honest and factual way. It doesn't really matter if they report a "liberal" point of view or a "conservative" point of view if they do it in a factual manner. Just my opinion.

[Kaleva]

13. Their purpose is to make a profit for their owners/shareholders.

They strive to put out the news in such as way to attract the largest audience possible and thus increase their profit margin.

[brooklynite]

14. There is no absolute purpose...

...only the purpose assigned by publishers, editors, and readers. That purpose has changed frequently over time.

Consider the media in the American colonies in the run-up to the Revolutionary War. It was by no means focused on the printing facts. Ditto the newspapers in the early part of the Republic, which frequently stated a clear preference for a political party (see: Rochester DEMOCRAT and Chronicle or the Springfield REPUBLICAN).