Reply to Re: Is either gender more evil then the other?
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In general the news is half seen as entertainment, at least when it comes to the commentary-style news shows. And people are entertained by having their own views bolstered.
Definitely. But that doesn't have much to do with journalism. In the Netherlands, I saw a documentary not so long ago about the abysmal way people in the mushroom-picking industry are treated. The reporter was shown to have a lot of trouble actually finding those workers, because the companies didn't cooperate, and when he finally found them, they told horrible stories (it's practically slave labor).
Such a documentary can have serious impact. There will be questions about it in the parliament, for example (and such questions may lead to sending the police over there). When a journalist does his work properly, there is no discussion about whether the presented information is true; journalists are trusted in principle, and if they are misbehaving, the offended party (in this case the company) can easily open up its doors and show that it's not true. I don't think I've ever seen that happen, though.
I really don't know if journalists here in the US do research, but if the news is only entertainment, they probably don't.
It happens on both sides of the political spectrum.
Certainly; I didn't mean to suggest that this was a one-party thing. However, most (if not all) good journalists in the Netherlands are a bit (or a lot) left-wing. I think this is because with their brains, they can get jobs which pay a lot better, but are less idealistic. If they were right-wing, they would have been more selfish, and they would have chosen the money.
But good journalists make it very clear when they are stating their opinion about the news, and when they are presenting facts as objectively as they can. So the fact that most good journalists are left-wing isn't a problem for the news quality.
Definitely. But that doesn't have much to do with journalism. In the Netherlands, I saw a documentary not so long ago about the abysmal way people in the mushroom-picking industry are treated. The reporter was shown to have a lot of trouble actually finding those workers, because the companies didn't cooperate, and when he finally found them, they told horrible stories (it's practically slave labor).
Such a documentary can have serious impact. There will be questions about it in the parliament, for example (and such questions may lead to sending the police over there). When a journalist does his work properly, there is no discussion about whether the presented information is true; journalists are trusted in principle, and if they are misbehaving, the offended party (in this case the company) can easily open up its doors and show that it's not true. I don't think I've ever seen that happen, though.
I really don't know if journalists here in the US do research, but if the news is only entertainment, they probably don't.
It happens on both sides of the political spectrum.
Certainly; I didn't mean to suggest that this was a one-party thing. However, most (if not all) good journalists in the Netherlands are a bit (or a lot) left-wing. I think this is because with their brains, they can get jobs which pay a lot better, but are less idealistic. If they were right-wing, they would have been more selfish, and they would have chosen the money.
But good journalists make it very clear when they are stating their opinion about the news, and when they are presenting facts as objectively as they can. So the fact that most good journalists are left-wing isn't a problem for the news quality.
