**** About the Press ****
Greetings. I'm going to risk more obscene replies by noting the following, that I think is extremely important. I frequently see people on #Mastodon dissing the mainstream press and media. "Go back to #Twitter!" "We don't need you here!" "You're useless and evil." -- and other voluminous words to that effect.
You may personally feel that the press/media are evil incarnate (I don't. Mostly -- with some notable exceptions -- they're just trying to do their jobs amidst a disinformation maelstrom.) But I still cannot emphasize how utterly SELF-DESTRUCTIVE it is to ignore or otherwise dis mainstream press/media.
Even when you disagree with them. ESPECIALLY when you disagree with them!
I started being asked to give press/media (hereafter I'll just say "press") interviews many years ago in early ARPANET days. Since then I've done innumerable interviews of all kinds -- print media, web media, radio, recorded TV news interviews (e.g. "soundbites"), live satellite news interviews, live and recorded TV shows, etc. -- and I've been doing a (currently weekly) tech/tech policy segment on network radio to over a million listeners for many, many years.
I could write a book about all this and what I've learned about the process and how to make it work in the best possible ways, but I'll just say this right now:
**** If people who know the truth don't work with the press to get the true stories out, then bad actors -- evil people -- will happily fill the vacuum that you've left and spread their own disinformation and propaganda that will not only hurt you, but society at large. ****
So you do the interviews -- and that's a learned skill, you do learn over time for example how to maximize the probability of your statements being intact and featured in recorded "soundbite" interviews for example.
You learn not to squirm when they feed the mic cable up under your shirt to the wireless pack they put on your belt.
You let them do the damned makeup before you go on camera (and yes as a guy I *hate* that), because if you don't you'll end up looking like a corpse on air under the lights.
And you do this and much more because you're willing to put out the effort to get accurate information out there, and not cede the battlefield to evil.
If you aren't willing to make such an effort when the press comes calling, as far as I'm concerned you shouldn't be complaining about the press. Period.
Best, -L
@lauren «If people who know the truth don't work with the press to get the true stories out, then bad actors -- evil people -- will happily fill the vacuum that you've left and spread their own disinformation and propaganda».
are you saying the «press people» don't give a musk about what they «spread» and will happily go ahead to propagate whatever some «bad actors» shovel their way while «good people» look away?
omg, this is worse than i feared =( not sure i need that kind of press at all.
@tivasyk If only evil people will give their side of the story to the press, that is the story you're going to see. Is it up to non-evil people to provide the other side. If the press goes to the non-evil people and the non-evil people refuse to talk to them, the evil people have the forum.
@lauren @tivasyk I think we’re talking about two different issues here. You’re talking about whether people, politicians, etc should be willing to speak with the press. Most of us are talking about what most media chooses to publicize and emphasize and why that pisses us off. I don’t think the press focuses on Republican talking points because only Republicans talk to the press. It’s a choice.
@lucybeahere @tivasyk They will tend to focus on whomever will talk to them the most. That doesn't mean that they AGREE with them, but they report what they have available to report. That's their job.
@lauren @lucybeahere @tivasyk This cannot be emphasized hard enough. They will tend to focus on whomever will talk to them the most.
Their job is to fill airtime or column inches. Like most professionals, they will do that to the best of their ability and will take shortcuts when necessary, and the easiest shortcut is "run what you have and don't burn time on investigation." The press and investigative journalism aren't synonymous.
I'm reminded of a piece I read on Nintendo ages ago where the author was decrying the imminent doom of the company because they had nothing in the pipe: no new games announced, no new systems, and Microsoft and Sony were going to eat their lunch in the console market as an aging Gamecube failed to keep up with new innovations. With mobile phones taking the place of dedicated portable consoles and no plan to compete with high-end consoles, opined the author, Nintendo was doomed.
I had a fascinating flash of "Wait... But this is *Nintendo.* Famously tight-lipped Nintendo. I'm... I'm reading one newshound's opinion based on the fact that he asked Nintendo and they told *him* nothing.
Like a week later, Nintendo announced the Wii.
(When it's entertainment and game consoles, this game is fine, but when it leaks into public policy, science, and other fields that impact people's fates, it's way less okay).
