News media screws up again,

[trekgeezer]

Why did it take this long for the NY Times to publish this?  How much controversy could have been avoided


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/11/nyregion/11religion.html?_r=2&hp

[ulthar]

Why did it take this long for the NY Times to publish this?  How much controversy could have been avoided

How the heck would this article have changed ANY controversy if had been published earlier?

The fact of the matter is that the attack was committed by Muslims and a lot of people are angry about that.  That anger fuels the debate.  Because some Muslims were also victims in the attack changes NOTHING in the emotion of the debate for either side.

People believe what they want to believe and tenaciously cling to their conclusions.  This article will do nothing to change that.

Did blacks fighting for the US in World War II change southern attitudes toward black people?

[Flick James]

Why did it take this long for the NY Times to publish this?  How much controversy could have been avoided

How the heck would this article have changed ANY controversy if had been published earlier?

The fact of the matter is that the attack was committed by Muslims and a lot of people are angry about that.  That anger fuels the debate.  Because some Muslims were also victims in the attack changes NOTHING in the emotion of the debate for either side.

People believe what they want to believe and tenaciously cling to their conclusions.  This article will do nothing to change that.

Did blacks fighting for the US in World War II change southern attitudes toward black people?

Karma for that. Like I've always said, everyone has a filter that rejects information that does not support one's beliefs. Each filter is different in what type of information it will reject and to what degree, but we all have one. The filters are even more exclusive in situations like this. The establishment and free exercise clauses of the 1st amendment don't matter anymore.

[Umaril The Unfeathered]

Karma for that. Like I've always said, everyone has a filter that rejects information that does not support one's beliefs. Each filter is different in what type of information it will reject and to what degree, but we all have one. The filters are even more exclusive in situations like this. The establishment and free exercise clauses of the 1st amendment don't matter anymore.

This is no more apparent than when you're trying to state your case to someone (with info that IS correct and supports your argument in full) and all they do is constantly reject everything you say,  or use the excuse that it's "biased information" to fuel their baseless claim.

It's frustrating to bang your head against the wall with someone in these cases, and even funny, (and hypocritical) when they constantly reject successive waves of info, but yet won't come up with their OWN material to prove you're wrong.

Some people do it just for the antagonistic value, knowing that playing Devil's Advocate will bring about the desired result.  It's a game to them. And the media is defintely a catalyst that has caused more than it's fair share of antagonism, because it's just a game to them too.

[AndyC]

Some people do it just for the antagonistic value, knowing that playing Devil's Advocate will bring about the desired result.  It's a game to them. And the media is defintely a catalyst that has caused more than it's fair share of antagonism, because it's just a game to them too.

Having worked at newspapers for 20 years, I can say that is absolutely true. Facts get exaggerated and twisted to grab attention and stir up more controversy to feed on, stories get rushed out before all the facts are straight, and too many journalists start with their interpretation of events and find the sources that support it. And a fair amount of the time, that late story that comes along and paints everything in a different light is late by design, to maximize what they can milk out of an issue. The rest of the time, it's because they go straight for the controversy and figure the rest out whenever they get around to it.

At my last job, I used to regularly butt heads with the biggest disgrace to the profession I've ever worked with. Everything with him was about getting a lot of stories in the least possible time, and having everything ready for the next issue, even if it wasn't ready. I kid you not, this a***ole would file stories despite  not being able to reach people he absolutely needed to talk to. His thinking was that if his story was wrong, those people would be sure to contact him after it came out, and he'd have another story next week. His idea of win-win. If there was a misunderstanding that stirred up some controversy in the meantime, so much the better. Everything in his story would be attributed to a source, so it was no skin off hid nose. He took no responsibility, hiding behind that old BS of merely telling the public what they have a right to know.  He never once showed any concern for the damage he might be doing.

I'd always try to help people understand the issues I wrote about, and hold an incomplete story until I had the facts, rather than fixing it after it's out. There were times I thought he was deliberately misleading the readers to generate controversy and create a bigger mess to be sorted out over several more stories. He was one of those throwback nutjobs for whom journalism is as much a lifestyle as a job. The industry loves them, because they'll work loads of unpaid overtime.

Long story short, they laid me off and promoted him.

[Umaril The Unfeathered]

Geez, Andy!  I see where you're coming from. The Media's job is to create a reaction, (be it positive or negative) and feed it. They seem to be very adept at creating feeding frenzies. Sounds like you had your work cut out for you in those days..

Quote from AndyC

The rest of the time, it's because they go straight for the controversy and figure the rest out whenever they get around to it.

Look no further than Youtube for this sort of thing: 

You always see videos of cops losing their cool with suspects,  or my favorite, the little gum cracking punk-ass skater kids who get shaken down by the cops for trespassing on private property. I love how they try to make themselves political prisoners of the U.S. when they get caught breaking the law.

The cries of victim start flying...and until the full incident is seen, (which usually never happens) the polarization it creates can be seen in the replies that come pouring out as both sides square off over the issue.

I swear, if the truth were a real option in the media, everyone would be out of a job..