Like an increasing number of British people. I gather much of my news sources from Facebook and Twitter. I am sure that these aren't the best sources, but because of the untrustworthiness of the media in the UK, that is today's reality. Especially if you believe that truth, transparency, balance and accuracy are important factors. The ability to separate real information from lets say satire or propaganda is a critical core skill. Especially as we are seeing now - every year is a Labour Party leadership election year.
Thongs evolve and change over time. Now that the media is increasingly being forced away from print and output is moving over to the web. Print copies numbers are being replaced by click count. Now known on the web - coequally as click-bait. We all from time to time create a link to an on-line article or news report. Especially when this item is supportive to our interests or cause. However, its important that we, the readership, discourage propaganda and disinformation from being spread. The media lies and half truths that's simply designed to outrage in the desire to propagate propaganda and to acquire website 'clicks' for the media.
Today, truth in the 'news' is an elusive item - even on social networks, where anything goes and 'facts' are almost never fact checked. So, rather than provide a link, for even more - click bait numbers – why not cut and paste the pertinent bits into a posting of your own. You can also provide your personal viewpoint - backed up with your own fact checking endeavours.
Now that the media is split across newsprint and web content. Its essential to understand what is happening and how you can avoid the click-bait trap. For years the print media has had to report the number of copies sold. (Advertising charges are often calculated from circulation figures)
In 2010 the Sun's daily circulation figures were 3,006,565 by 2016 this had fallen dramatically to 1,787,096. The Sun was deserted by 1,200,000 readers. I imagine that the intrusive, phone hacking. Plus the unrelenting media pillorying of the McCann and Dowler families - went some way towards accelerating this trend. Hated by a whole area of the nation (Merseyside) for its horrendous coverage of the disaster at Hillsborough.
The Daily Mail in 2010, the circulation figures were 2,120,347 however by 2016 the figures had fallen to 1,589,471. That is a fall of over 600,000 copies. This in no small way being prompted by the public renaming as the Daily Fail or even the Daily Wail.
In the same time period, even the Daily Mirror, has fallen from 1,218,425 to a low of 809,147.
The availability of multimedia news platforms around the world, has also accelerated this decline in the 21st century. By the close of 2014, not a single UK newspaper had a daily circulation exceeding two million. The general overall circulation of newspapers has declined by 6.6% in 2014–15 alone. Now, the media is increasingly promoting a web presence and trying to sell a tainted product in a very competitive market – one where the reader is also an on-line editor, operating unfettered by the newsprint owners propaganda machine. News is and can be - fact checked - as fast as it is published. Complete websites have been created just for source checking.
It is the same on television. Thirty years ago if Reginald Bosanquet said it on the BBC, it was most likely true. Today the BBC has lost its reputation for impartiality and reporting facts. Now the BBC is just another organ of media propaganda. Peddling bias for whichever political colour is in government. Once there were few TV channels available – but now there are thousands available – either via digital or satellite television. Once upon a time I would watch the BBC as a matter of course – now I tend to watch the news in English from foreign broadcasting services.
One curious outcome is that now, if you read it in Private Eye Magazine, it is presented in a satirical format - but with a large spoonful of the truth. Today, if it is something you read in a UK newspaper whether in print or on the web - well, who knows, but there is one thing upon which you can be certain – its biased and designed to spread propaganda or in the media's eternal search for click-bait.
The availability of multimedia news platforms around the world, has also accelerated this decline in the 21st century. By the close of 2014, not a single UK newspaper had a daily circulation exceeding two million. The general overall circulation of newspapers has declined by 6.6% in 2014–15 alone. Now, the media is increasingly promoting a web presence and trying to sell a tainted product in a very competitive market – one where the reader is also an on-line editor, operating unfettered by the newsprint owners propaganda machine. News is and can be - fact checked - as fast as it is published. Complete websites have been created just for source checking.
It is the same on television. Thirty years ago if Reginald Bosanquet said it on the BBC, it was most likely true. Today the BBC has lost its reputation for impartiality and reporting facts. Now the BBC is just another organ of media propaganda. Peddling bias for whichever political colour is in government. Once there were few TV channels available – but now there are thousands available – either via digital or satellite television. Once upon a time I would watch the BBC as a matter of course – now I tend to watch the news in English from foreign broadcasting services.
One curious outcome is that now, if you read it in Private Eye Magazine, it is presented in a satirical format - but with a large spoonful of the truth. Today, if it is something you read in a UK newspaper whether in print or on the web - well, who knows, but there is one thing upon which you can be certain – its biased and designed to spread propaganda or in the media's eternal search for click-bait.
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