Obviously it isn’t new, but it’s important to point out so people can acknowledge it and work to avoid engaging in it in the future. Periodically engaging in this content is fine, that’s why we had tabloids, but old companies that specifically worked in journalism that have been bought and re-aligned with tabloid-esque behaviour is because we are willing to click on it.
A few less clicks and more reflection on the things we click can go a long way, in my opinion.
You raise absolutely valid points, but the obvious counterargument to your point is that serious journalism still exists. Tabloid click bait nonsense has been around since the printing press, and serious journalism has still existed throughout all of it. To say that “news agencies don’t cover real news anymore” is hardly different than the pearl-clutching nonsense from the very same tabloids you’re railing against.
I’m not trying to defend this schlock, just reassuring that quality journalism is under no threat of actually dying. As long as there are people who want to be heard, they’ll find a way to be heard.
I don’t disagree that quality journalism exists, however I would posit that current day journalists have more incentive to cover nonsense like the current topic as opposed to serious issues like tax avoidance from billionaires or inappropriate gifts, travel and monetary donations to various individuals in power (and their backing bodies) from multinational corporations and their associated c-suites.
A key issue of note is the increasing rate over the last few years in which individuals with journalistic integrity are being shunted aside or outright murdered, or imprisoned, for their investigations into such things (kashoggi being one of the largest international examples of this, but I would posit the majority of individuals that work for the ICIJ would fall under that umbrella as well, seeing as a number of them have been murdered in recent years, which in my opinion deters serious journalism that holds those elected to account)
I would also note that the international nature of corrupt banking and the intertwining of banking interests with military industrial interests creates a system of active suppression and aversion.
Especially given the inherent need for local journalists to travel abroad to unfavourable countries to get answers from multinational companies alleged to be engaged in nefarious actions whether directly or within their supply chains.
This quote from the official inquiry regarding the murder of Daphne Galizia is particularly chilling in my opinion:
“The fact remains that in the board’s opinion, Daphne Caruana Galizia’s writing about the intimacy between big business and politics led to her assassination.”
Apologies in advance for link spam.
Sources in case you may have missed any of the above/in case others would like to dive further:
Two international investigations shut down with direct violence:
Specifically murder in relation to their investigations. You’ll notice a trend between terror and banking crisis years and increase of journalist murders.
2023 was lower but appears to be an outlier, here’s hoping the 2023 trend continues:
Ground news link to assist with sifting through biased articles (I’m guessing more people are aware of this, but I have found it particularly useful these days with certain organizations choosing to omit facts or present an incomplete scenario to push a narrative)
Obviously it isn’t new, but it’s important to point out so people can acknowledge it and work to avoid engaging in it in the future. Periodically engaging in this content is fine, that’s why we had tabloids, but old companies that specifically worked in journalism that have been bought and re-aligned with tabloid-esque behaviour is because we are willing to click on it.
A few less clicks and more reflection on the things we click can go a long way, in my opinion.
You raise absolutely valid points, but the obvious counterargument to your point is that serious journalism still exists. Tabloid click bait nonsense has been around since the printing press, and serious journalism has still existed throughout all of it. To say that “news agencies don’t cover real news anymore” is hardly different than the pearl-clutching nonsense from the very same tabloids you’re railing against.
I’m not trying to defend this schlock, just reassuring that quality journalism is under no threat of actually dying. As long as there are people who want to be heard, they’ll find a way to be heard.
I don’t disagree that quality journalism exists, however I would posit that current day journalists have more incentive to cover nonsense like the current topic as opposed to serious issues like tax avoidance from billionaires or inappropriate gifts, travel and monetary donations to various individuals in power (and their backing bodies) from multinational corporations and their associated c-suites. A key issue of note is the increasing rate over the last few years in which individuals with journalistic integrity are being shunted aside or outright murdered, or imprisoned, for their investigations into such things (kashoggi being one of the largest international examples of this, but I would posit the majority of individuals that work for the ICIJ would fall under that umbrella as well, seeing as a number of them have been murdered in recent years, which in my opinion deters serious journalism that holds those elected to account)
I would also note that the international nature of corrupt banking and the intertwining of banking interests with military industrial interests creates a system of active suppression and aversion.
Especially given the inherent need for local journalists to travel abroad to unfavourable countries to get answers from multinational companies alleged to be engaged in nefarious actions whether directly or within their supply chains.
This quote from the official inquiry regarding the murder of Daphne Galizia is particularly chilling in my opinion:
Apologies in advance for link spam. Sources in case you may have missed any of the above/in case others would like to dive further:
Two international investigations shut down with direct violence:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/26/timeline-of-the-murder-of-journalist-jamal-khashoggi
https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/malta-responsible-for-assassination-of-journalist-daphne-caruana-galizia-inquiry-finds/
Links supporting notes about missing/murdered journalists:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/dec/10/42-journalists-killed-over-their-work-in-2020
Specifically murder in relation to their investigations. You’ll notice a trend between terror and banking crisis years and increase of journalist murders. 2023 was lower but appears to be an outlier, here’s hoping the 2023 trend continues:
https://cpj.org/data/killed/?status=Killed&motiveConfirmed[]=Confirmed&type[]=Journalist&typeOfDeath[]=Murder&start_year=2000&end_year=2023&group_by=year
https://cpj.org/reports/2020/12/record-number-journalists-jailed-imprisoned/
https://cpj.org/data/killed/all/?status=Killed&motiveConfirmed[]=Confirmed&motiveUnconfirmed[]=Unconfirmed&type[]=Journalist&type[]=Media Worker&start_year=1992&end_year=2024&group_by=year
https://cpj.org/data/?status=Imprisoned&start_year=1992&end_year=2023&group_by=year
https://cpj.org/data/missing/?status=Missing&start_year=2024&end_year=2024&group_by=location
(cpj.org is a pretty decent resource for keeping up to date on the amount of missing/imprisoned/killed journalists worldwide)
ICIJ link because I think they do good work:
https://www.icij.org/
Ground news link to assist with sifting through biased articles (I’m guessing more people are aware of this, but I have found it particularly useful these days with certain organizations choosing to omit facts or present an incomplete scenario to push a narrative)
https://ground.news/