Comments on: Truth, lies and scepticism in the media http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/regrumney/2009/05/20/truth-lies-and-scepticism-in-the-media/ Sun, 12 Feb 2012 10:41:24 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: pete ess http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/regrumney/2009/05/20/truth-lies-and-scepticism-in-the-media/comment-page-1/#comment-82499 pete ess Fri, 22 May 2009 06:59:25 +0000 http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/regrumney/2009/05/20/truth-lies-and-scepticism-in-the-media/#comment-82499 Sad indeed. I believe it starts with editors saying, in effect, "What CAN we write?" Or asking "Dare we print that?" Everything is filtered first through a net asking "Who will we offend?" Some things are Fair Game and are ripped into (to excess, especially as they usually are unimportant, yet gripping things: Princess Diane, health "scares"); Others are Royal Game and are avoided, or watered down, or the official spin is parroted. Stories that should be followed are quietly dropped. Scandals are "put to bed" with a reassuring word from a paid PR consultant, whose lies are presented as "expert opinion". I don't know how one fixes this. The Truth - Publish and be damned. Will we get that? I suspect not. Traditional media may end, and the internet may take over - only to go the same route?? Hope not. Sad indeed. I believe it starts with editors saying, in effect, “What CAN we write?” Or asking “Dare we print that?” Everything is filtered first through a net asking “Who will we offend?”
Some things are Fair Game and are ripped into (to excess, especially as they usually are unimportant, yet gripping things: Princess Diane, health “scares”); Others are Royal Game and are avoided, or watered down, or the official spin is parroted. Stories that should be followed are quietly dropped. Scandals are “put to bed” with a reassuring word from a paid PR consultant, whose lies are presented as “expert opinion”.

I don’t know how one fixes this. The Truth – Publish and be damned. Will we get that?
I suspect not. Traditional media may end, and the internet may take over – only to go the same route??
Hope not.

]]> By: MFB http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/regrumney/2009/05/20/truth-lies-and-scepticism-in-the-media/comment-page-1/#comment-82494 MFB Fri, 22 May 2009 06:49:46 +0000 http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/regrumney/2009/05/20/truth-lies-and-scepticism-in-the-media/#comment-82494 It isn't a new book, although he has just won an award for it. It dates back to 2007. It's also a very mild book which pulls its punches quite a lot, despite the author's rather pretentious opening. (Of course, for that reason its conclusions are all the more damning.) The problem with "scepticism", however, is that when you are confronted with a press which is prepared to tell lies to further its political or commercial agenda or simply out of laziness or lack of integrity, then what use is scepticism? You need to have some kind of access not only to the truth, but to a concept that the truth matters, to make scepticism valuable. The purpose of the system which Davies describes is not just to fool people, but to ensure that they are incapable of realising that they are being fooled. When the USSR collapsed, the Soviet citizens had no means of distinguishing truth from falsehood because they had been lied to so consistently for so many decades. Hence they followed mountebanks because they had no notion that there were alternatives. South Africans (and Westerners) are in the same situation. That's why people follow Zuma and Obama, and why people followed Blair long after it was absurd to do so. It isn’t a new book, although he has just won an award for it. It dates back to 2007. It’s also a very mild book which pulls its punches quite a lot, despite the author’s rather pretentious opening. (Of course, for that reason its conclusions are all the more damning.)

The problem with “scepticism”, however, is that when you are confronted with a press which is prepared to tell lies to further its political or commercial agenda or simply out of laziness or lack of integrity, then what use is scepticism? You need to have some kind of access not only to the truth, but to a concept that the truth matters, to make scepticism valuable. The purpose of the system which Davies describes is not just to fool people, but to ensure that they are incapable of realising that they are being fooled.

When the USSR collapsed, the Soviet citizens had no means of distinguishing truth from falsehood because they had been lied to so consistently for so many decades. Hence they followed mountebanks because they had no notion that there were alternatives. South Africans (and Westerners) are in the same situation. That’s why people follow Zuma and Obama, and why people followed Blair long after it was absurd to do so.

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