Do you believe you are smarter than the media?

[Writer]

Try to answer this question in your own words.

(If you need further explanation... do you believe that you possess better critical thinking skills than those who write, edit, and package the news media?)

[leftofthedial]

1. my dog's diarrhea is smarter than the media

poor boy has a bac terial infection.

[radio4progressives]

7. LOL!!!

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

[senseandsensibility]

2. My short answer is yes.

My long answer is that of course there are many real journalists with much better critical thinking skills than I possess. But if you are referring to the cable newsreaders, yes. Some of them are also much more intelligent than I am, but they are either lazy or doing the bidding of their masters.

[SammyWinstonJack]

3. Is this a trick question?

:spank:

[Mandate My Ass]

4. No, just more principled

they put everything unquestioningly in the RW frame and parrot the administration talking points.

THey don't subject anything into historical or analytical context, but that's not because they're stupid, just complicit.

[radio4progressives]

8. not just complicit . they're fucking dumb, don't even know our own history

blah blah blah blah - fucking shills and morons to boot.

[proud patriot]

10. hear hear

:pals:

[datadiva]

5. No not smarter, just more honest n/t

[Orangepeel]

26. word for word what I was going to post!!!

so, I agree.

[SoCalDem]

6. I KNOW for a fact that I "seem' to be better at researching

and making connections to current stories in the news. The so-called elite media either are dumber than a box of rocks, or they are deliberately ignoring the "foundational" issues of the stories they are covering in "real-time". I have a sneaking suspicion that they do this so they do not have to give credit to people who have previously done the legwork. They just re-invent the wheel with every story and if the public is not industrious, they do not ever get the "backstory"..

I know they are "capable", because for 10 years, they had NO TROUBLE digging up past 'dirt' on the Clintons..

[Richard Steele]

9. It depends on what their REAL agenda is.

Some members of the media care only about ratings,
and are willing to say or do almost anything to get them;
I suppose they are probably much better at that sort
of inflammatory, amoral hucksterism than I ever could be.

Now, if we assume that these folks are actually attempting
to provide NEWS to the public, then they are obviously
pretty stupid and incompetent as a general rule.

At least I understand the notion of 'critical thinking';
that puts me head and shoulders above many members of the media.

[Mythsaje]

11. Let's just say

I believe I have better skills than they're currently displaying.

How's that?

[sam sarrha]

13. it is a matter of power not smarter..they simply have the power to silence

us

[Mythsaje]

16. And that contradicts what I said...how?

:)

[Viva_La_Revolution]

23. You're on fire tonight Mythsaje!

another excellent retort. :hug:

[sam sarrha]

12. the TV media is owned by 4 Extremist Right Wing Fascist Corporations

it is now a matter of being smarter it is a matter of power..

[NanceGreggs]

14. Well, you be the judge ...

I have never asked a hysterically crying friend who has just found out that her husband ran off with his secretary, "So are you unhappy about this?"

I have never asked a neighbour, whose small daughter was missing for forty-eight hours and was finally found and returned home safely, "Are you glad the ordeal is over?"

I have never spent an entire week in a manic-depressive state because Brad broke up with Jen.

I have never spent an entire three days discussing the fact that Michael Jackson wore pyjama pants to court.

I have never asked anyone on their way to a gala event 'who' they're wearing.

So, no, I guess I'm not nearly as smart as the people I see in the 'media' doing the news every day.

[Raksha]

15. Not necessarily "smarter," and certainly not better informed,

but definitely more honest, and NOT bought and paid for! And that counts for a lot.

[PhilipShore]

17. I don't know...

because in my lifetime, I have never really learned anything new about the world -- from persons in the News business (the media).

I frankly can learn more from books about current events; from articles written back to around the 1940s, and before.

[Lorien]

18. No, but I'm more honest and less compromised. n/t

[Bozita]

19. The MSM is uncurious, an adjective often ascribed to Bush himself

Lack of curiosity should be a disqualifier for anyone seeking a decision-making position.

[beltanefauve]

20. I'm not a Barbie doll

and my critical-thinking skills have not atrophied from years of whoring for my corporate masters.

[Ciggies and coffee]

21. Not stupid, they are paid well to do what they do

Hell, I think most people are not stupid, rather uninformed and/or distracted by what they hear. I stopped watching TV news years ago since I had the gut feeling something was missing. Things that popped into my mind, I browsed the web for. And I never even finished high school.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

24. off topic inquiry... Why did you drop out?

I ask because I did too. IQ tests say I am Genius, but school seemed.... boring. I've spoken to several others, including members of my own family that had the same attitude.

Do we just have bad attitudes? :shrug:

[AndyTiedye]

22. The Media Are Not as Stupid as They Look

NOONE could be as stupid as the media looks.

Every day in every way they do the bidding of Karl Rove
in exchange, they get to buy up ever more TV and radio stations.

[OneBlueSky]

25. it takes a LOT of intelligence (and work) to look that stupid . . .

so I'm certainly not smarter than these multi-billion dollar corporation with access to resouces beyond my wildest dreams . . .

but I can say with confidence that I, at least, that I at least try to be honest in how I analyze and discuss issues and information . . . something that the corporate media has used their massive "intelligence" to avoid at all costs . . . honesty doesn't suit their purposes -- or those of The Company (i.e. BushCo) . . .

today's media deals in propaganda, not news . . .

[sandnsea]

27. Yes

A thousand times yes. And I suspect it wouldn't matter how well I made my case, you'd just pick it apart because that's what you're really up to, and that's just how good my critical thinking skills are.

[RagingInMiami]

28. Yes

I was part of them for seven years, until I quit. I know I'm smarter. I will bet money on it.

[FrenchieCat]

29. The media is smarter than me, have more power than me, and

doesn't give a fuck about me or anyone like me.

They are smart enough to mislead and propagandize 24/7....and have "certain" people more stupid than me think that they are reporting the truth.

[rman]

30. i'm not bought and sold for

by the corporations that own the media.

[Tsiyu]

31. No

But I am not as greedy, as unethical, as partisan or as boldly indifferent as the media.

[rucky]

32. TV is very good at what they do, but what they do is not journalism.

They can very quickly fill up hours of broadcasting time with stories of rich, blonde and powerful people doing interesting things. They can get an "expert" to comment on it on a moment's notice. They can give the people what they want.

Critical thinking, research & accuracy have nothing to do with it - they create constant noise with moving pictures and flapping jaws. Their content is fleeting and the messages are constantly mutating. They do this well. The pace of a TV newsroom is incredibly fast. It's like being a trader on the Wall Street floor, but the bell never rings.

Anybody who looks to these infotainment meat factories to stay informed is a fool. "News" for them is just a label, like "Lo-Carb" - it doesn't mean it's healty to consume. If you seek constant stimulation, and prefer "reality" as your medium, then TV news is for you.

Print journalism is similar now because newspapers don't have the money to staff themselves with good reporters, so they depend on the wire services. And what goes on in those newsrooms is similar to the TV news mills I just described.