Lots of respect to the man Swartz. Not a big fan of news (mainly the cable) myself but the absence of it is pretty terrifying as well. Whatever is left of little accountability will pretty much vanish.
I'd argue that the problem isn't the news, per se, but the fact that news is a business, with a primary motive of maximizing profit and not necessarily 'informing' the public objectively. But on the other extreme, state run media that do not have the same objective of making profit are even worse.
> but the absence of it is pretty terrifying as well. Whatever is left of little accountability will pretty much vanish.
Did you read the article? It critiques the fast-paced nature of the news and the choice of topics, it doesn't call for abolishing the news.
> But on the other extreme, state run media that do not have the same objective of making profit are even worse.
Incorrect. For instance, here in Australia, we have a state run media channel, the ABC (abc.net.au), and the quality of the news and reporting is much better than the commercial news.
What is it about Americans that make them believe that things that work perfectly well in many other countries (publicly funded television, gun control, universal healthcare) are impossible?
> What is it about Americans that make them believe that things that work perfectly well in many other countries (publicly funded television, gun control, universal healthcare) are impossible?
What gave you the impression that I am an American? I, unfortunately, am one who had to endure the non stop propaganda perpetuated through state run media in my country.
> reporting is much better than the commercial news
How do you decide it is 'much better'? Could it be that you just happen to agree with it? (or not). Since you mentioned America, there are lots of people in America who take Fox News as sole source of truth. And perhaps equally large group who regard MSNBC as such.
And it's pretty interesting to observe that you pulled the conversation right into politically charged topics of healthcare and gun, when I was merely pointing out that news is indeed valuable, and there is always bound to be this friction between the profit oriented but free of government influence vs state run media.
I'd argue that the problem isn't the news, per se, but the fact that news is a business, with a primary motive of maximizing profit and not necessarily 'informing' the public objectively. But on the other extreme, state run media that do not have the same objective of making profit are even worse.
We'll pretty much have to live with it :)