Sinclair Made Dozens of Local News Anchors Recite the Same Script • Hacker News Board

Re: Sinclair Made Dozens of Local News Anchors Recite the Same Script

#281

Post by ModernMech » Mon, Apr 02, 2018, 6:47 PM UTC

akoncius wrote: post #274

somebehemoth wrote: post #247

Earlier quoted context omitted.

John Oliver hosts a late night talk show and he is primarily a comedian. He is not a journalist so your commentary on journalism seems misplaced on this point.

what are you trying to say? That given he is comedian, his reporting is less credible or audience should receive his stories less seriously or what? Given that he throws a joke from time to time, does it mean that it's less reporting and more comedy?

> That given he is comedian, his reporting is less credible or audience should receive his stories less seriously or what?

As he is primarily known as a comedian, there is no way to confuse him as a journalist doing "news reporting". This calibrates the critical thinking dial in my brain.

> Given that he throws a joke from time to time, does it mean that it's less reporting and more comedy?

Have you watched the show? The joke to content ratio is very high.

Re: Sinclair Made Dozens of Local News Anchors Recite the Same Script

#282

Post by thaumaturgy » Mon, Apr 02, 2018, 6:48 PM UTC

dahdum wrote: post #182

throwawaylalala wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"They are instead doing the same thing Republicans did to Obama, refusing to compromise in order to whip up their base." Democrats are in the minority though, not the majority like the Republicans had during Obama's tenure. If they want something done then they can do it.

Republicans started out in the minority during Obama’s term, but Democrats bled seats like crazy, especially after ACA. They are using the same playbook now, using tax reform as the rallying cry like ACA was.

It's hard for me to politely express just how disappointed I am in the direction this conversation has gone. It's total garbage. It started with what should have been a "holy shit" point, just a few comments above, and almost immediately turned into an "us vs. them" argument with basically zero value to anyone.

Look at how polarized politics has gotten. It's happening right here.

We have media mega-businesses now which are feeding total garbage to people, astroturfing it so that viewers feel like they're getting information from someone they can trust, and we have a President that is getting information from the same kind of sources and is citing that when announcing policy decisions.

I don't care which "side" you're on, I think that's wrong, corrupt, and terrifying. If it were a Democrat doing it, hell, even citing NPR, I'd still be horrified.

Some of Trump's base thinks there's some kind of deep state thing going on, where there are people in government that are controlling things behind the scenes, independent of whatever administration is in office at the time. You know what? They're absolutely right, save for one little thing: the people doing the controlling aren't in government, they're in offices in shining skyscrapers, and they own the news.

And they would really appreciate it if we wouldn't talk about that, and instead just continue to argue about the stupid wall.

Re: Sinclair Made Dozens of Local News Anchors Recite the Same Script

#283

Post by Tactic » Mon, Apr 02, 2018, 6:48 PM UTC

ChicagoDave wrote: post #125

I do see this as a bad thing, but I also know that everyone under 40 gets their news from the web. The target audience for these channels are older people who don't read news online or on mobile phones. In a way, Sinclair is becoming a TV streaming service. I sense the badness, but I also think they run the risk of spending a lot of money on a wasted effort. You can only influence people if they're dumb _and_ watchin…

Lest you are in too much of a bubble realize there are many people that live in areas with poor or absent internet. I suspect there are, in fact, people under 40 that get their news from local television.

You may also want to reconsider that only dumb people can be influenced by this or other means of manipulation.

And... if you can influence 35% of the population, it is fairly easy to get a voting majority from that point given participation rates. Especially, as others have said, if you are influencing the rather large and active over 40 population.

Re: Sinclair Made Dozens of Local News Anchors Recite the Same Script

#284

Post by rlindgren » Mon, Apr 02, 2018, 6:51 PM UTC

root_axis wrote: post #278

rlindgren wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"👎" to the John Oliver reference. His "reporting" is as biased as it gets. His show is written in a style that convinces the subconscious to accept presented arguments without engaging any serious logical scrutiny. Just try to remember if at any point during any of his broadcasts you actually analyzed the subject of his monologues, rather than simply furthering the thought-process that he was laying out for y…

Can you give me an example of unbiased reporting on television?

I would say that hacker news is actually a fairly objective aggregator. It's also participatory, which hopefully checks bias at some level. But, as this isn't television... it's not a valid example, in response to your question. Also, hacker news isn't ad-supported, which is nice.

Re: Sinclair Made Dozens of Local News Anchors Recite the Same Script

#285

Post by sctb » Mon, Apr 02, 2018, 6:52 PM UTC

robotrout wrote: post #116

iron0013 wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm confused, what's wrong with being anti-fascist? I'm definitely anti-fascist, aren't you?

You are in fact, fascist. Antifa uses thuggery and intimidation. When you can't do it physically, you do it via off-topic posts on the internet. I have personally witnessed the behavior of your compatriots on the street. You are brown shirts in a different uniform.

Please stop waging ideological battle on this site. It pulls us deeper into madness and the only way out is to resist such reflexive and unsubstantive posting.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: Sinclair Made Dozens of Local News Anchors Recite the Same Script

#286

Post by wu-ikkyu » Mon, Apr 02, 2018, 6:53 PM UTC

ModernMech wrote: post #146

wu-ikkyu wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did he discuss news and current events on a television show? If so he can be called a news anchor, or a news presenter. Why are you stressing the semantics if not only to euphemize? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/News_presenter

It might be due to Fox News getting out of a lawsuit by claiming what they broadcast isn't news but entertainment (at least in the prime time slots)

Do you have a source for this? After googling "fox news entertainment lawsuit" it appears this may be a myth

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/fox-skews/

Re: Sinclair Made Dozens of Local News Anchors Recite the Same Script

#287

Post by Consultant32452 » Mon, Apr 02, 2018, 6:58 PM UTC

eumenides1 wrote: post #168

Consultant32452 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not the person you're replying to, but I also have a hard time seeing the problem. Or rather, I can see the problem, but this is how I would've expected news to have been done for decades. I grew up when there was only 4 TV channels and no internet. I would have assumed CBS (or its parent) would have controlled all the CBS affiliates in this way in the 80s. NBC would do the same, etc.

It's one (sinclair) pretending to be many (local news stations). Standard advice is check multiple sources. This pretends to be "multiple sources" when really it's just one. Sinclair is effectively and echo chamber on TV. Web standards, don't like it, navigate else where. TV Standards, change the channel, get the same stuff. See how that is much more dangerous?

But this is the way it's been as far back as I can remember. You might think reading your local news is an independent source, but it's often mostly a copy/pasta from Reuters or simply reporting that another news company said something. I never believed that my local "Action 9 News" caster was actually doing any journalism. Maybe for local stories, but for anything national they were just regurgitating the company line.

Re: Sinclair Made Dozens of Local News Anchors Recite the Same Script

#288

Post by dguaraglia » Mon, Apr 02, 2018, 7:17 PM UTC

dguaraglia wrote: post #120

pdx wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except they're not "mouth pieces". Local journalists are much more independent than national ones. This instance by Sinclair of attempting to combat the national news broadcasters was a David vs Goliath attempt, and they are coming out of it much worse than David did.

Please explain how "independent" they are, in the context of them being forced to repeat a script from Sinclair news. I'm not even sure how you can miss the contradiction.

Haha, nothing gets you downvoted faster in Hacker News than expressing an anti-current-administration opinion. This place is being closely brigaded.

Re: Sinclair Made Dozens of Local News Anchors Recite the Same Script

#289

Post by ChicagoDave » Mon, Apr 02, 2018, 7:19 PM UTC

anigbrowl wrote: post #261

ChicagoDave wrote: post #125

I do see this as a bad thing, but I also know that everyone under 40 gets their news from the web. The target audience for these channels are older people who don't read news online or on mobile phones. In a way, Sinclair is becoming a TV streaming service. I sense the badness, but I also think they run the risk of spending a lot of money on a wasted effort. You can only influence people if they're dumb _and_ watchin…

I have gotten my news from web for 25 years but I still watch local news 2 night s a week - to see coverage of some local issue, to check on the weather or see a bit of a baseball game, or just by default. And while people over 40 are generally in the second half of their lives and heading for the demographic exits, that doesn't mean they're politically irrelevant. They're far more likely to vote, more likely to be h…

I agree with your assessment, but my "gut" feeling is that Sinclair is over-reaching and the expectation won't match the spend. ESPN just announced their streaming service ESPN+. This is just another nail in cable TV's coffin. In a few years, broadcast television may be on its last legs.

We're on the verge of a Spotify for TV where you can pick your own channels, including which "local" channel you want. Some people may still pick the Sinclair run station and be influenced, but my point is that we're reading this Sinclair deal in the context of the past.

And people have an interesting habit of recognizing when they're being manipulated and they call B.S.

First West Virginia, now Oklahoma where school teachers are fed up with tax cuts that only benefit corporations and the wealthy and end up taking away from teachers and students.

We have a tragic and unexpectedly organized and mature set of Florida teenagers that are giving the NRA a run for their money. They may have knocked a Fox News mainstay off the air by forcing most of her advertisers to bolt.

My sense, and it's just intuition based on the news of the day, is that people are just starting to push back. Sinclair probably needed the FCC changes 10 years ago. I think it's probably just too late.

Re: Sinclair Made Dozens of Local News Anchors Recite the Same Script

#290

Post by dahdum » Mon, Apr 02, 2018, 7:25 PM UTC

thaumaturgy wrote: post #282

dahdum wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Republicans started out in the minority during Obama’s term, but Democrats bled seats like crazy, especially after ACA. They are using the same playbook now, using tax reform as the rallying cry like ACA was.

It's hard for me to politely express just how disappointed I am in the direction this conversation has gone. It's total garbage. It started with what should have been a "holy shit" point, just a few comments above, and almost immediately turned into an "us vs. them" argument with basically zero value to anyone. Look at how polarized politics has gotten. It's happening right here. We have media mega-businesses now whi…

The point I was trying to make is that compromise is critical in government, but our current political climate is antithetical to any.

The media controls the conversation, and at the very top, I believe that's driven primarily by business interests — not political beliefs.