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Confessions of a Fake News Writer

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Re: Confessions of a Fake News Writer

#24

Post by renjimen »

jypepin wrote: post #23

Speaking of news, and the negative effect some people here share it brings them, I've been received "bit of news" by email everyday and it's great. A few important news everyday. I usually don't even read the articles, just quickly glance at the headlines. http://bitofnews.com/

The Economist’s Espresso is also great for bite size news every day.

Re: Confessions of a Fake News Writer

#25

Post by renjimen »

renjimen wrote: post #24
jypepin wrote: post #23

Speaking of news, and the negative effect some people here share it brings them, I've been received "bit of news" by email everyday and it's great. A few important news everyday. I usually don't even read the articles, just quickly glance at the headlines. http://bitofnews.com/

The Economist’s Espresso is also great for bite size news every day.

And you can choose focus by geographic region, which is nice!

Re: Confessions of a Fake News Writer

#26

Post by tw1010 »

henriquemaia wrote: post #11

I may sound too jaded, but how do I know this piece (or book, the one reviewed here?) is not fake? Maybe I've gone way meta on this, but isn't kind of oxymoronic to write about how one fakes what one wrote and then expect the reader to take that particular writing seriously? The Kantian in me is particularly bothered with this. ;) Edit: typos.

No need to berate yourself about being meta. It's a perfectly valid question to wonder if this article is fake.

Re: Confessions of a Fake News Writer

#27

Post by tjoff »

return-value wrote: post #4

Even when stories aren’t made up there seem to be a clear focus on generating attention, because our attention is the real product on free news. That’s had a social media effect on news, and much like our Instagram profiles, it’s so heavily edited, that truth has lost its place, even when people aren’t intentionally lying. Obviously there is a difference, but I think it’s getting smaller by the minute. This is exactl…

I feel this attention seeking has infected everything though.

Even these subscription also realize that you are more likely to pay if they have your attention (and feel they must constantly remind you how awesome they are and that you couldn't live without them). In the end it doesn't really matter if you pay with money or ads. And with news subscriptions you very often don't even get rid of ads if you pay so those incentives are still at play.

Yes there are nuances and exceptions but this is a trend that deeply saddens me.

Re: Confessions of a Fake News Writer

#28

Post by [deleted] »

henriquemaia wrote: post #11

I may sound too jaded, but how do I know this piece (or book, the one reviewed here?) is not fake? Maybe I've gone way meta on this, but isn't kind of oxymoronic to write about how one fakes what one wrote and then expect the reader to take that particular writing seriously? The Kantian in me is particularly bothered with this. ;) Edit: typos.

[deleted]

Re: Confessions of a Fake News Writer

#29

Post by rahimnathwani »

pas wrote: post #18
rahimnathwani wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which weekly newspaper? I'd love a recommendation. For me, this used to be The Economist, but either the quality of their journalism has gone down, or I've become better informed and thereby also more discerning.

Could you please point to pieces by The Economist that made you unsubscribe?

Sorry, it's been a while (over a year) and I don't feel like resubscribing just to find examples to support my point.

But, pas, if you work for The Economist in an editorial position, and are asking because you want to take action based on feedback, then feel free to contact me via email.

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