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NPR quits Twitter after being labeled as 'state-affiliated media'

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Re: NPR quits Twitter after being labeled as 'state-affiliated media'

#631

Post by throwaway743 »

retrocryptid wrote: post #174
throwaway743 wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By definition they're state funded, but not state ran. The implications from the optics though may result in extreme takes. Though we could assume there's at least some influence the funding has.

Exxon gets a larger percentage of its income from the federal government in subsidies, yet we seldom (if ever) apply "government funded" to that organization. What's your definition of "state funded"?

I'm saying that technically, yes, they are receiving state funds, regardless of amount, and if the label is going to be applied then it should be applied to all company accounts receiving government subsidies, Exxon and others included.

My stance is that if twitter, youtube, and the likes are going to be using these labels on accounts, then they should apply them to all organizations universally without bias/singling out of individual industries. Either apply across the board going by a technical definition, or don't apply them at all.

Re: NPR quits Twitter after being labeled as 'state-affiliated media'

#632

Post by Kye »

brewdad wrote: post #362
hklgny wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone likes to blame the server interface, but honestly that's not so bad and I think most people get over it. Mastodon's real problem in my opinion is that its primary audience today doesn't actually want anyone new to join - it's VERY toxic for newcomers who don't fit a specific mold. It's a shame, cause we really do need something new. I'm hoping some of the new decentralized ones take off. Edit: I think the co…

I understand the hesitancy in some respects. Longtime Mastodon users fear a mass migration of the toxic elements of Twitter into what has been their private sphere. If Mastodon becomes Twitter 2.0 then we have solved nothing.

It's a well-founded concern, too. Every new wave has a cacophony of people demanding it change to work exactly like Twitter so they don't have to learn anything new or change, dooming them to experience exactly what they left if they got their way.

It reminds me of how Metro Atlanta has grown. People move out a bit to get away from Atlanta traffic. Then they miss all the stuff they had in Atlanta, and start clamoring for all they miss from where they moved from. It often starts with a Target or a movie theater. Ten years on, they're complaining about Atlanta traffic again, and they move. And the cycle repeats until half of North Georgia is consumed by a web of crumbling asphalt roads dangling off packed highways.

The difference here is Mastodon, as a community, said "No. Learn a new way or buzz off." Most people buzz off, and occasionally complain about how hostile the community was to them to anyone who'll listen. Some people stick around and appreciate the different way of doing things. Repeat.

Re: NPR quits Twitter after being labeled as 'state-affiliated media'

#633

Post by lostlogin »

anonymouskimmer wrote: post #337
bagels wrote: post #317

Should Twitter itself get a state sponsored label for getting concessions from San Francisco on their headquarters? https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/S-F-controller-hails-... Should Elon's account (or SpaceX or Telsa) have the same label because of their significant government funding? It's hard to see this as anything but silly politics games.

> Should Elon's account (or SpaceX or Telsa) have the same label because of their significant government funding? My first thought. How much in easy loans have his companies received from the government? This is just rich people hating on the industry that publicly critiques them.

[flagged]

Re: NPR quits Twitter after being labeled as 'state-affiliated media'

#634

Post by rbanffy »

yossarian1408 wrote: post #502
bagels wrote: post #317

Should Twitter itself get a state sponsored label for getting concessions from San Francisco on their headquarters? https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/S-F-controller-hails-... Should Elon's account (or SpaceX or Telsa) have the same label because of their significant government funding? It's hard to see this as anything but silly politics games.

Twitter, SpaceX and Tesla are not newspapers/publishers. The reason for labelling news organisations' government affiliations is for the viewer/reader to understand that there may or may not be bias, and where the funding is coming from. If NPR's government contributions are embarrassing for the organisation, it might be best for them to forgo that funding. Additionally, if there's no influence/bias, then why does it…

Twitter and its curation and targeting mechanisms make it very much a publisher.

Re: NPR quits Twitter after being labeled as 'state-affiliated media'

#635

Post by olivermarks »

bagels wrote: post #619
yossarian1408 wrote: post #502

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Twitter, SpaceX and Tesla are not newspapers/publishers. The reason for labelling news organisations' government affiliations is for the viewer/reader to understand that there may or may not be bias, and where the funding is coming from. If NPR's government contributions are embarrassing for the organisation, it might be best for them to forgo that funding. Additionally, if there's no influence/bias, then why does it…

Twitter is a publisher. Just like newspapers publish AP stories, Twitter publishes the latest memes from users.

[flagged]

Re: NPR quits Twitter after being labeled as 'state-affiliated media'

#636

Post by GoofballJones »

AnthonyMouse wrote: post #553
mbesto wrote: post #507

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Tech companies: Here we go again...under this view, every company is a "tech" company. Does GE or John Deere write software for their hardware? Absolutely. Are they colloquially considered "tech" companies? No. Twitter is a media company (they distribute media). Tech is their operating model to deliver media. As is Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, etc. etc.

> Does GE or John Deere write software for their hardware? Absolutely. Are they colloquially considered "tech" companies? No. Because tech is not their primary line of business. > Twitter is a media company (they distribute media). A media company is the thing that produces media, not the thing that distributes it. Cogent is not a media company.

They are absolutely "tech". Either automotive tech or agricultural tech. I mean, if you want to be totally pedantic about it, go for it. Doesn't make it accurate though.

Re: NPR quits Twitter after being labeled as 'state-affiliated media'

#637

Post by badwolf »

sschueller wrote: post #575

Does this marking only apply to US media or media active in the US? Swiss public broadcasting such as @SRF is publicly funden but lack suck label. However you would have a very hard time finding someone in Switzerland that does not know this as there is constant debating about the fee which almost everyone has to pay separately from taxes. German public television is also not marked.

I think Twitters' main criteria currently is "Has been saying mean things that Elon Musk doesn't like lately?"

Re: NPR quits Twitter after being labeled as 'state-affiliated media'

#638

Post by gloghmalogh »

fdschoeneman wrote: post #590

I'm sure NPR does some good work, and while I believe it is biased, I've found it to be less biased than CNN or MSNBC. I don't understand why NPR objects to being labeled as either state funded or state affiliated. It was established by an act of Congress, for one thing, and according to its own website, and its own disclosures, it does depend on federal funding. And that figure is substantially more than the claimed…

maybe it was added in the 12 minutes since you wrote your comment but there is a disclaimer at the end stating the writer is an NPR correspondent.

Re: NPR quits Twitter after being labeled as 'state-affiliated media'

#639

Post by throwaway743 »

commandlinefan wrote: post #236
throwaway743 wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By definition they're state funded, but not state ran. The implications from the optics though may result in extreme takes. Though we could assume there's at least some influence the funding has.

If they were truly state run, they would have been supportive of the past president... which they definitely weren't.

My comment clearly states "by definition". I'm going by the technicality, though I do agree with you that if there was any sway at all due to this funding, it's been minimal and did not reflect in the previous presidency.

Re: NPR quits Twitter after being labeled as 'state-affiliated media'

#640

Post by CobrastanJorji »

kaeresten_dit wrote: post #467

Seems like a funny reaction to a label added as a subtitle to an organization with the name National Public Radio People get attached to words or phrases without thinking about what they actually mean, seems like definitions get modified to emotionally herd the [un]imaginative/initiated Wild that style of thinking goes that high up the chain at NPR the CEO sounds child-like with their response

That's an odd reaction.

Twitter is in a precarious state with both advertisers and media folks like reporters. Advertisers are concerned that Elon Musk has a tendency to hurt brands by taking unpredictable, rash action. Reporters are concerned that Twitter is becoming increasingly political.

In a fit of conservative pique, Elon Musk took an umprompted pot shot at NPR by labeling it as "state-sponsored media," which fed heavily into both stories in a completely predictable way. Then he changed his screen name to "Harry Ballz."

And you accused the OTHER guy as "child-like."

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