Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Mainstream Failure

tbray.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 61 posts

Re: Mainstream Failure

#31

Post by Chocobean »

roc wrote: post #28
pieter wrote: post #7

One of the things that annoys me slightly is that while our news is loaded with the nuclear accidents, I haven't heard any mainstream media talk about this refinery fire caused by earthquake which had been raging for 10 days, putting who knows how much pollution in the air. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/21/japan-refinery-idU... http://www.flickr.com/photos/enciclopediapt/5523005370/

Nuclear accidents are scary because people don't understand reactors, they don't understand the actual dangers and there, frankly, haven't been a whole lot of them, so FUD can snowball. On the other hand, mine collapses, refinery fires, oil spills, explosions -- the causes of the day to day death toll of the fossil fuel supply chain (to say nothing of its use) is familiar, understandable and all too common. http://ww…

indeed: when people clamor that everyone should re-think nuclear power, we should actually look at the human cost of the current alternatives. For example, the news is happy to report that China will be building 50 reactors in the future. (One even said that that's almost as many as there are in the rest of the world; completely untrue). But should China really stay with coal mines? How many people do they think die from coal mining every year, to say nothing of the refinery and pollution? 2631 in 2009, 3215 in 2008, nearly 7000 in 2002.

Re: Mainstream Failure

#32

Post by ajscherer »

jrwoodruff wrote: post #18

I get so tired of comments blasting mainstream media. It's easy to do, and just counterproductive. The good stories about the tsunami are out there, you just have to stop watching 24 hour news channels. Read the Boston Globe, The New York Times, The Atlantic. Please stop complaining that good stories don't fall in your lap for free. Go find them, or build a better way to put important, un-sensationalized stories in f…

How is it counterproductive? By what mechanism does complaining about the mainstream media actually make it worse? Complaining about the mainstream media may indeed fail to improve it, but saying nothing will certainly have no effect.

Re: Mainstream Failure

#33

Post by [deleted] »

ajscherer wrote: post #32
jrwoodruff wrote: post #18

I get so tired of comments blasting mainstream media. It's easy to do, and just counterproductive. The good stories about the tsunami are out there, you just have to stop watching 24 hour news channels. Read the Boston Globe, The New York Times, The Atlantic. Please stop complaining that good stories don't fall in your lap for free. Go find them, or build a better way to put important, un-sensationalized stories in f…

How is it counterproductive? By what mechanism does complaining about the mainstream media actually make it worse? Complaining about the mainstream media may indeed fail to improve it, but saying nothing will certainly have no effect.

[deleted]

Re: Mainstream Failure

#34

Post by khafra »

ajscherer wrote: post #32
jrwoodruff wrote: post #18

I get so tired of comments blasting mainstream media. It's easy to do, and just counterproductive. The good stories about the tsunami are out there, you just have to stop watching 24 hour news channels. Read the Boston Globe, The New York Times, The Atlantic. Please stop complaining that good stories don't fall in your lap for free. Go find them, or build a better way to put important, un-sensationalized stories in f…

How is it counterproductive? By what mechanism does complaining about the mainstream media actually make it worse? Complaining about the mainstream media may indeed fail to improve it, but saying nothing will certainly have no effect.

Complaining about mainstream media on mainstream media would be fine. Complaining about mainstream media on alternate media pollutes the alternate media with the problems of the mainstream.

Re: Mainstream Failure

#35

Post by erikstarck »

I don't know if I'm alone in this but I actually have a more positive view on nuclear power now than before Fukushima.

I grew up in Sweden not that far from Chernobyl. I have been taught that a nuclear disaster equals instant doom over a massive area.

Now I'm learning that even after having an earthquake equal to 30'000 Hiroshima bombs go off nearby and a 16 meter Tsunami wash over it, a somewhat old nuclear plant still doesn't do any more harm than what can be cleaned up - and it's only local damage.

I also learn that the confirmed deaths in cancer from Chernobyl was far fewer than I had thought.

Not even when the media writes about terrorism have I seen such a wide gap between what's on the front page and what the experts are saying.

At the same time we keep feeding oil money to crazy dictators. This is insane! We need more nuclear power, now! Let's just hope the damage done by mainstream media doesn't stop nuclear expansion.

That would be a true disaster.

Re: Mainstream Failure

#36

Post by sleepingbot »

erikstarck wrote: post #35

I don't know if I'm alone in this but I actually have a more positive view on nuclear power now than before Fukushima. I grew up in Sweden not that far from Chernobyl. I have been taught that a nuclear disaster equals instant doom over a massive area. Now I'm learning that even after having an earthquake equal to 30'000 Hiroshima bombs go off nearby and a 16 meter Tsunami wash over it, a somewhat old nuclear plant st…

+1.

Re: Mainstream Failure

#37

Post by heyitsnick »

ajscherer wrote: post #32
jrwoodruff wrote: post #18

I get so tired of comments blasting mainstream media. It's easy to do, and just counterproductive. The good stories about the tsunami are out there, you just have to stop watching 24 hour news channels. Read the Boston Globe, The New York Times, The Atlantic. Please stop complaining that good stories don't fall in your lap for free. Go find them, or build a better way to put important, un-sensationalized stories in f…

How is it counterproductive? By what mechanism does complaining about the mainstream media actually make it worse? Complaining about the mainstream media may indeed fail to improve it, but saying nothing will certainly have no effect.

> but saying nothing will certainly have no effect.

Of course it will. Don't consume it.

Re: Mainstream Failure

#39

Post by marshray »

heyitsnick wrote: post #37
ajscherer wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is it counterproductive? By what mechanism does complaining about the mainstream media actually make it worse? Complaining about the mainstream media may indeed fail to improve it, but saying nothing will certainly have no effect.

> but saying nothing will certainly have no effect. Of course it will. Don't consume it.

Part of our frustration probably stems from the reality that the large media businesses will get by just fine without the readership of the elite clientèle of YC. [eye roll]

However, most of us probably do tend to influence the opinion of a few others. A little complaining (in a constructive way) might be useful, albeit in an indirect way.

I like to think of preaching to the choir (or disagreeing with them) as being a way of polishing one's persuasion prior to the full congregation (or converting the masses).

Re: Mainstream Failure

#40

Post by hinathan »

Tim wins for delightful (and insightful) quote of the day: "There have been many reports about the people fleeing Tokyo. None of these narratives have paused to consider whether the exodus constitutes chickenshit stupidity. I suggest it maybe does."
Post reply on HN