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Vox Media is cutting pay and furloughing 9% of employees

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Re: Vox Media is cutting pay and furloughing 9% of employees

#41

Post by Traster »

AlchemistCamp wrote: post #27
Traster wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First tweet: Vox saying face masks aren't the best way to avoid Coronavirus. Actually basically the mainstream view in the US at the time, and still arguable. Note how right now the states aren't mandating masks, they're mandating social isolation. Second tweet: Vox factually reporting the tech industry is eschewing handshakes. Tweet author editorialises that Vox is telling them not to. Third Tweet: Vox factually rep…

It's fine if you disagree, but it would be constructive if you can at least disagree with what was actually written instead of your interpretation of it. Also, please keep in mind that "that tweeter", as you call him, taught bioinformatics at Stanford, has published papers in the field of clinical/microbial genomics and founded a biotech startup that sold for 375M. He's considerably more informed about the topic than…

You want me to be fastidious in my representation of his tweets, but you're okay citing this guy who is literally arguing literally just about headlines of articles. He's not linking to the articles and talking about them - he's literally taking headlines and even then he's misrepresenting them.

I'm fine talking about his qualifications, but I think it's unfair for you to talk about his biotech start up without talking about the fact that we're talking about a guy that basically wants to gut FDA regulations - regulations that, if they were in place in China, would have prevented this outbreak. And of course the fact that he was called out on that bullshit by... Vox media!

Re: Vox Media is cutting pay and furloughing 9% of employees

#42

Post by redisman »

AlchemistCamp wrote: post #5

The context is interesting: https://twitter.com/balajis/status/1248317812260499456 https://twitter.com/balajis/status/1248317824394653697 https://twitter.com/balajis/status/1248317820800086016 https://twitter.com/balajis/status/1248318363538837504 The same company that considerably increased the damage the virus did in their country is now in financial difficulty as a result. They mocked people for avoiding handshake…

It's easy with hindsight to go through any news reporting on covid and point out the mistakes because the situation has been quickly evolving for the last few months. You're comparing what you know now to what was known at the time of each report. Most of the recommendations line up with what the CDC/FDA/WHO/US gov was saying at the time.

Re: Vox Media is cutting pay and furloughing 9% of employees

#43

Post by friedman23 »

gxqoz wrote: post #32
zarkov99 wrote: post #31

Good fucking riddance. The Internet will be a better place without them.

Uh, why? In what world does reducing the number of media outlets benefit the internet?

It really depends on the quality of the media outlets being reduced.

Re: Vox Media is cutting pay and furloughing 9% of employees

#44

Post by AlchemistCamp »

Traster wrote: post #41
AlchemistCamp wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's fine if you disagree, but it would be constructive if you can at least disagree with what was actually written instead of your interpretation of it. Also, please keep in mind that "that tweeter", as you call him, taught bioinformatics at Stanford, has published papers in the field of clinical/microbial genomics and founded a biotech startup that sold for 375M. He's considerably more informed about the topic than…

You want me to be fastidious in my representation of his tweets, but you're okay citing this guy who is literally arguing literally just about headlines of articles. He's not linking to the articles and talking about them - he's literally taking headlines and even then he's misrepresenting them. I'm fine talking about his qualifications, but I think it's unfair for you to talk about his biotech start up without talki…

> You want me to be fastidious in my representation of his tweets

I want you to be honest in addressing what you disagree with. That's it.

> this guy who is literally arguing literally just about headlines of articles.

That's just not true. He's dug into the contents of the articles both in podcasts and threads like this one (very near what I just shared): https://twitter.com/balajis/status/1228447960008183808

Re: Vox Media is cutting pay and furloughing 9% of employees

#45

Post by redisman »

kgantchev wrote: post #39
Wowfunhappy wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reading multiple sources is always a good idea, assuming you have the time. But, can you really blame Vox for not enabling comments? There's a reason Hacker News attempts to minimize political discussions. Vox doesn't have that luxury given the focus of the site. Less politics-focused Vox Media properties, like The Verge, do have a comments section that's quite active.

Vox not allowing comments is certainly reinforcing their bubble. If you're in the political field, you better be ready for the political disagreements and the criticism. However, I suspect Vox disabled the comment section not because it's hard to manage but because it breaks their narrative and it shows the volume of dissent.

Have you ever looked at the comments section on a news website?

Re: Vox Media is cutting pay and furloughing 9% of employees

#46

Post by redisman »

zarkov99 wrote: post #35
gxqoz wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uh, why? In what world does reducing the number of media outlets benefit the internet?

This world, were many media outlets,and most specially Vox, make their money by rabidly pandering to ideological fanatics, truth or anything close to truth be damned. Vox is nothing but InfoWars for smug hipsters.

Are you saying they mostly report on conspiracy theories?

Re: Vox Media is cutting pay and furloughing 9% of employees

#47

Post by ironmagma »

jariel wrote: post #18
Jagat wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? They do a pretty good job of distilling information and presenting them in a way most people can understand.

'Distilling' I think is the wrong word. They describe a person/event/situation from their highly ideological position. It's high-quality writing, but I stopped reading it for this reason. Edit: from 'AllSides' analysis [1] "Vox's Explainers provide only one side of an issue, making it seem as if the information provided is all readers need to know, when in reality, Right-leaning individuals would likely include other…

It’s a shame, too, because they have the great opportunity to be a news organization that actually delivers the source material in a more complete manner. Vox is incredibly disappointing and all their messaging sets you up for a complete letdown.

Re: Vox Media is cutting pay and furloughing 9% of employees

#48

Post by scott_s »

AlchemistCamp wrote: post #5

The context is interesting: https://twitter.com/balajis/status/1248317812260499456 https://twitter.com/balajis/status/1248317824394653697 https://twitter.com/balajis/status/1248317820800086016 https://twitter.com/balajis/status/1248318363538837504 The same company that considerably increased the damage the virus did in their country is now in financial difficulty as a result. They mocked people for avoiding handshake…

I read Vox and listen to Ezra Klein's podcast as well as The Weeds. They have been covering Covid-19 since before it had that name. They are a part of my regular media diet, and I consumed their coverage before the US had its first case. I knew this was seriously partially because of their coverage. I am baffled by this narrative that Vox is somehow specially to blame.

Ezra Klein has a list of early stories when someone else accused them of the same: https://twitter.com/ezraklein/status/1241202132604162050

Re: Vox Media is cutting pay and furloughing 9% of employees

#49

Post by AlchemistCamp »

specialist wrote: post #33
Traster wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First tweet: Vox saying face masks aren't the best way to avoid Coronavirus. Actually basically the mainstream view in the US at the time, and still arguable. Note how right now the states aren't mandating masks, they're mandating social isolation. Second tweet: Vox factually reporting the tech industry is eschewing handshakes. Tweet author editorialises that Vox is telling them not to. Third Tweet: Vox factually rep…

About those mask recommendations... Edit: Surgical masks vs respirators. Any advice omitting the distinction is suboptimal . Surgical masks are still useless. Best case is they serve as sneeze guards and visual reinforcement. N95 rated respirators are useful. And in short supply. Since healthcare workers desperately need them and most people don't, their use is currently weakly recommended. Face shields plus respirat…

> Surgical masks are still useless.

Not according to the research I've been reading: https://twitter.com/jeremyphoward/status/1249698787666399235

Re: Vox Media is cutting pay and furloughing 9% of employees

#50

Post by josephh »

Jagat wrote: post #13
vanattab wrote: post #2

I wish they would axe the entire staff! I can't stand their style of "explanatory journalism".

Why? They do a pretty good job of distilling information and presenting them in a way most people can understand.

This is a media outlet that spreads misinformation and shamelessly covers their tracks[1]. Their readers deserve better.

1. https://twitter.com/voxdotcom/status/1242537366620966912

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