Fact and Fiction in Modern Photography

[bribrius]

I'm thinking that the fault, dear reader, is in us, the readers. We have adopted the "consumer" attitude, that we "consume" the news and information. Inherent in that mindset is the choice a consumer has in what they "consume" and how they consume that information. It's not about being educated or informed, it's about taking in what the reader finds interesting or worthy of attention. And so, some readers/viewers choose the Daily Show because they want their "news" to be delivered with attitude and snark. Those with "right-wing" tendencies generally look only at sources that reflect that world-view. Those with "left-wing" tendencies do the same. So do the 'environmental advocates". In fact, probably every group that can be identified has "their" authoritative sources . The point of this is that the viewers do NOT seek out a balanced and nuanced view - they look for sources that in essence confirm their own ideas of how the world works.

Another approach to civic engagement is "citizen" where the individual has both rights and responsibilities. The rights come with option of choosing what you want to hear and are comfortable with, but the responsibility requires making sure that information is factual and that all the different points of view are explored. And that means reading and viewing stuff that may not bring comfort or pleasure (predominant in the "consumer" approach), but does give a deeper understanding of the issues. In this view, unbiazed and content free of editorializing is absolutely essential to convey the reality as it is, not necessarily as we would want to have it. The responsibility of a citizen to be fully informed means that they need to get past the propaganda (whether commercial, political, religious, or other), and try to uncover the unvarnished truth however ugly and unappealing it may be.

don't even pay attention to news much anymore. when i did i followed over seas news coverage about the u.s.a and north america more than american media. I know it seems odd, but the overseas coverage of u.s. events seemed to narrow it down to the more important things that at least i cared about, with less slant. I will admit though to watching the daily show with stewart a tad though. Hilarious sometimes. Not even sure that is still on the air been a while since i looked.