Plane Crashes: The Media S***storm

[NYCA News]

NYCAviation:

Plane Crashes: The Media S***storm

What message is the mainstream media sending to the public after an event like plane crash, and why?
[Click to Read Full Article]

[megatop412]

So glad you are shining a light on this, Phil. In today's era of 'me too' reporting, it is tempting to issue news 'updates' when there isn't anything new to report. You ask, what are the goals of the mainstream outlets and who are they looking out for? It should be to no one's surprise that, often being holdings of corporate conglomerates, they are looking out for shareholders. Attracting the greatest number of eyeballs is nothing new in that industry, but ironically, with all their desperate efforts to get my attention, I can't stand watching anymore. Even Reddit, in today's instant gratification environment, is guilty of publishing first and fact-checking later with the hastily-assembled witch hunt that led to the wrong individual being identified after the Boston Marathon bombings. The goal is no longer accuracy, it is 'we were first'. I don't care about which network(or website) was first. I only care that the news is accurate.

I remember the day the Concorde crashed in Paris in 2000 very clearly. It was well before folks relied on the internet for their news updates. 6ABC in Philly did a breaking news segment for the 12pm program and kept it simple. I walked away from it as informed as I had expected to be- there was a crash, it was an AF Concorde, it looked pretty bad, but there was no word on casualties and no one could speculate on the cause. As it should be. Within a few days, the details began to leak out. After 9/11, incessant news broadcasts became routine any time anything happened, it didn't matter how little was known anymore. The day after Asiana crashed, there were 5 threads with over 1000 posts on anet, where all the armchair 'experts' were falling all over themselves with their theories and speculations, in a frenzy of "I think blah blah blah....." that even got Yahoo's attention. Total information overload if you ask me. Let the trained, paid professionals do their jobs and get back to us with the cause(s).

My uncle, may he rest in peace, had an unbelievable collection of VHS tapes, organized via two full rolodexes. The walls of his apartment in Brooklyn were lined with tapes. I once asked him why. He said, "Because when Kennedy was assassinated, that was all that was on for an entire week. It drove me nuts." Oddly enough, he died a few years before 9/11 and the media sh**storm that ensued

[NIKV69]

I don't get it. The media is not about sending messages. They are about getting ratings and pushing their political beliefs. Nothing more. CNN could care less about their reporting on aviation. For if they did they wouldn't have butchered it like they did the other day. It's about who is first to cover it and who is first to break news as it is happening.

[megatop412]

Not everyone is as enlightened as you are, Nick. Most people I speak with know that certain outlets lean conservative while others lean liberal, but they don't think of those outlets stricly as paid puppets that reflect the agendas of their benefactors- they still think they're watching the news. Nevertheless, no matter how right you may be, that doesn't excuse the fact that they routinely ignore their social responsibility to accurately inform the public that depends on them for news.

Maybe the role of media as an institution of modern society needs to be reevaluated and adusted to display its true nature, but I would not know how to effect such a radical paradigm shift. I mean, besides not watching the news, like I already do.

[NIKV69]

Not everyone is as enlightened as you are, Nick. Most people I speak with know that certain outlets lean conservative while others lean liberal, but they don't think of those outlets stricly as paid puppets that reflect the agendas of their benefactors- they still think they're watching the news. Nevertheless, no matter how right you may be, that doesn't excuse the fact that they routinely ignore their social responsibility to accurately inform the public that depends on them for news.

Maybe the role of media as an institution of modern society needs to be reevaluated and adusted to display its true nature, but I would not know how to effect such a radical paradigm shift. I mean, besides not watching the news, like I already do.

Unfortunately the world you just described doesn't exist. It hasn't. Most MSM has been this bad for a long time. We are only beginning to see it because of the advance of the net and social media. If you want the real thing the closest you will get is the local affiliates. The MSM will never be the nobility you want them to be. They will continue to rail against what they feel is social injustice, racial oppression and totally botch all the breaking news stuff. Including aviation. Which they will totally butcher like they did Saturday.

[PhilDernerJr]

Just when you thought the media couldn't get any worse...

A local Fox affiliate, the San Francisco powerhouse station KTVU, is
dealing with the fallout of a major error on Friday. During their noon
broadcast, a report on the deadly Asiana Airlines crash took a turn for
the unintentionally offensive when they broadcast the names of pilots in
charge of that flight. The mangled Asian-sounding names were, in fact,
thinly-disguised expletives mocking the sentiments expressed by the
crash victims and their families.

The supposed names of the crash victims broadcast on KTVU included “Sum Ting Wong,” “Ho Lee Fuk,” and “Bang Ding Ow.”

A KTVU anchor later apologized for the error. She said that the names
were inaccurate in spite of the fact that a National Transpiration
Safety Board spokesperson confirming them.

[jerslice]

Absolutely pathetic. That someone didn't catch that is beyond unacceptable. It embarrasses me, and I'm not even working for the station.

[alberchico]

I'm sorry but that was genuinely funny. Didn't a light bulb go off in someones head when they received these names ???

[RomNYC]

That this channel/media-in-general messed up is an understatement. Now I'd be a complete liar if I said I didn't crack up at Ho Lee Fuk.

EDIT: just saw the meme-illustrated article on NYCA... I thought this was no joke? I thought it was being pro vs being unpro? Don't get it...

[NIKV69]

What I don't get is the NTSB couldn't possibly confirmed that. Where did they get them?

[MarkLawrence]

I'm with Nick on this one - how the heck did some summer intern be in a position to confirm this. Also, the person that put the prank together deserves a whole lot of s*** falling his direction too - really - an accident that kills people and you are going to make up names - that is a very sick person - not matter how funny everyone thought it was. NTSB says they are doing everything to prevent this "serious" event again - first step is to make sure that some intern never works in any kind of government department again - that is a seriously career limiting move. Now they need to find out who started this crap and expose who ever they are for the sick individual they are. </soapbox>

[megatop412]

Just more reinforcement for me to not watch the 'news' anymore