Industry-wide self regulation

"The public simply does not trust the media."

I have said all along this is one of the grossest overstatements ever.
The public can't even figure out who the media they don't trust is. Most people get their news from television ... they either believe FOX News and hate CNN or vice versa.
Some peopple do nothing but read blogs...which, in many cases, are nothing more than unsubstantiated opinion, rumor, bullshit.

The shrinking number of people who read newspapers do so mostly becuase they actually like newspapers and are more likely to believe what they read than what is sensationalized in TV.
Are there ethical problems in our industry...to be sure. Is there unnecessary sensationalism...absolutely.
Are we nearly as bad at TV or the internet...no way.

So, you regulate newspapers as a means toward restoring "credibility" and a majority of the country still gets its information from TV or bloggers and you accomplish nothing.

 

There's a couple of neat little experiments going on in newspaper regulation, one in China, the other in Russia. I have been anxiously awaiting a report as to how they are working out.

 

Amen, brother.

Baconboy starts a thread with a questionable (at best) premise and then produces a solution for what could be argued is a non-existent problem.