I read an article tonight Bad Scientific Journalism by British science writer Steve Hurley who expressed frustration concerning scientifically inaccurate media posts and lazy journalism by clueless reporters. Steve, just wait for the coverage of the return to the moon starting this new year. Buckle up your chinstrap. I worked as a journalist years ago when editors required fact checking and at least two sources for any potentially controversial elements in a story. I’m sorry to say that ship has largely sailed. Not only for science, but stories about politics, health, financial, general news, sports or heck, cute kitten articles. It is mind-numbing and wildly contagious.
I have a friend still in the business who tells me he has a hard time getting reporters to leave their office to research stories or even conduct interviews. Post-pandemic, many won’t leave their homes. The primary reasons for this seem to be the Internet and the smartphone. A tremendous amount of very accurate information is now available right at our fingertips twenty-four hours a day all across the world. Along with an avalanche of amazing stupidity, total lies or self-serving slants, sometimes delivered with purpose.
While the younger generation of journalists have never known the world before man walked on the moon (not counting those who have decided it never happened), they have also never known the world without the internet and no longer remember the world BS (Before Smartphone).
Like the discovery of fire, the Internet is neither innately good nor bad. Fire can be used to cook our food, keep us warm, ward off predators, or burn our neighbor’s house down. The Internet is a much bigger torch. It can help scientists worldwide to instantaneously share images and data from the most advanced telescopes on the planet, share medical breakthroughs or even diagnose and assist in treatment of patients across continents and enable people to work globally or learn remotely. In some ways it makes it harder for corrupt governments to delude and repress their citizens. In other ways it makes it much easier to confuse them. We have barely begun to agree upon proper use of it all and Artificial Intelligence (AI) has arrived. Welcome deepfake photos and video, to those Internet searches. Well, at least AI doesn’t have a political slant or a desire to destroy us. Yet.
Politics aside for a moment, I am amazed how readily otherwise sensible people are willing to accept outrageous stories which fit their existing prejudices and yet how resistant they are to anything to the contrary, even in the face of overwhelming evidence. Take the example of Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, who has been hounded since the moon landing by people telling him he’s a liar who never went to the moon. Given what Aldrin had to do to qualify for, train and execute his part of that truly amazing human accomplishment, I cheered when he cold cocked one of those weasels back in 2002. No, violence isn’t the answer, but man that guy had it coming.
Waiting for the pillars of journalism to solve the plague of rotting press standards has so far proved pointless, as even institutions like the New York Times seem to have slipped into the morass. Take a close look at the homepage of your preferred browser. News peppered with salacious headlines and tacky ads that look like news. Forget television, CNN can’t get past the latest rumor about Donald Trump, Fox News is addicted to Hunter Biden and I don’t go near MSNBC because I’m pretty sure it is a parody channel.
These days The Associated Press or BBC News seem to me to come the closest to providing responsible news coverage. For now, my advice to friends and colleagues concerning news consumption is: check the byline, the source and especially the date of original publication (seriously, you’d throw out food that had freshness dates like some of these articles). After that, look for a second source. It’s still a damn good idea.
Richard Authier Lee is the author of the technothriller “HIGH GROUND” and a retired nonprofit executive. His novel is available on Amazon.com in paperback or eBook and as an audiobook on Audible.com and iTunes Audiobooks (in iTunes: Audiobooks/Mysteries and Thrillers/Richard Authier Lee-see below).
Click to read sample chapters of High Ground – Kindle (amazon.com)
Richard Authier Lee 