Pope says journalism based on fear-mongering, gossip is form of 'terrorism' - Polidicks

[QUOTE]Journalism based on gossip or rumors is a form of "terrorism" and media that stereotype entire populations or foment fear of migrants are acting destructively, Pope Francis said on Thursday. Francis, who made his comments in an address to leaders of Italy's national journalists' guild, said reporters had to go the extra mile to seek the truth, particularly in an age of round-the-clock news coverage. Spreading rumors is an example of "terrorism, of how you can kill a person with your tongue", he said. "This is even more true for journalists because their voice can reach everyone and this is a very powerful weapon." In Italy, a number of newspapers are highly politicized and are regularly used to discredit those with differing political views, sometimes reporting unsubstantiated rumors about their private lives. In 2009 several media outlets owned by the family of then-prime minister Silvio Berlusconi came under fire from the journalists' guild over stories questioning the trustworthiness of a magistrate who had ruled against a company owned by the Berlusconi family. The stories were filled with insinuations about the way he dressed, including the color of his socks, and the way he took walks in the park. Francis, who has often strongly defended the rights of refugees and migrants, said journalism should not be used as a "weapon of destruction against persons and even entire peoples". "Neither should it foment fear before events like forced migration from war or from hunger," he added.[/QUOTE] [url]http://www.reuters.com/article/us-pope-media-idUSKCN11S26D?utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm_content=57e45c9604d30161488db9c9&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook[/url]

To be honest, he's not entirely wrong. With how journalists are behaving these days, trying to paint things in a very black/white image, and how they can destroy peoples lives based only on rumors or outright lies, they're holding a very powerful position. Add to that they many news outlets appear to be politically motivated, and it's no longer about delivering the truth, but rather the "truth" that a few select people have decided upon.

[QUOTE=Spetsnaz95;51098085]To be honest, he's not entirely wrong. With how journalists are behaving these days, trying to paint things in a very black/white image, and how they can destroy peoples lives based only on rumors or outright lies, they're holding a very powerful position. Add to that they many news outlets appear to be politically motivated, and it's no longer about delivering the truth, but rather the "truth" that a few select people have decided upon.[/QUOTE] News media has been politically motivated for centuries. I can't think of a time when news even claimed to be unbiased tbh

[QUOTE=strayebyrd;51098123]News media has been politically motivated for centuries. I can't think of a time when news even claimed to be unbiased tbh[/QUOTE] Yes there was and they don't call it the golden age of journalism for nothing.

[QUOTE=strayebyrd;51098123]News media has been politically motivated for centuries. I can't think of a time when news even claimed to be unbiased tbh[/QUOTE] I was about to make a post saying that I had heard that back when FDR was President and was about to give a speech reporters would always patiently wait for him to get into position before taking pictures (he would hold the podium with an iron grip to give the impression he was standing, despite being wheelchair-bound), but then I went to look it up to see if it was actually true. Instead, the first results I got were [URL="https://books.google.com/books?id=Na0QezR-T-QC"]two[/URL] [URL="https://books.google.com/books?id=OGRkMiqVD3kC"]books[/URL] quoting him of saying that journalists of the time were “ghouls who are just waiting for me to fall out of the automobile, or get shot, or something."

[QUOTE=strayebyrd;51098123]News media has been politically motivated for centuries. I can't think of a time when news even claimed to be unbiased tbh[/QUOTE] There's a journalistic philosophical ideal about this shit. Books have been written about ethics in journalism, journalism in context of society, techniques concerning the removal of personal bias, dealing with pressure from groups affected by news articles (be it government, criminal groups rich individuals or whatever) and a lot more. It just seems as though those ideals have been thrown away. Much more so in some media outlets than others. In my university, I've had expert journalists talk about ethics in journalism in honours classes. There really is a lot to it. Among the Dutch academic journalists, these ideals really live. Ethics in journalism is a very important subject. I'm glad the pope brings it up. The media should always be under very close scrutiny. The pope as a moral authority for a great many amount of people is in a good position to criticise media ethics. Unless of course the criticism is specifically about Christianity in the news, which it isn't in this case.

The Media is toxic. He's entirely right to call it as such.

[QUOTE=Spetsnaz95;51098085]To be honest, he's not entirely wrong. With how journalists are behaving these days, trying to paint things in a very black/white image, and how they can destroy peoples lives based only on rumors or outright lies, they're holding a very powerful position. Add to that they many news outlets appear to be politically motivated, and it's no longer about delivering the truth, but rather the "truth" that a few select people have decided upon.[/QUOTE] With recent events, they rile one group up to boiling point. When point is reached, they protest and riot. Which scares another group. Which makes this group more twitchy to first group. Group B now more twitchy ends up doing something that violates group A. News reports on it and amp up the whole incident. More protests and riots. People die. The more the media can get both groups stirred up, the more chaos they make, which makes for great ratings thus money on human suffering.

Terrorising people makes money, because people want to read about what wants to kill them now. That's what tabloids have become.