Ginpanther Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 Batteridge's Law of Headlines has told us that whenever a news article ends with a question mark, the answer is almost universally "no" and that the author is click-baiting scum. But this just takes the cake for me, and I came unglued. It's titled "Blood Moon, A sign of end times?" And if you click it (because you hate yourself and have to know what this ridiculous bait is about) it takes you to some AP article where the title mysteriously changes to "'Blood Moon' seen as sign of end of times by some Mormons." Yeah, way to change the so-called headline, MSN. Nice journalism there. Also, newsflash: Every single religious doctrine has some wing that will inevitably identify some "Rare occurrence" that's happening tomorrow (or next week, or next month, or next year) as the "End times." December 31, 1999 anyone? Because millennium change (that whole Y2k bug, though, that didn't bother those same folks any).I'm so tired of worthless articles like this flooding mainstream US media as if they're legitimate news stories worthy of even 1 second of attention, while much more important things are going on in the world. Put another way: why do we continue to make stupid people famous/validate their ideas/give their ideas even the remotest bit of credibility by giving them even the slightest inkling of attention? Basic parenting says you don't reward a child that is doing wrong by giving it heaps of attention; yet our media is doing just that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Summercat Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 That's not a fully uncommon thing. Yellow Journalism goes back a very long time; hell, to before the founding of this country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginpanther Posted September 27, 2015 Author Share Posted September 27, 2015 That's not a fully uncommon thing. Yellow Journalism goes back a very long time; hell, to before the founding of this country. Fair enough point. It is undoubtedly my personal dismay and frustration that is helping to color things, but it is a bitter pill to swallow when you see there are large parts of the nation that would rather focus on Caitlin Jenner and the latest Kardashian drama than look at any of the other things going on in the world. But... news has been entertainment for a long while now.Hooray, disenfranchisement! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Summercat Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 Fair enough point. It is undoubtedly my personal dismay and frustration that is helping to color things, but it is a bitter pill to swallow when you see there are large parts of the nation that would rather focus on Caitlin Jenner and the latest Kardashian drama than look at any of the other things going on in the world. But... news has been entertainment for a long while now.Hooray, disenfranchisement! Not just the US, either: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clove Darkwave Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 Taking a course in Journalism really brought these sorts of things slamming home. I don't know what to tell you OP other than to refine your tools for coming through the internet. Install NoScript and AdBlock and spite them out of their revenue. Use what means you have available to dig for things you actually want to read.None of this sort of crap comes across my vision anymore, and for that I am pleased with myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sutekh_the_Steak Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 This is the reason I use BBC News most of the time, they very rarely do sensationalistic titles like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarcastic Coffeecup Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 That's why I stopped reading news altogether.Even the most "honourable" sources have started resorting to clickbait articles and countdown lists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaedal Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 I love sensationalistic headlines. They're like a game of chance. You know you're probably going to get the predictable outcome("no"), but once in a while, you actually get something you didn't expect("yes"). Even BBC has done this. A bit of excitement in your mundane daily life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Summercat Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 Aye, it's why I read Fark.com as most of my news source >_> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.