I have been told by colleagues that the archaeologists at Olympia have been surprised by the press coverage, and are planning to put out a statement correcting some of the misinformation and clarifying what they know about the find.This tells you something about the sad state of reporting these days.
Anyone who uses the expression 'fake news story'in a serious context, as has Emily Wilson here, needs a better editor, or some cooling-off time. I don't doubt that she is right about the inaccuracies (or at least I'm not able to judge them), but we are all well aware of how this phrase is (mis)used, and by whom. Context matters.
ReplyDeleteAs to the sad state of reporting these days, I am going to go out on a limb and suggest there was probably a lot of misinformation spread by earlier forms of the media as well. The problem today is very complex--from the magnification and tunnelling created by social media to the retreat from truth epitomised by Trump--and a simplistic lament for journalistic days gone by is not very helpful. There is a lot of critical thinking going on about reporting, more and more of it, and I suggest you point to some of those who are actually engaging with what's going wrong in journalism within the larger social and political context, and how to possibly fix it.
Please tell me who "those who are actually engaging with what's going wrong in journalism" are and I'll get right on it. Maybe 30-plus years in the business has jaded me, but the blurring of the lines between reporting and commentary seem pretty obvious to me. In this case, the work of reporting was left undone, doubtless because reporting is harder and less glamorous than opining. As far as I'm concerned, if news is fake, it's fake. And I don't think anyone should have to tailor their turns of phrase to anyone's political preferences or predilections.
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