In case you’re not aware of it, Pew Research has found that a third of Americans rely on Facebook as a primary news source and more than half rely on it at least part of the time. To me that just proves that P. T. Barnum was right.
To be more charitable I think that’s to be expected with the collapse of local reporting. Today newspaper newsrooms employ just about half as many people as they did just 20 years ago and a lot of that decline is in local dailies. Nowadays if you’re looking for local news you may have little choice other than to turn to Facebook.
IMO it also explains the decline in readership of supermarket tabloids. Why check out the National Enquirer for news when you can get the same fake news on Facebook and people won’t look at you funny in the supermarket checkout line for reading it?
Do you really think it’s the decline in local reporting? I’d say it’s the gravitation of power to Washington and the fascination with social media, which I don’t participate in.
“which I don’t participate in”
But, But, But…you just did.
Gray, there is frivolous social media sites among those who are more seriously inclined and authentically sourced. I consider this site, for instance, to be more the latter, giving insights and opinions (not necessarily syncing with my own), but well worth the read and consideration.
Locally, there are neighborhood sites reporting news and discussions related to areas around one’s home. They are far more informative and diversified than local papers, who seem to be swayed in their coverage by the political bent of local governance. And, while I have a Facebook account, I don’t post on it and, when i infrequently click on it, mainly am met with paste and copy ideological renditions that are way over the top, right and left.
Unfortunately, I spend many hours a day on Facebook or monitoring Facebook as it’s part of my job. But I don’t get any news from Facebook except occasional bits that friends post that aren’t Facebook news, but links to news sites.
Actually, most people link to opinion pieces, not news pieces.
So maybe the Facebook algorithm is protecting me from it, but I see very little news on the platform
Grey
I don’t consider this blog to be social media like Facebook, Twitter etc.
Guarneri: Agree. This is an opinion and discussion site, and one of the best for good behavior and language by the commenters. I’m probably one of the fouler-mouthed on it and I always try to keep stars in my four letter words.
Am not on Facebook, Twitter, any social media whatsoever. No time for it and no interest because too much of it is brainless gossip and self-promotion. Any family and friends want to talk to me, there’s telephone and e.mail. The only blogs I comment on are those that allow me to do so without requiring me to sign up and reveal personal information.
That’s what I thought, sorry about that.
My wife uses it to follow family stuff, but that’s interspersed by the political paste and copy stuff, origin unknown.