Think about the place that you work, or any organization you care about. How does it judge its successes and failures at the end of a year? What kind of metrics does it use? If it’s a business in which the chief goal is selling a product or service and making money, it probably looks at sales figures, income, profits, those kinds of things.
But if it’s an organization that plays a vital societal role, then what does it look at? In most cases, impact. In the new episode, I show you how police, schools, and firefighters discuss their achievements across a year. (Thank you Tallahassee Police Department, Reno Fire Department and Bryant Public Schools in Arkansas.)
This is not the case for news agencies. They don’t gauge how well they achieved their mission. Instead, they fixate on audience figures and awards — which say nothing about getting people the truth.
In this episode, I explain how we can change this. We need new annual awards that hold the media to account. (Aside from The Media Fail Awards, which I’ll do again this year.) And yes, it’s doable.
Also, supporters have sent in lots of questions about legacy media coverage of Israel and Gaza. I tackle several today, and tell you what to look for in a “news” story, in order to be on guard against lies.
Plus, what the media is leaving out of its coverage of a Trump fiasco at the CDC.
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