Information diets and media biases
Via Murdoch’s Pride is America’s Poison:
In the digital era of do-it-yourself news consumption, it is easier than ever to assemble an information diet that simply confirms your prejudices. Traditional news organizations, for all their shortcomings, see it as their mission to provide – and test – the information you need to form intelligent opinions. We aim to challenge lazy assumptions. Fox panders to them.
Brilliant article on ethics and the role media plays. In today’s social world with social feeds, you tend to get news that is influenced by what your friends read (Facebook has several such apps). On Twitter they don’t even necessarily need to be your friends, just people you choose to follow.
In the Malaysian context, this really means you need a balanced news diet. Mainstream media is pro-ruling party, while alternative media tends to be pro-opposition or sometimes have their own agendas. There’s no middle ground in the sea of tabloids.
Bias is one thing. Total lies (NST and Utusan) and censorship is another. Malaysian Insider does a good job of keeping things unbiased carrying Bernama and even Utusan columns. I don’t read Malaysian mainstream news as they may be outright fabrications. Censorship is another. You can have different bias on say Scorpene case, but in Malaysia, mainstream media has total news black out.
Malaysia has no freedom of press.