George Rebane
Was interested to see the nearby full-page ad in the 3jan18 WSJ. Given that ignorance, indifference, ideology, illiteracy, … are all qualities that often decorate and distinguish their ‘factual, fair, and balanced’ work products, RR has long viewed the journalism profession with a gimlet eye (here). But now things have apparently gotten so bad that international associations for journalists openly admit that “reporters worldwide” have come to report “falsehoods”, perhaps even unwittingly, for which now organizations such as the International Center for Journalists go to great pains to advertise their ability to “empower” workers in the field to “produce reliable coverage using new technologies and best practices(sic).” Well, then what kind of unreliable coverage have journalists been producing using their old technologies and sub-par practices?
In any case, this appears to be a step in the right direction when the industry begins to publicly admit that it has not been performing up to snuff while wallowing in the rising tide of fake news and “falsehoods”, much of it auto-generated to promote agendas and sustain favored ideological narratives. The ICFJ website is worth visiting. While their mission statement is commendable, methinks their orientation is not as innocent as they would have you believe. Mostly, I wonder what are their methods of ‘empowerment’. But since they are also funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, they can’t be all bad, can they?
rebanesruminations.com 
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