Media Matters – Page 4 – Mass Communication, [multi]media, methodology and much, much more!

May 22, 2020May 22, 2020

‘Some Good News’ Goes Big Time

If you haven’t seen the eight episodes of Some Good News, produced, directed and starring John Krasinski, you owe it to yourself to check them out. Go ahead, we’ll wait.

The series, produced under the “stay at home” directive, is just one example of the many creative efforts that were hatched in people’s basements and living rooms during the Covid-19 spring of 2020. But unlike some of the less-inspired efforts, e.g. Imagine, this one was a huge success. BTW, I explore the Imagine fiasco in a bit more detail here.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, SGN racked up more than 2.5 million subscribers on YouTube, with some episodes topping 17 million views. That’s nothing to sneeze about, and that’s why ViacomCBS recently dropped a boat-load of cash on Krasinski for the rights to make SNG into a brand with the full support of a major media network.

According to THR, “CBS All Access, which will be rebranded this summer and bolstered with more originals from across the ViacomCBS portfolio, will have the first window for the new episodes before they move to a number of the company’s linear networks. While Krasinski will continue to be involved as an executive producer, he will not host the new episodes. A new host will be named at a later date, though Krasinski will have some sort of on-air presence.”

The success of SGN should come as no surprise. In a time with non-stop terrible news some GOOD news felt so right; even necessary. Krasinski not only had the kind of affable personality to pull it off, he had a veritable host of A-list celebs and stars willing to make guest appearances. Friends from The Office, the cast of Hamilton, Steven Spielberg, Jon Stewart, Oprah, and even the Red Sox got in on the deal.

Whether “good news” continues to be a big draw once this season of “bad news” comes to an end remains to be seen. But I know that I will continue to look for positive and affirming content when I need a little pick-me-up. And I won’t even feel guilty about it.

April 13, 2020April 13, 2020

Reporting on the Pandemic When Experts are Wrong

It is still early to be performing a critical analysis of the handling and reporting on the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020. But that won’t stop others from doing so…so let’s take a minute to reflect on how journalists are doing, and whether there are lessons to be learned.

Lesson #1: most journalists are woefully unprepared to report on complex medical issues under crisis-induced deadlines. Economic realities on the ground mean fewer reporters overall, and fewer with the kind of specialized training needed when reporting on the most complicated topics, e.g. science/medicine, international policy, and economics, all of which are part of this complex story. That’s why we need more specialized journalism outlets like Stat to turn to for expert reporting.

Lesson #2: experts consulted by journalists were either intentionally or unintentionally misreporting the data, and the level of skepticism by journalists was insufficient. Taking the word of China’s authoritarian leadership, the World Health Organization, and our own medical experts and policy leaders has turned out to be, on some level, a mistake.

Lesson #3: political partisanship has clouded the reporting. The hyper-partisan climate in our country, and the partisan divide that separates news consumers into left/right echo-chambers, has made it extremely difficult to separate fact from opinion. The collage below was put together for partisan reasons by someone who was trying to deflect the current blame game about “who knew what and when did they know it.” It is easy to see how bias creeps into reporting when so much is at stake in an election year.

There are plenty of additional lessons to be learned, and there will be plenty of time to learn them once the crisis has been averted. But for now it would do us all well to have a bit more humility when confronting what we don’t know, and a bit more skepticism when “experts” declare their “truth” about this deadly pandemic.

UPDATE: This quote from Recode captures another dilemma facing journalists.

This core challenge for journalists won’t go away after the pandemic: There are always going to be threats that could eventually lead to disaster, but most of them don’t. If we holler every time we see one, we’ll be wrong and no one will listen to us. If we don’t holler when there’s a real one, we will have let down our audience.

April 10, 2020April 10, 2020

Not the New York Times

According to “fake new” expert Claire Wardle, satire or parody is one of the less harmful forms of fake news. So we shouldn’t be too hard on the pranksters who decided to publish an issue of Not the New York Times in October of 1978, nearly two months into a strike by pressmen that shut down the paper. According to the “real” New York Times,

The parody featured three full sections, 24 joke advertisements, 73 spoof articles and 155 fake news briefs, all meticulously edited to mimic The Times’s style. Even the thick curls of the font used on the front page and the neat spacing of the headlines exactly replicates those of the real paper.

While the “fake” newspaper mimicked the real newspaper in almost every way, there were plenty of cues that all was not right. For example, the slogan in the upper left corner was slightly modified to read, “All the News Not Fit to Print.”

It just goes to show that parody and satire have always been a way to blow off a little steam, and even make a point. Hopefully we can have a good laugh now and then, and not loose our sense of humor when the joke’s on us!

March 11, 2020March 11, 2020

The Coronavirus “Infodemic” and Social Media “distancing”

What travels faster and farther than a new virus that causes sickness and even death? Answer: Fear and panic about said virus. Below is a chart that illustrates our current situation.

And guess what viral story about Covid-19 generated the most engagement (likes, comments, shares): a story from Vice about how some people think the virus has a connection to Corona beer. Just for the record, the article’s premise does not appear to be supported by data and is, sadly, another example of hype outperforming credible reporting. And don’t even get me started about ingesting bleach or colloidal silver as a remedy.

Here’s what we do know. The new virus, which is related to the common cold and flu, was first discovered in Wuhan province in China at the end of 2019 and has since spread to dozens of countries, including the hard-hit nations of Italy, S. Korea, and Iran. Because of global trade and travel, the virus quickly began spreading illness, and even death, around the world. The most vulnerable populations are seniors and those with underlying health conditions. But unlike the seasonal flu, with which we’re relatively familiar (even comfortable), this new virus “feels” much more dangerous and has incited widespread panic.

Because of the fact that this coronavirus appears to spread rapidly via droplets (sneezing and coughing), and that a vaccine is likely 12-18 months away, people are justifiably concerned. However, the fear and panic that has accompanied the outbreak is frequently driven by the mis- and dis-information spread via social media.

But here’s where we can have a positive effect. Instead of paying attention to speculation and rumors, and instead of sharing headlines that may be misleading, let’s try to be as careful with our social media behavior as we are with our personal hygiene.

Bottom line: 1) engage in personal hygiene and social distancing to minimize spreading the virus, and 2) on social media take care to “distance” yourself from fear mongering and misinformation. We owe it to each other to do the right thing.

Here are a list of websites providing reliable information:

March 10, 2020March 10, 2020

Led Zeppelin Wins Copyright Lawsuit

You may not be familiar with the ’70s rock legends Led Zeppelin or the song Stairway to Heaven, but you’ve probably heard some version of it from a friend who was learning to play guitar. The classic rock ballad was released in 1971 and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2003.

According to Variety, “The Zeppelin case began in 2014, when journalist Michael Skidmore filed suit on behalf of the estate of Randy Wolfe, the late frontman of the band ‘Spirit.’ The lawsuit alleged that the iconic opening instrumental riff in ‘Stairway to Heaven’ was lifted from Spirit’s 1968 song ‘Taurus.’”

Now that that distraction is behind us, take a minute and enjoy Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart and their version of Stairway to Heaven, performed live at the Kennedy Center on Dec. 2, 2012. You can thank me later.

February 18, 2020February 18, 2020

Sonic Boom!

It was a big weekend for Sonic the Hedgehog, the new videogame movie release from Paramount Pictures. Earning upwards of $70M domestically in its 4-day opening weekend gave Sonic the biggest-ever opening for a movie adapted from a video game.

But the path to success was not without a few bumps in the road. Last year’s November release was delayed after fans took to social media to pan an early trailer because of a creepy looking Sonic.

https://youtu.be/SXDa8i75PpM

With fans up in arms, Paramount did the right thing by delaying the opening and spending another $5 million bucks to give Sonic a makeover. The new Sonic turned out to be a vast improvement and led to this weekend’s big open. Turns out bigger eyes, smaller (less-human looking) teeth, and a less-elongated body is a better look for SEGA’s little speedster.

Knowing your audience and taking the time to get it right appears to be the lesson to be learned. Audience research can be expensive, but bombing at the box office is even more expensive. That’s a lesson that we could only have wished the producers of Cats would have learned.

February 10, 2020February 10, 2020

VR: A Time to Grieve

Sometimes, when reality punches you in the gut, it is tempting to turn to “unreality” to escape. It may be as simple as turning to a sitcom or videogame after a difficult exchange with a roommate or family member. We’ve all done it, because it works…it distracts our mind long enough to let the negative emotions ebb and gives us time to return to a more comfortable emotional place.

At other times we turn to fantasy to intentionally trigger an emotional response because we enjoy the “feelings” that serve to remind us of our humanity. We read a romantic book, watch a funny TV show, or go to an action-adventure movie for the experience that each emotional experience brings.

But what about a recreation of something from our past for the purpose of giving us an opportunity to re-live an emotional moment? And what if that recreation could be a fully-immersive experience made possible by VR technology?

According to the PC Gamer website:

A South Korean TV documentary that aired on February 6 depicts Jang Ji-sung, mother of four, donning a headset, haptic gloves, and meeting a virtual recreation of her daughter Nayeon…Nayeon died in 2016 from an incurable disease at only seven years old…the documentary production team spent eight months building Nayeon, including her actual voice. An elaborate park scene was the backdrop, where the two played and celebrated Nayeon’s birthday.

I’m interested in know what you think…is this a healthy use of technology that will facilitate emotional healing?