Did the pandemic kill honest journalism? News as masquerade.
A workbook to create articles for world-famous newspapers in 15 minutes.
A way of publishing any opinion as news by making it appear unbiased. It includes a way of making it legally sound, just in case litigation happens.
Modern journalism is an algorithm. You don’t even need computing power to write.
- Decide to comment on anything. Take any view. But remember the Goldilocks Principle. Only extreme views get noticed and trend.
2. Search social media. Search for tweets that meet your perspective. And are trending.
3. Ignore spending time on research and data. It is unnecessary. Creates too much cognitive overload.
4. Add a few quotes from unknown research groups. The use of Research Groups is important. Adds heft.
5. And unknown university professors. The label University is important. Support of the intelligentsia appears to endow the views with a foundation.
A simple image about what news is.
Fill in the blanks in the workbook below to complete an article in 15 minutes.
The workbook is exemplified with a real example from The Pink ‘Un.
Begin by giving a title as catchy as you can. Show an extreme situation. Normal things don’t get attention.
Title — ….Police Visit … ..as … Goes on …. Offense
Frame your criticism (The journalist interprets an incident and imputes a reason for behavior — with no facts — what is conjecture).
The visit sent a clear message that ….powerful … party (please don’t write the elected Govt.) is becoming increasingly upset with ……..
The officers from ………. elite antiterrorism ……… unit descended after dusk on the …. offices of ……. television news cameras in tow. Their mission: Start an argument over fake news.
Add safety net (The idea is completely contrary to the ideas of the earlier paragraph).
The offices sat empty, closed amid …. … coronavirus outbreak. And the ….acknowledged that they were there to deliver nothing more legally binding than a notice disputing a warning label that Twitter had assigned …….
State an opinion (with conjectures)
But symbolically, the visit …. on Monday night sent a clear message that …. …. … is becoming increasingly upset with …. because of the perception that the company has sided with government critics. As anger has risen across the country over …. … and … Party have struggled to control the narrative.
Try to convince the reader why your view is valid by stating that all countries that do this are similar. (Because incidents that happen in different contexts/countries are similar).
As a result, …. have applied increasing pressure on Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms …. In doing so, they follow the path of some other countries trying to control how and where messages can spread on social media. In March, for example, the ….government said it would slow access to Twitter, one of the few places where …. openly criticize the government.
Quote an unknown Professor from an unknown university to substantiate your view. It is easy to find a person in 8 billion people who support your view.
The .. visit “illustrates …. state machinery can be instrumentalized …. to curb opposing voices and mishandle the opposition,” said …., a professor of political science at ….University ……
“Regardless of the clumsy manner in which it was conducted, this raid is an escalation in the stifling of … criticism ….,” he said.
For example, the police visit was set off by labels that Twitter applied to tweets posted by … ….
Show how the person/organization being criticized has done some good work so no one can accuse you of bias.
In going after …., ……Online networks sprang up on Twitter and other social media platforms for volunteers to connect …. Patients with …..
Use any data to show how your perception is valid
The …wave … reached a peak on … ….
The safety net of your article (a problem being resolved is irrelevant. Cancer being cured is not an issue. Cancer is.)
..….it is beginning to get better….… …. have fallen by nearly half, but the ……continues to rise.
Add some descriptors to criticize to substantiate your perspective using perceptions of others.
But as …. rise and the … tolerance for dissent grows short, and it has used harsher tactics to rein the platforms in.
Reinforce your beliefs with vague accusations
Last summer,…banned….. citing national security concerns.
Finally, add one line that no one can catch you. (Parachute option to escape unhurt).
Though … government controls the …police, it was not clear on Tuesday that the failed mission at the …. office had happened at its behest.
Show you gave the parties a chance (giving a person an opportunity and then not waiting for a response is an alibi for bias in the article).
A …. spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment….A ….spokeswoman asked for questions in an email, … went unanswered.
Quote an unknown person to substantiate your view
“In a democracy, to ask a question is not wrong,” … said. “I am not abusing anybody. I am not instigating anybody for violence. I am not asking anybody to do any wrong thing. I am asking a question to …. of my country.”
News is a masquerade of opinions that is built on a fragile foundation of ideas trawled from a sea using a net of biases.
