Another great dispatch. I have been thinking as to what could be useful approach to reporting on issues that are dismissed by many political representatives using rhetoric, canned, or nonsensical commentary. Unfortunately my ideas only work in a long form content and so not in the social media ecosystem we have.
Another great dispatch. I have been thinking as to what could be useful approach to reporting on issues that are dismissed by many political representatives using rhetoric, canned, or nonsensical commentary. Unfortunately my ideas only work in a long form content and so not in the social media ecosystem we have.
Essentially, here is the proposed approach. first state the content of the initiative or proposal. Provide references as appropriate. Seek points of view from different segments of society. Seek expert views and explain why they are experts. Then using a well framed open ended question about the issue ask each political representative the same question and share their actual words. Invite the listener to reflect.
I recognize that this is too long and requires significant effort and associated expense. However I truly believe that most of the problems today defy black and white answers and require reflection by the general population.
I am constantly impressed by your efforts in this direction. Keep up the great work.
I wrote a few weeks back about how fundamentally screwed up our news distribution system is. I think that's the real barrier to doing the kind of journalism you describe. We don't know how to get people to read stuff online, which makes it harder to experiment, take stuff slow, go longer, etc. But I think there's a real demand for the kind of elaborate, detailed, diverse reportage. Unfortunately, on the other side, there is zero appetite by the political class to actually engage in those kind of conversations. The quality of debate and dialog has gone off a cliff.
There was a time when newspapers would pose questions to candidates (even if it was only to state their platform) and publish the answers. Though it wasn't live and we don't know who wrote the answers, it was better than the tiktok i̶n̶t̶e̶r̶action that we get today.
ChatGPT would probably write better responses! No ego to protect, no base to play to, no ‘say-nothing’, ‘commit-to-nothing’ games. In fact if PP and the GOP kind of cynical attack politics wins the day, I might end up voting for an AI over them.
Another great dispatch. I have been thinking as to what could be useful approach to reporting on issues that are dismissed by many political representatives using rhetoric, canned, or nonsensical commentary. Unfortunately my ideas only work in a long form content and so not in the social media ecosystem we have.
Essentially, here is the proposed approach. first state the content of the initiative or proposal. Provide references as appropriate. Seek points of view from different segments of society. Seek expert views and explain why they are experts. Then using a well framed open ended question about the issue ask each political representative the same question and share their actual words. Invite the listener to reflect.
I recognize that this is too long and requires significant effort and associated expense. However I truly believe that most of the problems today defy black and white answers and require reflection by the general population.
I am constantly impressed by your efforts in this direction. Keep up the great work.
I wrote a few weeks back about how fundamentally screwed up our news distribution system is. I think that's the real barrier to doing the kind of journalism you describe. We don't know how to get people to read stuff online, which makes it harder to experiment, take stuff slow, go longer, etc. But I think there's a real demand for the kind of elaborate, detailed, diverse reportage. Unfortunately, on the other side, there is zero appetite by the political class to actually engage in those kind of conversations. The quality of debate and dialog has gone off a cliff.
There was a time when newspapers would pose questions to candidates (even if it was only to state their platform) and publish the answers. Though it wasn't live and we don't know who wrote the answers, it was better than the tiktok i̶n̶t̶e̶r̶action that we get today.
Funny enough, papers still do this. But the responses sent in by politicians may as well be written by ChatGPT.
ChatGPT would probably write better responses! No ego to protect, no base to play to, no ‘say-nothing’, ‘commit-to-nothing’ games. In fact if PP and the GOP kind of cynical attack politics wins the day, I might end up voting for an AI over them.
Unfortunately, I live in a print desert (Thank you, Torstar)