News, trust and “truthiness”

     It appears to me that after reading my fellow classmates blogs there is a general impression that satirical news reportage is equally reliable as traditional news reportage. My classmates have made many interesting points about the reliability of satirical news that I will attempt to explain to you.

     Although there has been some arguments stating that comedic news is not real news the general opinions of my classmates appear to be that not only is it real news but in some cases it is also the preferred news. As stated by Lynden Boston “I tend to like to watch the satirical programs more than the actual news because you not only get the base of what is going on but you also get a little chuckle out of the skits and the way they display the news”. I happen to agree with this statement. I also prefer to watch the more comedic programs because they are able to deliver the same information but in an entertaining way that makes you want to pay attention. Yes they may deliver less facts then the traditional news and in a much different way but it is still the same information being presented and therefore is equally as reliable as traditional news.

     Lynden was not the only classmate’s blog I read that had this opinion other classmate’s stated similar ideas. In Khalil Stemmler’s blog they stated “ satirical news reporting is a good addition to the public sphere solely if the viewer is in understanding that satirical news reporting is in fact satirical” and that it is important for the audience to understand that “whether or not you believe what is being conveyed to you is entirely your decision”. Meaning that these types of news sources our just as reliable as long as you are able to separate the comedic aspects from the facts. Sanjeet Mavi also agreed that it was a good addition to the public sphere stating “I would say that satirical news reportage is a useful addition to the public sphere because they do tend to grab the attention of the viewers and get them thinking critically about their political views or the products that they wish to buy”. The overall opinion seem to be that satirical news is just as reliable as traditional news as long as you understand the difference between the comedic aspects of the reporting the facts that they are trying to convey.

     The implications that this might have on the continued viability of our contemporary public sphere is that more people are going to be turning towards satirical news reporting and less towards the traditional factual news reporting which could lead to the elimination of traditional news altogether and the government and other important people having less control over what is being presented in the news since they can no longer censor it.

 Classmates Blogs:

http://boston94.blogspot.ca/ - Lynden Boston

http://mavisanjeet.wordpress.com/ - Sanjeet Mavi

http://khalilstemmler.wordpress.com/2013/11/20/is-the-fake-news-the-real-news/ - Khalil Stemmler