Thursday: Cleaning Up Our Media Diets

Dear Reader,

Father Dot worked at our daily newspaper for 50 years as a compositor — the guy who organized and set up the pages that people read each day. When he started in the late 1940s, there were three editions: Morning, Late Afternoon, and Evening. Pretty much everyone read one of those editions in order to understand what was happening in the world, both locally and globally. The newspaper was owned by someone who lived in our city and, on Christmas Eve, the owner would pull a wagon through the building loaded with turkeys. But … wait a minute. I just called Father Dot to confirm this story, and he corrected me: The publisher of the paper tasked one of his subordinates with handing out the turkeys. There was no wagon, just a large room full of processed birds. But my dad added something that continues to impress him: each employee got a turkey based on how many mouths it needed to feed. Father Dot was struck that they knew the size of everyone’s family. To him, that point matters.

And that’s the thing with news. Those of us in the business of dispensing it care a lot about truth. It matters that we get the story right. Was Father Dot’s newspaper always right? Of course not. People make mistakes, but journalists with integrity — which is most of us — work hard to get the story correct. And when we get it wrong, we are accountable and correct it.

We should be in the Golden Age of news. Never before has it been easier to share information. But never before has propaganda, mis- and disinformation been so widely disseminated.

Which brings us back to “truth.” As tempting as it may be to seek out the information that supports what we want to be true, if we aim to correctly understand our world and the challenges facing us, we must have accurate information. To that end, Dot implores readers to find reputable sources. I’m thrilled that Bluedot is one source you rely on (if you’d like to support our journalism by becoming a member, we’d be thrilled — and you’ll enjoy discounts on our Marketplace products). If you’re having trouble knowing which media sources are trustworthy, let The News Literacy Project help. It recommends that we be aware of our emotions, the manipulation of which is what often makes mis- and disinformation work. When you have a strong emotional response to a piece of information, pause, and then ask yourself a few pertinent questions.

This isn’t about becoming cynical  — quite the opposite. It’s about cleaning up our news diet. The wagon in my story turned out to be untrue, but I didn’t know that until I called and doublechecked. That’s the whole job, in miniature: get curious, then get it right.

Discerningly,

Dot

Dear Dot discovered that lab-grown diamonds are better for people and the planet, and much less expensive.

For more Bluedot Climate Quick Tips, click here.

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