{"id":6964,"date":"2016-12-08T07:35:32","date_gmt":"2016-12-08T12:35:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=6964"},"modified":"2016-12-08T07:35:32","modified_gmt":"2016-12-08T12:35:32","slug":"not-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=6964","title":{"rendered":"not news"},"content":{"rendered":"

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CEDAR PLAINS, PA \u2014 \u201cAfter years of delays and mounting criticism from voters and political pundits, President Barack Obama finally followed through on a campaign promise he made in 2008 to spend one night alone in the abandoned Cedar Plains Family Fun amusement park, sources confirmed Wednesday.<\/em>
\nAt approximately 6 p.m. last night, members of the press reportedly looked on as Obama\u2014carrying only a flashlight, a water bottle, and a backpack full of snacks\u2014scaled the 9-foot-high chain-link fence and entered the derelict theme park, making good on a vow that had been a central component of his initial run for the White House.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018Eight years ago, I made an oath that if I were elected president, I would spend dusk till dawn in this old, run-down amusement park, and tonight I am fulfilling my obligation to the American people,\u2019 said Obama, who had been widely accused of favoring other legislative priorities above an overnight stay inside the dilapidated regional attraction that shut its doors in 2003. \u2018Between now and sunrise, I will climb to the top of the Ripsaw roller coaster, I will throw a rock through the window of the snow cone stand, and just as I\u2019ve said time and time again, I will wander around in the big concrete track where the Lazy River used to be. And to prove that I do not take your support for granted, I will also walk through the Hall of Mirrors at midnight,\u2019 Obama added.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Oh, did the Intramuralist chuckle when reading the above on \u201cThe Onion\u201d \u2014 a news satire organization that\u2019s been entertaining readers for the past 28 years. In other words, it\u2019s not<\/strong><\/em> news. It\u2019s fake.<\/p>\n

As in any significant aftermath, new terms are coined, and the term \u201cfake news\u201d is now being introduced into our vernacular, after November\u2019s perceived political earthquake. \u201cFake news\u201d equates to \u201cfalse and sometimes sensationalist information presented as fact and published and spread on the internet\u201d (see Collins English Dictionary).<\/em><\/p>\n

The incidents and events did not actually happen in the way in which they are reported. Hence, there exists\u00a0concern that inaccurate news causes readers (who evolve into voters)<\/em> to be misinformed and therefore make inaccurate conclusions.<\/p>\n

Said concern is valid, in my opinion. But I\u2019d like to go one step further in identifying that which is not news\u2026<\/p>\n

Remember that news is newly received, noteworthy information. As best as possible, it is an objective account. Editorials \u2014 or opinion pieces and opinionated pundits \u2014 are also not news. They are a subjective account; subjective is not synonymous with truth. Swaying an audience \u2014 albeit often arguably, unintentionally \u2014 is prioritized over offering objectivity.<\/p>\n

In other words, if we only pay attention to the Huffington Post, the NY Times, Rachel Maddow, and Steven Colbert, we won\u2019t have an objective (or accurate)<\/em> perspective; if we only pay attention to the Drudge Report, the NY Post, Sean Hannity, and Rush Limbaugh, we also won\u2019t have an objective perspective. Their political opinion skews their presentation of noteworthy information. Hence, this, too, is not<\/em> news. That means the contributing journalists are also not news reporters. Opinion is altering the news.<\/p>\n

Note Wednesday\u2019s announcement, for example, that President-Elect Trump will nominate Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency\u2026<\/p>\n

HuffPo\u2019s headline read as follows: \u201cDIRTY DEAL: Trump Picks Fossil Fuel-Friend to Head EPA\u201d<\/em>
\nDrudge lead with: \u201cTrump’s EPA Pick Spooks Liberals and the Environmental Lobby”<\/em><\/p>\n

The two accounts were covering the same story.<\/p>\n

Popular FOX News host Megyn Kelly shared in an NPR interview this week that \u201ctoo many millions of Americans aren’t listening at all to what the press tells them.\u201d I wonder if \u201ctoo many millions\u201d aren\u2019t listening because they\u2019ve realized too many journalists are offering something other than news.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s tough. It\u2019s tough to ensure that what we\u2019re reading and hearing is both not fake but also not opinion. Both are not news.<\/p>\n

Reporting on Obama on that Ripsaw coaster would be easier. More entertaining, too.<\/p>\n

Respectfully\u2026
\nAR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CEDAR PLAINS, PA \u2014 \u201cAfter years of delays and mounting criticism from voters and political pundits, President Barack Obama finally followed through on a campaign promise he made in 2008 to spend one night alone in the abandoned Cedar Plains Family Fun amusement park, sources confirmed Wednesday. At approximately 6 p.m. last night, members of … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “not news”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,8],"tags":[611],"class_list":["post-6964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-event","category-current-issue","tag-fake-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6964"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6964\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6970,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6964\/revisions\/6970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}