Jewish News Reporting: can we fix it?

[Jellybelly]

As we are in middle of the 9 days, I thought that it would be a good time to try to fix some of the glaring issues that plague Jewish news reporting on social media. So many of us are constantly bothered by what news is reported, how it’s reported, and the timing of the reports.
Some of the prevalent issues include lashon harah, people finding out that close relatives died from a WhatsApp status, and in general, graphic images and videos. (Is it really appropriate to post a video of a cop pulling an injured person from a car and applying a tourniquet?!)
While my personal modus operandi is generally to let the rabbis decide what is or is not allowed and to follow that, I am not sure there would be any way to enforce that standard across the board. Unfortunately, I do not think people will listen, as many don’t want to be beholden to constant oversight, especially when it comes to internet. Rather, I believe a solution to this must come from the bottom up.
Here’s my suggestion.
Perhaps we could start some type of a rating system for Jewish News outlets here on DDF, with the hope it will spread further. This way each individual can decide whether they wish to view this news source or not, knowing in advance what they expect to see, hear, or read.
For instance:
Rating A: Does not post names, pictures of accidents or the like, or graphics videos including shootings, etc.
Rating B: Does not post names until it is confirmed that the family has been notified, will post graphic content with discretion and prior warnings.
Rating C: No discretion at all.
This way, no one is forcing anyone to do anything, and nothing is being banned. “Reporters” can decide what they want to post to meet the standards of their desired clientele.

Your thoughts?

[YitzyS]

I think we need to pitch this to a few outlets and get at least one prominent one to commit to taking on a rating. That will pressure others to follow suit.

[mmgfarb]

I can appreciate where you're coming from with this but I don't think you're going to get anywhere IMO. This happens time and again, both here on DDF and in the frum community at large, we see a problem and someone tries to come up with some innovative "solution" for the klal. These never work. It may feel good to try to do something on a klal level but, in reality, it just helps to absolve the individual from working on him/herself. Focus on improving your own life and use things that you see as wrong to align your own actions with what you believe the Torah wants. Everyone is always looking for a way to fix the world but the world is made up of a lot of imperfect individuals, we all need to do our own avodah, leave the world up to HKB"H.

ETA:Just my opinion, take it or leave it.

[EliJelly]

I can appreciate where you're coming from with this but I don't think you're going to get anywhere IMO. This happens time and again, both here on DDF and in the frum community at large, we see a problem and someone tries to come up with some innovative "solution" for the klal. These never work. It may feel good to try to do something on a klal level but, in reality, it just helps to absolve the individual from working on him/herself. Focus on improving your own life and use things that you see as wrong to align your own actions with what you believe the Torah wants. Everyone is always looking for a way to fix the world but the world is made up of a lot of imperfect individuals, we all need to do our own avodah, leave the world up to HKB"H.

ETA:Just my opinion, take it or leave it.

First step should be to sign off from that news twitter feed you find inappropriate. 

[Jellybelly]

I think we need to pitch this to a few outlets and get at least one prominent one to commit to taking on a rating. That will pressure others to follow suit.

My personal opinion is, that if such an idea would work, I don’t think it’ll happen by pitching it to news outlets. I think first there has to be some type of way to show them that there is a lot of interest coming from the consumers. I don’t know how that would be done, maybe to have some type of petition m, to show that people are interested

[Ver hut gazugt]

I can appreciate where you're coming from with this but I don't think you're going to get anywhere IMO. This happens time and again, both here on DDF and in the frum community at large, we see a problem and someone tries to come up with some innovative "solution" for the klal. These never work. It may feel good to try to do something on a klal level but, in reality, it just helps to absolve the individual from working on him/herself. Focus on improving your own life and use things that you see as wrong to align your own actions with what you believe the Torah wants. Everyone is always looking for a way to fix the world but the world is made up of a lot of imperfect individuals, we all need to do our own avodah, leave the world up to HKB"H.

ETA:Just my opinion, take it or leave it.

It does not need to be either or. Both have value, it goes beyond this situation we always have a personal obligation and an obligation to help others. working on a system may help who knows, I am not sure it will. I would add that these sites also have a tznius issue posting inappropriate pictures.

[Yehuda57]

A rating system is highly subjective, and so I'm not so sure it can be broadly applied, and I'm skeptical of its effectiveness.

At the end of the day, they post objectionable content because it generates clicks. The way to stop it, therefore, is by unsubscribing. There is no reason for them to commit to certain practices if they aren't losing any readers. COLLive changed its practices with enough backlash and when enough people stopped visiting. I personally try to avoid all these kinds of websites, and I'm not subscribed to any WhatsApp or Telegram groups/broadcasts. If you want your unsubscribe to be more impactful, send them a respectful message when you unsubscribe or stop reading explaining your decision, and let people you know who you think would also be interested. Hearing that a friend unsubscribed could give them a push to do so themselves.

[Lurker]

COLLive said they would change its practices with enough backlash and when enough people stopped visiting, and then went back to normal after a few weeks.

FTFY

A rating system is highly subjective, and so I'm not so sure it can be broadly applied, and I'm skeptical of its effectiveness.

....If you want your unsubscribe to be more impactful, send them a respectful message when you unsubscribe or stop reading explaining your decision, and let people you know who you think would also be interested. Hearing that a friend unsubscribed could give them a push to do so themselves.

+1. Ultimately, these sites run on clicks. If people truly find the content objectionable, they should stop visiting the site. There are a few sites I won't go on for those reasons. An email letting them know why you won't be consuming their content is nice, but traffic and subscriptions are the end-all-be-all in this world.

[Yehuda57]

FTFY

No, they did. The comments are not how they were, and there are (believe it or not) things they won't publish now that they would have pre mic drop saga. I don't frequent their site, so I don't know how bad things are, but I do know it's still a world away from perfect.

[Dan]

If you want your unsubscribe to be more impactful, send them a respectful message when you unsubscribe or stop reading explaining your decision, and let people you know who you think would also be interested. Hearing that a friend unsubscribed could give them a push to do so themselves.

+1.

[AsherO]

You can personally vote with your feet, but this cause is lost. These sites and the people running them will do whatever they have to go generate traffic/hype.

[Lurker]

You can personally vote with your feet, but this cause is lost. These sites and the people running them will do whatever they have to go generate traffic/hype.

I don't know that it's lost. You may not change most of the sites, but you may change some, and there may be new sites which pop up to cater to those who don't appreciate the ethos of the existing sites. (IINM, that's how Anash.org got its start.)

[Dan]

(IINM, that's how Anash.org got its start.)

Dead heat too, impressive.
https://www.similarweb.com/website/collive.com/?competitors=anash.org

[Lurker]

Dead heat too, impressive.
https://www.similarweb.com/website/collive.com/?competitors=anash.org

I think they're a great case study for this issue. You can have higher standards and be competitive.

[Ver hut gazugt]

I don't know that it's lost. You may not change most of the sites, but you may change some, and there may be new sites which pop up to cater to those who don't appreciate the ethos of the existing sites. (IINM, that's how Anash.org got its start.)

I was really happy about having an alternative and I think a lot of people would change if their was an alternative site that fit their needs.

[Yehudaa]

As others have pointed out, these news sites are focused on what generates clicks, so if they're posting these things it means that people are clicking on them. Unfortunately the problem is not only the news sites; it's also that too many people in our community are hungry for sensational/graphic news.

In addition to a trying to rate or stay away from these sites maybe we need to better educate people on why they shouldn't be clicking on things that say "WATCH NOW: GUY GETS SHOT IN THE HEAD AND SKULL BUSTS INTO A MILLION PIECES", what it does to them (spiritually and mentally), and why they should resist the urge to examine pictures of every angle of a fatal car accident.

If people would learn to make choices to either not visit sites that promote this content (as other have mentioned here), or at the very least to be selective of which articles they open then in the long run the news sites will learn what generates clicks and what doesn't. Anyone who reads non-jewish news sites knows that you have to use your discretion to figure out what to click on and what not to click on, so why not visit jewish sites the same mindset? Definitely don't trust the news site that everything is kosher- they've disproven that time and again.

This is not a problem specific to our community- violence, gossip and graphic images appeal to readers everywhere. Just as there are segments of the non-jewish population that enjoy tabloid-style sites with violence and gossip, there are unfortunately frum jews that enjoy that stuff too so I think there will always be sites that continue posting it. However, while there are secular news outlets that appeal to readers who are interested in less gossip/violence/graphic images, I don't know if there's any jewish site that fills that space. If there's enough of a demand for it then hopefully one day someone starts something.

TLDR: I think as a community we also have to start from the bottom and talk to the people reading this stuff.

[yuneeq]

I was really happy about having an alternative and I think a lot of people would change if their was an alternative site that fit their needs.

Having an alternative site is the only option that I believe will work. If there's an alternative site, don't just use that site, make an effort to promote it to your friends and family and get them to switch. If you see story covered on a site you don't like, find the story on the alternative site so you can share that instead. It's far easier to make the alternative more powerful than it is to weaken the site you dislike. And having a stronger alternative might be a wake up call to the original site.

Personally speaking, I found it hard to stop following the news status of a site I dislike, I decided to drop it anyways. Sometimes you have to sacrifice if you want to make a difference.

[YitzyS]

Having an alternative site is the only option that I believe will work. If there's an alternative site, don't just use that site, make an effort to promote it to your friends and family and get them to switch. If you see story covered on a site you don't like, find the story on the alternative site so you can share that instead. It's far easier to make the alternative more powerful than it is to weaken the site you dislike. And having a stronger alternative might be a wake up call to the original site.

Personally speaking, I found it hard to stop following the news status of a site I dislike, I decided to drop it anyways. Sometimes you have to sacrifice if you want to make a difference.

How many people go to Hamodia.com instead of YWN?

[yuneeq]

How many people go to Hamodia.com instead of YWN?

Is Hamodia considered an alternative and are they making an effort? I never see anything shared from them.

[YitzyS]

Is Hamodia considered an alternative and are they making an effort? I never see anything shared from them.

I think it is a great site with real news, but without any of the sensationalism and hype. The fact that you've never seen anything from them shared should probably be a factor in this conversation.