2023-04-17 07:41:15
This is one hell of a challenge that the American public radio NPR has decided to take up. If she does, she’s mad at Twitter. A few days ago, NPR announced that it was leaving the social network because of a new name attached to its name: “media financed by a government”. This label is not brand new but until then, it was reserved for media whose independence from power was suspect. Clearly, it was attached to the Russian and Chinese public media. Not at the NPR, nor at the BBC and nor at France Inter. But you know what ? Our dear Elon Musk has decided to change everything and do anything… once more! Since April 12, NPR has therefore not published anything on Twitter.
Is this qualification such a problem?
She does ask a number of questions. Already in the case of NPR we come very close to the misleading message. Of its $300 million budget, less than 1% comes from the coffers of the US federal government. So that’s less than 3 million, we are far from the media under infusion of public funds. Then, in addition to the subject of funding, there is also the subject of independence… Twitter’s regulations specify that this label is attached to media whose editorial content may be influenced by their government. Clearly, the media serve as a propaganda tool. So we understand that for the CEO of NPR, it is the whole credibility of his radio that is called into question, even if he recognizes it, the decision to no longer publish anything on Twitter is not without disadvantages…
Back to this addiction…
That of the media to Twitter and that of journalists to Twitter. Hey, where do you think I read that NPR was leaving Twitter? On Twitter. This platform has a thousand faults BUT it has an immense quality: it remains a formidable source of information. It requires knowing how to use it with distance and above all choosing the people you follow…
But Twitter is a news aggregator that has no equivalent today on the Internet, that’s why NPR’s challenge will be difficult to hold, and that’s why the media can’t let go of the ramp. How many times do we hear on TV or on the radio “it makes people react on social networks” or “big controversy on social networks”. A little tip: when you actually hear that, we are just talking to you of Twitter Twitter, for the media, is too often the illusion of direct contact with the population.
Can this link be loosened thanks to Elon Musk?
In any case, the billionaire does everything it takes to annoy his world. I told you regarding NPR. In the United States, the public television network PBS has also decided to no longer publish anything on Twitter for the same reasons. Musk also got angry with the New York Times. The reason ? These famous badges have become chargeable. The daily has warned that it will not go to checkout. Musk’s response: “ok, in that case, we remove it”. In England, the BBC has also been awarded the same government-funded media label
but for once, Elon Musk has reviewed his judgment: it now says “publicly funded media”… A less accusatory term. In France, for the moment, nothing. No public media has yet been labeled with the cursed seal… One thing is for sure. Musk assumes this balance of power with the media. He does not hide what he thinks of them. he said recently that all the media are, in one way or another, tools of propaganda. We had a more serene relationship…
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#Media #Twitter #break
