Journalism
11/5/19
Good journalism relies on facts, evidence and reliable sources. These are the same principles that underline the critical thinking required for skepticism. Skeptics rely on good journalists to be reliable resources for research and they are often responsible for public understanding of science and paranormal phenomena. There are many issues with British journalism, many of which were highlighted in the last decade during the News of the World scandals and the subsequent Leveson Inquiry.
Money fell out of journalism when the internet came along and now a whole generation thinks that access to news should be free. Though there can be some money made from online advertising it is nowhere near to making up for the losses in print journalism from advertising and subscriptions. This has led to journalists being overworked and asked to cover areas outside of their area of expertise. Due to the churning nature of news in the 21st Century journalists are expected to file multiple stories a day and do not have time to fully investigate every story that they write. Therefore they are more likely to fall prey bad journalistic principles. And some journalists, of course, can be affected by bias like all humans.
In recent times there has been a cultural shift and more and more people are voluntarily paying for good, well sourced journalism. The Guardian, which is run by a trust, has reported that they are profitable for the first time in several years purely down to voluntary donations. If you are in a position to afford to pay for your journalism please do. We need a free and honest press to keep us informed.