1. Monthly archive
  2. May 2017

May 2017

Coda Study: Viewers Trust, Believe Local TV News

While national news outlets continue to debate the “fake news” controversy, new evidence confirms that consumers are not questioning the veracity of their local television newscasts, sports reports, weather forecasts and traffic updates.

This is according to research released today from Coda that reports the opinions of more than 2,400 television viewers that have watched local news programming across all platforms in the past week. According to the research, viewers believe — and enjoy watching — local news anchors and reporters on television. In addition, Coda says, “local news viewers are tuning in to their most trusted stations for accurate weather forecasts, dependable traffic updates, local sports coverage, breaking news, and even to learn about new products and services.” The Coda data reveal that many viewers watching local broadcast news are also accessing local TV stations’ digital platforms for information about their cities, towns and communities. Almost seven out of ten local news viewers (65%) also access one or more digital platforms for local news, which include local TV station websites, social media, mobile apps, blogs or targeted emails. Local TV station websites top the list, with 40% of viewers consuming local news through this digital platform, followed by social media sites (25%) and local TV station apps (23%).

Media Manipulation and Disinformation Online

Internet subcultures take advantage of the current media ecosystem to manipulate news frames, set agendas, and propagate ideas. Far-right groups have developed techniques of “attention hacking” to increase the visibility of their ideas through the strategic use of social media, memes, and bots—as well as by targeting journalists, bloggers, and influencers to help spread content. The media’s dependence on social media, analytics and metrics, sensationalism, novelty over newsworthiness, and clickbait makes them vulnerable to such media manipulation. While trolls, white nationalists, men’s rights activists, gamergaters, the “altright,” and conspiracy theorists may diverge deeply in their beliefs, they share tactics and converge on common issues. The far-right exploits young men’s rebellion and dislike of “political correctness” to spread white supremacist thought, Islamophobia, and misogyny through irony and knowledge of internet culture. Media manipulation may contribute to decreased trust of mainstream media, increased misinformation, and further radicalization.

Ting: Google Fiber’s realignment won’t have a material impact

Ting, the wireline internet division of Tucows, does not envision Google Fiber’s recent troubles posing challenges to the larger fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) service community. Elliot Noss, president and CEO of Tucows, said that there are still plenty of opportunities to expand its FTTH reach. “There are certainly markets that had, had some conversation with Google who have been in contact with us,” said Noss. “But at the end of the day, it's such a big market, and Google had such big halo that I don't know that will necessarily have a material impact.” Noss added that having a larger amount of FTTH service providers is a benefit to all players that participate in the fiber broadband segment.

This is what it looks like when the media gives President Trump exactly what he wants

Lester Holt’s interview with President Donald Trump made huge, splashy headlines when the President confirmed that he always intended to fire FBI Director James Comey, and that he was thinking of the investigation into Russia’s influence on the 2016 election when he did it. Holt’s wasn’t the only interview with Trump that aired during the week. Trump’s conversation with Fox News’s Jeanine Pirro was less explosive, but from a Trump watcher’s perspective, it was more revealing. The interview was a near-perfect example of what President Trump would like his relationship with the media to be. And it was proof of why no respectable news organization can give it to him. Making Trump comfortable means allowing him to seal any cracks or flaws in his facade, rather than eliciting any revelations or new insights from him. Trump wants the press to perform public relations, not journalism. And as long as people like Pirro are willing to flatter him, Trump will never understand why real journalists can’t give him what he wants without losing who we are.

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