Shoddy Reporting - By the world news papers

wgc · 2004-01-22 17:39:17

I have a radical idea, lets start a "black List" of news media which do this movement injustice buy there inaccurate reporting.

SBs, some little Australian paper is already reporting Nasa will have to abandon Spirit soon because they don't have the time to deal with the problems with the Opputunity landing comming up. I agree it they may have to scale back on resources, (global surveyor, Mars Odessey) but I haven't seen anything from nasa to that effect.

What I have seen is a little more encouraging they seem to be leaning towards a software problem.

I think I will start a list of bad new source on my website sol3.typepad.com, what set me off is all the wild monetary figures flying about about the Bush Proposal, anywhere from 1 to 40 trillion dollars. It astounds me where there getting those figures.

Shaun Barrett · 2004-01-24 18:37:34

Do you mean SBS? That's an Australian television station.
They have brilliant news programs as a rule, covering news from all over the world in detail. Whereas most TV stations in Australia report sport for half of their 30 minute slots, SBS covers the important stuff the other stations ignore.

However, it seems clear, at least to me, that they have a definite political agenda as well. Their position on the Iraq situation was that they opposed the war and they, in common with many other media outlets today, seem to take almost a perverse delight in reporting adverse conditions and American casualties in post-war Iraq.

I've often had the impression that SBS is less than enthusiastic about space exploration too. I guess this fits in with their political position, in as much as many 'liberals' (left-wingers, whatever you want to call them) see economics as a zero-sum game and want as much money as possible directed towards social welfare programs here on Earth, rather than spent in space.
That would be good logic .. if economics were a zero-sum game! Fortunately it's not, so stimulating an economy with a bold vision of future technological development will, ultimately, create more money for social welfare, not less. We can have our cake and eat it too!

So the bottom line for me is ... I'm not sure about blackballing SBS. I don't agree with their rather outmoded politics, and I sure-as-hell don't agree with any Luddite opposition to space exploration (! ), but if you can ignore that about them, SBS does do a good news program (and good soccer coverage too)!

Rxke · 2004-01-25 13:35:23

shoddy reporting...

This evening i was sitting with the neighbours, watching the evening news (don' t have a telly myself, and was cat-baby-sitting, so..)

They said something like: 'Rover sent back pictures of a GREY landscape' :angry: Of course they showed the B/W pictures.

MORONS!

Martinkh · 2004-01-25 20:58:55

I call it "Geopolitical penis envy".

Many countries are very resentful of the US, because we are the superpower, and you can group almost any 5 of them together and they still wouldnt be.

They hate it worse now, because we dont have a president who apologizes for being american. The grander our plans are, the more envious they get. They crawled to the islamic countries, we waded in with our boots on, they biggyback on us (and the russians) space program, thier rover fails, so now they are mad that our rover(s) worked better and that we plan on a course of aciton they cannot hope to emulate.

What is the cure for envy? It sure isnt for the object of the envy to "help" the others along, it just makes it worse. Quite frankly, this shows some serious character defects among the envious, and the value systems /social mores that they were raised in.

Byron · 2004-01-26 06:36:35

That would be good logic .. if economics were a zero-sum game! Fortunately it's not, so stimulating an economy with a bold vision of future technological development will, ultimately, create more money for social welfare, not less. We can have our cake and eat it too!

Shaun, can you PLEASE come to America and spread this message to the American people?? I'm a huge supporter of R & D...especially when it comes to space-related exploration...there is irrevocable evidence that each dollar spent in R & D comes back to benefit Americans many-fold...including things that actually benefit the gov't (as more people have high-paying jobs, paying big taxes, of course...lol.)

If I were President...I'd be putting a freeze on Social Security benefits, cutting them out entirely for the rich (why should the rich get $$ from the government??) and use that money for a massive space program, etc. Eventually, *everyone* would benefit from a more robust economy.

Yeah, I'm not too thrilled with Mr. Bush and his misguided policies, but I'm not too thrilled with the potential Democratic candidates, either... ???

B

Shaun Barrett · 2004-01-26 07:25:41

Ha-ha! :laugh:

Many thanks for the kind invitation, Byron, but I'm having enough trouble getting the message through to some of the Aussies I know, never mind trying my luck in your country!
Besides, I'm pretty sure you're doing a perfectly good job on American soil yourself, without any help from me.

Without wishing to start a welfare debate here, I have to say I agree with you 100% that nobody who's doing O.K. financially should be entitled to social security payments. Even if, by some flaw in the rules, they are legally entitled to government money, they should have enough decency, self-discipline and pride in themselves not to accept it!!
There was a time, not so long ago, when people who were not only legally entitled to welfare but who really needed the money, would still decline it simply out of fierce pride! Nowadays, people tend to say "Ah, what the hell .. if they're giving it out, you'd be a fool not to take it."
I guess the world has changed.

In any event, I'm with you. R&D and technological advancement (and big infrastructure projects) are like sowing a crop, the more you put in the bigger the harvest you reap. To me, the 'liberals' (left-wingers or whatever you want to call them) are suggesting we distribute the seed crop and eat it now! They think that's all there is. They can't visualise the wealth and plenty that will result from growing more seed!
If we become a space-faring species, a two-planet civilisation, the phenomenal spur to technology accompanying that will create an enormous increase in total human wealth.
Why can't some people see that?
???

Ad Astra · 2004-01-26 18:49:29

The media reporting has been bad all around, especially the mistaken notion that the moon-mars pln will cost a trillion dollars. Only Dr. Evil (of "Austin Powers" fame) would make such a ludicrous guess.

The problem with blacklisting these media outlets is that practically none of them would escape the blacklist. The state of reporting (at least in America, and definitely from Agence France-Presse) is revoltingly bad.

New Mars Forums

Announcement

#1 2004-01-22 17:39:17

Re: Shoddy Reporting - By the world news papers

#2 2004-01-24 18:37:34

Re: Shoddy Reporting - By the world news papers

#3 2004-01-25 13:35:23

Re: Shoddy Reporting - By the world news papers

#4 2004-01-25 20:58:55

Re: Shoddy Reporting - By the world news papers

#5 2004-01-26 06:36:35

Re: Shoddy Reporting - By the world news papers

#6 2004-01-26 07:25:41

Re: Shoddy Reporting - By the world news papers

#7 2004-01-26 18:49:29

Re: Shoddy Reporting - By the world news papers

Board footer