Enough with the Trickery

Mike Smith
ms983012@ohio.edu

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We have all seen these type of headlines on the internet, and we all have at some point fell for the click bait. I tend to do it a lot and I am disappointed almost every time.

The people that make these click baits are like evil in my book. Getting trolled is no fun in pretty much every circumstance. Kira Goldberg talks about this and thinks it can only go on for so long in her article on cjr.org, which I completely agree with.

www.youtube.com (photo from youtube video)

It is time for writers to stop with these click bait headlines that tricks people to re-tweet them. One idea is to write a good story that people will quote tweet and say "This was an awesome article, must read for anyone interested in this topic." Instead of writing a deceiving article, write a good story.

Lack of transparency from journalists is another thing that irks me. According to the la times, a recent Ispos study found that only 10% of those surveyed believe the news industry act with integrity.    That is terrible to hear and the lack of transparency some journalists show is a reason.

For example, a recent New York Times article, that was also mentioned in the la times article linked above, originally had it written that Hillary Clinton possible broke the law, while the edited version a little while later had it worded that she did not break the law.

Imagine if you read the original version and your buddy read the edited version, then you talked about it. It would be a confusing conversation.

It would not be confusing if the New York Times made it clear that it was edited. Your buddy would be like you must have read the original version because when I read it said it was edited and different than the original copy released.

It would be that easy. Instead, they did not make it clear that it was changed. Everyone makes mistakes and words things poorly. Manning up and making it clear it was edited is not a big deal.

If one of my friends messes up, I want them to just admit it and not hide it. I would be way more mad if my friend did not admit to wrong doing, and I find out what he did from someone else.

Same goes with a newspaper I like. If I found out a change from my buddy in a story and go back to look to see if it clearly states that a change has been and it doesn't, I will be upset. Being honest and clearly saying there is a difference and change would not be a big deal to me.

In conclusion, it is time for journalists to cut some of the crap. It is time for the public to start trusting the media more. Journalists need to stop with the click bait and write good stories that people will enjoy. Some journalists do but not all of them. Journalists also need to stop lacking transparency because it is inexcusable. It is time for every journalist, including me, to look in the mirror and think about how to be better.