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Online News Articles Used To Be Decent, And Then They Did This.....

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by MystikArkitect, Oct 5, 2018.

  1. MystikArkitect

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    Has every single online news medium adopted this style of headline? Everywhere I go it's some sort of weird, clickbaity type of headline meant to generate cheap interest and it always turns out to be nothing. Yahoo, FoxNews, MSNBC, CNN, ESPN, Foxsports, etc. They all do this now. I just want to know what this article is about and if it's worth my time reading it or not.

    I got into an exchange with a Jazz beatwriter for the Salt Like Tribune where he was arguing the importance of true journalism and how we are succumbing to amateur standards. He actually went at another Jazz writer (for SB Nation I think) showing how and why good journalism is giving way to just clickbait articles that are poorly written and portray nothing. Wondering if I'd be better served at this point subscribing to a few things (Athletic, Times, WaPo, Chron) and ignoring online news mediums altogether.
     
    KingCheetah, Cold Hard, Sajan and 4 others like this.
  2. Deuce

    Deuce Context & Nuance

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    We live in an age now of low hanging fruit.

    Yeah, your best bet is to vet the best sources and follow them.
     
    snowconeman22 and da_juice like this.
  3. heypartner

    heypartner Contributing Member

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    Haha, nice thread title.

    Another: Avoid Clickbait Articles with these 5 Simple Tips
     
  4. KingCheetah

    KingCheetah Contributing Member

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    Doctors hate Heypartner because of five simple things
     
  5. Ziggy

    Ziggy QUEEN ANON

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  6. Buck Turgidson

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    The shocking truth about heypartner you'll never believe...
     
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  7. B-Bob

    B-Bob "94-year-old self-described dreamer"

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    OP, you might really enjoy this new book called The Attention Merchants.

    Fantastic history of capturing and selling attention for profit, with the cognitive science involved.
     
    MystikArkitect and Rocket River like this.
  8. arkoe

    arkoe (ง'̀-'́)ง

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    Most of the times these are ads masquerading as artitcles which I don't really feel is ethical. Guess they have to keep the lights on somehow.
     
    Invisible Fan likes this.
  9. MystikArkitect

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    Houston Texas: Meet KingCheetahs Company that’s disrupting a billion dollar industry!
     
  10. Sajan

    Sajan Member

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    This one rule change in Texas is saving people in Houston 100s in car insurance.
     
    KingCheetah and theimpossibles1 like this.
  11. theimpossibles1

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    Remember This Title? You Should See What it Looks Like Now!
     
  12. Mr. Brightside

    Mr. Brightside Contributing Member

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    Well hey at least you read. You got that going for you.
     
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  13. Invisible Fan

    Invisible Fan Contributing Member

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    Those are fake news ads or slideshows. They are much less annoying with a blocker. I don't consider sbnation or smaller networks as news media. More like glorified blogs that hope to one day hold bleacherreport's jock, the previous clickbait king that's dumping money to make themselves look legit.

    I think whoever is paying those clickbait networks banned titles that make you think a celebrity was dead.
     
    Sajan likes this.
  14. KingCheetah

    KingCheetah Contributing Member

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  15. MystikArkitect

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    Are they the ones with the Power Rankings that make you click it as a slideshow instead of just listing it all on one page?
     
    Rocket River likes this.
  16. fallenphoenix

    fallenphoenix Contributing Member

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    just know anything that requires a click bait title isn't worth reading or watching in the first place. it'll save you a lot of time.
     
  17. heypartner

    heypartner Contributing Member

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    [Pics] Here's what no one realizes about this title and what's behind it
     
  18. LosPollosHermanos

    LosPollosHermanos Houston only fan
    Supporting Member

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    Those aren’t news articles they’re ads
     
  19. Invisible Fan

    Invisible Fan Contributing Member

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    Yup. They bank on users without blockers and load up every page with ads to other networks, sometimes hide the next button so the user clicks on an ad..

    Another popular bait is to write up a fake copy that looks like news and funnels the user to a subscription service (we picked the next New Amazon at 3.55!)

    Facebook also has their own bait ecosystem now that old people who don't care for computers and Pee Sees believe everything they read online.
     
  20. droxford

    droxford Member

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    How to get accurate news in today's world:

    Step 1: Read headline, but don't believe it.

    Step 2. Skim through the article to determine who said or did something. Try to read a little of the article as possible.

    Step 3: Go to youtube, and find a video of the actual person saying/doing what they said or did. Try to watch as much of the video as possible to get a feel for the context of the person's statement or action (see the events that led to the statement/action; see the events afterward). Realize that if those events are not depicted in the video, you probably don't have an clear and total depiction of the statement/event.

    Step 4: Form your own opinion based on the video that you've seen.

    Step 5: Realize that the video probably does not show the entire story of what happened. Realize that other's opinions are not necessarily facts. Realize that, in American courts, guilt must NEVER be assumed - innocence MUST be assumed unless proven guilty.
     

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