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Donnerstag, 17. Oktober 2002 |
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I really like Google News for what it does, but ... News is very much about trust. I go to CNN.com and MSNBC.com knowing that they're both "breaking news" outlets and that what they are reporting often needs to be consumed with caution. Other news sites don't break the news as fast, but they are typically more solid in their assessment of what's happening for real and what's only a rumor. Aggregators like Yahoo! carry AP, Reuters and other news-agencies where you really know that these things come hot off the wire and are often even more speculative than what you get at CNN. If you look, for instance, at the German media landscape, let me focus on TV, there's one TV news-show the "Tagesschau" that's among the highest rates programs (across the board) every night. It's dry news. No flashy intros, no sensational stories, no dog-breeder show reports. Very plain. They could air the show in black & white and read the news in Latin and people would still watch it. One thing you know is: They are very careful in figuring out rumors from facts and they cover the world. They've done so for 40+ years, false reports are extremely rare and trust only builds over time. The same is true for your trusted newspaper and just as much for the news website you visit most. Now, Google News gives you an aggregated view of some 4000 different news sources and does so with almost to-the-minute accuracy. How do I sort fact from fiction? How do I tell trusted sources from speculative sources? It's difficult. News isn't news. 12:16:13 PM  comments []
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