I am pretty excited about what you are doing here! It allows people to figuire out what is beneficial for them or not and not just give up on all media and medicine.
Looking forward for more on churnalism. Seems a product of the formal education of journalists which has led to a decline in standards. The old school hard knocks journalists kicked away by their betters who prefer the cocktail lounge. Can't be bothered to do actual work perhaps, trained to rote skills with minimal critical thinking. Another reflection on the ills of higher education along with the drift toward impossible ideologies so favored by the wealthy who can't imagine the average Joe/Jill.
While the cream does rise to the top, it can spoil.
„Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations.” (attributed to George Orwell, exact source debated)
Dr. Prasad, I'd be most interested in hearing your opinion on the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccinations that were promoted by the CDC, starting in 2021. Were they released and approved too soon? I've had four COVID vaccinations thus far, including two boosters, each 6 months apart, as I'm in a high risk category. After the first three shots, I had no noticeable side effects except maybe some additional fatigue. However, in April, following the second booster, I experienced 3 weeks of aches and pains like I've never had before and had to resort to heat treatments 2-3 time per day while lying down. Therefore, I'm concerned that getting the next booster in the Fall might lead to worse side effects, and even long COVID. What's your best thinking or advice in this matter?
Thank you for introducing me to “churnalism.” I am embarrassed to admit that I did not know there was a word that I could have used to succinctly end my subscriptions to NYT, WSJ, an WAPO during the initial months of the pandemic. I reasoned to them it was due to their less than competent “medical reporters” pretending to have a handle on a novel pathogen and subsequently passing off their reporting as if it were fact. Then it dawned on me, if the medical reporting was apparently churnalism (my new favorite word), then why would I think other aspects of the paper were not of the same ilk but only less apparent to me due to my lower baseline knowledge or understanding of that particular topic (law, economics, politics, etc)? That’s why I agree with VP’s idea (from a separate podcast) that you have to do the research to determine whose opinions are worth reading or following. I think that makes this Substack forum even more relevant in today’s world. Thanks again! Churnalism...typing again, just because it’s fun to say...😁
Love that quote "If your mother says she loves you, check it out" It's too bad we now live in a world where the media consensus is "Toe the line, or else"
very odd to hear cifu complain of "uncritical and incurios reporting"... isn't this the person who said "take the vax b/c the cdc said so"? .... I'm confused
glad to see this definition evolve to describe a syndrome that seems to very virulent and needs its own vaccine
The Association for Health Care Journalists (AHCJ) is a great source of good, skeptical journalism education.
I am pretty excited about what you are doing here! It allows people to figuire out what is beneficial for them or not and not just give up on all media and medicine.
Thank you! Keep on writing like this. Cheers!
This is a core issue! Looking forward to the next segment!
Looking forward for more on churnalism. Seems a product of the formal education of journalists which has led to a decline in standards. The old school hard knocks journalists kicked away by their betters who prefer the cocktail lounge. Can't be bothered to do actual work perhaps, trained to rote skills with minimal critical thinking. Another reflection on the ills of higher education along with the drift toward impossible ideologies so favored by the wealthy who can't imagine the average Joe/Jill.
While the cream does rise to the top, it can spoil.
„Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations.” (attributed to George Orwell, exact source debated)
Dr. Prasad, I'd be most interested in hearing your opinion on the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccinations that were promoted by the CDC, starting in 2021. Were they released and approved too soon? I've had four COVID vaccinations thus far, including two boosters, each 6 months apart, as I'm in a high risk category. After the first three shots, I had no noticeable side effects except maybe some additional fatigue. However, in April, following the second booster, I experienced 3 weeks of aches and pains like I've never had before and had to resort to heat treatments 2-3 time per day while lying down. Therefore, I'm concerned that getting the next booster in the Fall might lead to worse side effects, and even long COVID. What's your best thinking or advice in this matter?
Thank you for introducing me to “churnalism.” I am embarrassed to admit that I did not know there was a word that I could have used to succinctly end my subscriptions to NYT, WSJ, an WAPO during the initial months of the pandemic. I reasoned to them it was due to their less than competent “medical reporters” pretending to have a handle on a novel pathogen and subsequently passing off their reporting as if it were fact. Then it dawned on me, if the medical reporting was apparently churnalism (my new favorite word), then why would I think other aspects of the paper were not of the same ilk but only less apparent to me due to my lower baseline knowledge or understanding of that particular topic (law, economics, politics, etc)? That’s why I agree with VP’s idea (from a separate podcast) that you have to do the research to determine whose opinions are worth reading or following. I think that makes this Substack forum even more relevant in today’s world. Thanks again! Churnalism...typing again, just because it’s fun to say...😁
Intriguing introduction to part 2.
I do hope that you cover the concept of p-hacking and the way results like this get covered in the news.
Love that quote "If your mother says she loves you, check it out" It's too bad we now live in a world where the media consensus is "Toe the line, or else"
Publishing part 1 without a single specific example of "churnalism" is not helpful.
THANK YOU from a one-time corporate healthcare public relations pro (not all of whom drank the kool-aid) but were culpable nonetheless.
OK now we are digging in. Keep it up. It is exhausting to see people yawn as I talk about sleep hygiene, diet, meditation, exercise and attitude.
very odd to hear cifu complain of "uncritical and incurios reporting"... isn't this the person who said "take the vax b/c the cdc said so"? .... I'm confused