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Comment by CWuestefeld | Hacker News Reader

I was going to protest what sounded like a silly taunt of "great folks at El Reg". Then I went and read the article.

Holy mackerel, compared to this, the folks at Fox and MSNBC are paragons of neutrality. This may be the worst example of journalism I've ever seen. I'm looking all over for something that says "opinion" or "editorial", but no...

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Have you ever read The Register? Its been this way as long as I can remember (1999?). I consider it more of a cheeky, poking-fun style rather than it being inflammatory. They've always created an air of not taking IT/Technology too seriously.

Take this job listing for example: https://www.theregister.com/Page/devoops.html

1. DevOops.html

2. Titled: "Vultures seeking penguin-tamer"

I feel like the fact that The Register has been the Internet home of the Bastard Operator From Hell stories (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastard_Operator_From_Hell) since 2000 really sums up its attitude. It is tech news by and for BOFHs.

It always has been.

Neutrality in journalism was an artifact of the business model when consumers had far fewer choices of newspaper/channel (ie only < 5 local papers, 3 network channels), using neutrality as a strategy to avoid turning off potential consumers. The point of journalism is not neutrality; it's the communication of facts relevant to the audience.

This article communicated multiple facts/relevant quotes to me that I was not aware of before (eg iOS14 changing a default setting to improve user privacy, and the extremely revealing quotes from the FB Audience Network bloc [0]) and put them in a context relevant to the audience that values privacy. I don't see how this is an example of bad journalism.

[0] https://www.facebook.com/audiencenetwork/news-and-insights/p...

Because everyone is biased due to the data they are exposed to as they live through lifes experiences. Even Judges are biased, so you would be advised to seek parole after lunch if I was you. https://www.theguardian.com/law/2011/apr/11/judges-lenient-b... Besides The Register has always been that way, I dont see them preaching violence despite its efficiency, they are just telling the world how they and others see the IT world. As they say, biting the hand that feeds them.

The Register basically emulates british tabloids.

With celebrity nicknames for companies and all!

I was sincere, I love The Register! But there was an actual taunt in that sentence that was much more subtle. Notice what I didn’t say after talking about the “great folks at El Reg”.

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