LiveMint journalist Sidin Vadukut’s rant was partly based on a reading course he was designing
Please do not ask me for “unbiased” books/writings on anything. Every writer is biased. Better to read widely and ‘actively’.
— RasamOfRealpolitik (@sidin) April 15, 2015
Assume everything you read is biased in some ways. Absorb accordingly. Read critically. Seek perspectives.
— RasamOfRealpolitik (@sidin) April 15, 2015
Not to be preachy. But I have this conversation many times each week. And I think many readers are poorer for insisting on lack of bias.
— RasamOfRealpolitik (@sidin) April 15, 2015
And also remember that there all combinations of ideas, people, reasons. Good ideas from bad people for good reasons. And other combos.
— RasamOfRealpolitik (@sidin) April 15, 2015
Reported news is also biased. I can send 10 reporters to the same incident and get 10 entirely different reports. Often with identical data.
— RasamOfRealpolitik (@sidin) April 15, 2015
And plenty of research suggests a lot of bias is not even activated consciously. Readers and writers all function suboptimally in that sense
— RasamOfRealpolitik (@sidin) April 15, 2015
What does irk me is when there is structured bias that is hidden. And when there isn’t a process for correcting or owning up to errors.
— RasamOfRealpolitik (@sidin) April 15, 2015
And 2 or 3 final tweets. The solution, for us as individuals, is to choose what we care about read deeply. The internet is good for this.
— RasamOfRealpolitik (@sidin) April 15, 2015
But the internet, especially social media, forces generalism. We must have thoughts on internet, women, safety, agri, sports…etc.
— RasamOfRealpolitik (@sidin) April 15, 2015
Perhaps it is better to step back a bit and decide if everyone should have an opinion on everything.
— RasamOfRealpolitik (@sidin) April 15, 2015
And finally wilful inaccuracy. That is beyond bias, IMO. That is chicanery. And there has to be disincentives for that. Ideally market ones.
— RasamOfRealpolitik (@sidin) April 15, 2015
Unfortunately there are very few structural disincentives to that kind of thing in Indian media.
— RasamOfRealpolitik (@sidin) April 15, 2015
So yeah. I try to cope by reading more, about fewer things, with a switched on brain. Always. Take notes. Discuss. I try. Hope this helps.
— RasamOfRealpolitik (@sidin) April 15, 2015
This came out of: 1. Someone just asked for a book recco. 2. From some notes on a course on reading that I was designing but never happened.
— RasamOfRealpolitik (@sidin) April 15, 2015
Disclaimers: There are much more senior writers here who will perhaps disagree. Also I am am pro-media. I think it is a force for good.
— RasamOfRealpolitik (@sidin) April 15, 2015
Akshat Rathi 