Thread by @akurjata

A while ago I wanted to start a thread talking about how I think there is probably a link between media concentration and areas with lower trust in vaccines/covid-19 modelling. This thread is basically what I would have said

https://twitter.com/alisonborealis/status/1411042254655934468

This is why I react so viscerally when Vancouver is represented as all of B.C. "British Columbia enjoying warm spring" when most of the province is blanketed by snow is maybe minor but also sends the message "we are ignoring you" to the rest of the province

and when you see that daily, it's very easy for the narrative to take hold that "they" don't care about "us"

It's lots of things. It's when you do a story about natural gas and show an oil pipeline or fracking and show outdated tech.

If you can't be trusted to get the basics, who are you to talk about the impact on climate? You don't understand the industry

Or when you parachute in and talk about a "remote, rural community" when the people who live their recognize it as the urban center for the entire region. You're not speaking from a place of understanding

I've said this before but I try to avoid using the word rural in my reporting for this reason unless it meets some dang high thresholds. What you think of as rural in a big city is not what people who live there think of as rural

Anyways: I know it's not because individual reporters don't care. But it's important to understand how you are viewed and being received in the communities you purport to be reporting for. I try to be aware of it myself, and I know I fail, but I try to learn

And I know some people think it's a bit of a schtick I have to go "Vancouver ≠ B.C." but honestly it comes from a place of despearately wanting people EVERYWHERE to feel represented by, not resentful of, the media that we rely on to serve us

And I also want to emphasize: Most of the examples in this thread are based on things that I, personally, have gotten wrong and attempting to learn from them