Confessions of a Grown-up Paperboy

Found that classic paperbag on EBay.
It was dirty and it had a hole in it.
Looks just like my old one.

Back in the 70s, newspapers were not always delivered by adults in cars. Newspapers were frequently delivered by “paperboys.” They would put their bundles of newspapers in canvas bags and either walk from house to house or ride their bikes. 

My first job was delivering newspapers and I did my route on a bike. Every morning, I would ride to the top of my street, Thomas Rd. in South Weymouth, Massachusetts, where a large bundle of newspapers would be waiting for me. I had eighty or so customers. About 60 were Boston Globe subscribers and fifteen or so were Boston Herald Traveler subscribers. There was also a handful of very discerning readers who got the Record American.

Alternative Facts and the Rise of Fake News

"A modern revolutionary
group heads for the
television station."
Abbie Hoffman

"We are the ones that determine what people's attitudes are. It's in our hands."
Ted Turner

Although some people deny that the media can control the way they think, it would be hard to make the case that the media don’t affect what we think about. Editors and producers decide which stories appear at the top of the hour or on the front page. They also decide which stories are worthy of coverage and which can be ignored.

Not all fake news is created equally.

“Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” Mark Twain

There are several varieties of fake news. Here are two of the most common forms.

Michael Mullen and Jon Stewart

Satire

The most obvious type of fake news is satirical fake news. This includes everything from material in The Onion, to Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live, to The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. The emphasis is on humor and getting laughs. Sometimes people are not aware that they’re reading or watching satire. Some people take satire completely seriously. Also, there are people who don’t understand what satire is or how it works through irony, exaggeration, and by other methods.