Ask HN: Is HN Press?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44785306

by alganet • 12 months ago

5 21 12 months ago

news.ycombinator.com

In your opinion, is HN part of the press?

PaulHoule4• 12 months ago

No.

alganet9• 12 months ago

Would you trust HN as a source of information?

PaulHoule4• 12 months ago

I trust some things I see on HN, I distrust other things.

bell-cot• 12 months ago

More than most of the Press.

hollerith3• 12 months ago

It is an important part of the world's media ecosystem.

Like much of the rest of the serious (not pure entertainment) part of the ecosystem, its importance might decline soon as AI services get better, but I have seen no signs of that yet.

alganet9• 12 months ago

Can you elaborate?

It is unclear if you see it as a press-wannabe that doesn't quite live up to expectation, or if you see it as something beyond press that is meant to replace it.

hollerith3• 12 months ago

I used "media ecosystem" instead of "press" because I do not care to get involved in any attempt to define "press".

I don't see HN as not living up to expectation.

I do think that it has partially replaced older media institutions in the battle for the attention of and influence on influential and informed people.

aswanson• 12 months ago

rossdavidh2• 12 months ago

I can tell you that the press sometimes looks at HN for material, anyway. Several years ago I made a comment on HN, and it got seen by someone at the New York Times who asked me to write an opinion piece based on it: https://www.rosshartshorn.net/stuffrossthinksabout/nyt_opini...

But, "the press" is normally considered to be content generated by people doing that for a living (albeit not necessarily a good one), and most HN contributors do other things for a living.

alganet9• 12 months ago

I understand where you're basing your description. It's like you're describing it in pieces (sources, writers, etc).

Perhaps I should have been more inquisitive. Would you say that HN serves the same social purpose as the press?

rossdavidh2• 12 months ago

The same social purpose that the press was traditionally expected to serve, yes. Not necessarily the purpose it serves in recent decades.

gwbrooks• 12 months ago

There's no standard definition of what constitutes the press.

Now, if the question is some flavor of: Do Hacker News posts and comments enjoy First Amendment protections generally described as "freedom of the press?" Absolutely.

The press isn't a special class under 1a; "or of the press;" in the First Amendment simply means you're free to write and publish -- not just speak -- without interference from the government.

alganet9• 12 months ago

You seem to be approaching the question as something related to censorship. That's not what I meant.

From a less legalese definition of "The Press", and a more of a social function one, what do you think? Let's assume a hypothetical scenario where censorship is not something to worry about (in this hypothetical scenario, it is not being applied and also not a general concern of the population). Down to the basics, what is supposed to be. What would be your thoughts on it?

Ask HN: Is HN Press?

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