Yo @startrek, tell me something?
Do #trashy #tabloids exist in the #StarTrek universe? Does *any* #journalism whatsoever exist in the Star Trek universe?
Because, if not, then it means there are no Tucker Carlsons and no Jon Stewarts, and no John Olivers in that universe. Probably because nothing needs internal investigations in that society as a whole!
And that frankly blows my mind… 🤯
And there is the Federation News Network in Picard. A journalist even interviews Picard in the beginning of the first season.
I believe we also see the FNN in Lower Decks, in which they act more like a tabloid than an actual news service.
This feels a bit like awkward social commentary, which I’m going to overlook to try to answer your question. In DS9 there are a few takes on tabloids and newscasts. There’s an episode where the crew is working an old-time print newspaper gig, and also the war updates/propaganda
Also, in voyager Neelix has a much beloved vlog/newsletter about goings-on around the ship
There’s an episode where the crew is working an old-time print newspaper gig
That one, Far beyond the stars is set around a 1950s editorial bullpen, but for a science fiction magazine. Not much news reporting going on there, sorry 🙂
The Enterprise-B launch was attended by a gaggle of reporters and camera people.
The Federation and Starfleet is shown to not be a perfect institution, with many questionable and sometimes downright right corrupt politicians involved.
Can’t see how they couldn’t have journalism and investigations, especially if they’re meant to be a somewhat competent representative democracy.
I keep thinking “there was that one episode where one cast member is followed around by a nosy reporter”, but that’s The expanse and (if I recall correctly) Battlestar Galactica.
Trek doesn’t seem too keen to comment directly on 20th and 21st century media?
Babylon 5 also had an episode with that theme. They show the heavily edited broadcast at the end and it always pisses me off (which is the intention)
@halm Yeah, but I kinda reasoned it in my head thinking #Expanse is dystopian and all dystopian hellscapes definitely require reporters… 🤣
But, as others have informed me, there is definitely a reporter named Jake Sisko in the Star Trek universe who plays an important(-ish?) role. The wiki doesn’t seems to have much by way of his journalistic exploits, though. 🤷♂️
Yeah, he’s the son of the Deep Space 9 commander, and as he grows up through the series decides to become a writer. The show mostly focuses on his fiction efforts but during a hostile occupation of the space station he turns reporter and has to glad hand the occupational powers.
It’s not exactly tabloid material, but I think he starts out instinctively going for more sensationalist angles while he learns that there is more to journalism 🙂
I’m going off spotty memory here, hopefully others can fill in the details, or that Memory Alpha article has some leads to specific episodes.
In Deep Space 9, Jake Sisko (the station commander’s son) is a journalist for the Federation News Service. There’s a good episode where he ends up in a war zone and the story covers cowardice and PTSD.
Considering how LD canonized in universe conspiracy theories like “Worf 359 was an inside job” I would imagine there are some trashy tabloids
If any of these are an extension of our timeline, it’s likely that all newspapers are trash: https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Newspaper
That’s the best I got unless you want to also discuss tabloids with Star Trek related stories…
That is picture of an actual tabloid. It was in reference to a tabloid being about Star Trek, not about your actual question.
Tabloids? We have a more evolved sensibility…
