Journalism is the essence of democracy. Without an informed public, democracy cannot exist. I think democracy is as strong as ever with the advent of social media and blogging. Information that is valuable to the public is everywhere. Journalism provides a voice to the voiceless. We are seeing reform in so many countries because of the new outlets for citizen journalism (namely Twitter, Facebook) and some seem to be on their way to democracy with the help of these outlets.
I said before this class that I didn't think blogging was the same as being a journalist. However, my thinking has changed a bit from that first post. Blogging is more of a way to comment on certain issues, however, if a blog shows a dedication to truth-seeking and accuracy, then it is a form of journalism. I believe that if a journalist of any kind shows dedication to the public and a strong desire to find the truth and report it, then what they publish can be considered journalism.
Now, more than ever, citizens have the chance to be journalists. The voiceless now have a voice thanks to the many outlets available, and it is a civic duty to let one's voice be heard.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Making the News Comprehensive and Proportional
"In the name of efficiency and profit margins we did nothing to help create a new generation interested in news." -Kovacs and Rosenthiel, p. 211
The above quote is all too true. Ratings, ratings, ratings. They sometimes seem like the most important thing on some news organizations minds.
The pressure to hype certain stories is very common in today's journalistic world. News organizations today follow a thrillist model, which mixes advertising and news content. Go to the grocery store, and in most magazines, and even some newspapers the front page is covered with stories of scandal, sex and betrayal. With all these choices, especially the choice between infotainment and hard news, what do you think the celebrity obsessed and click happy younger generations are going to choose?
As journalists, we need to learn to strike a balance between the two and make news comprehensive for all viewers and readers. As mentioned before, I feel like CNN does a good job at balancing the two, whereas Fox News seems to be more determined to be sensational. Their content, while sometimes very good, is blown out of proportion sometimes and that in many cases makes their ratings very good.
The swine flu scare was, in my opinion, the most hyped up story of the decade. Some say the hype was in order to get ratings:
http://www.why100.info/article/20110306210658AAtIQZi.html
As discussed in the presentation, if you are a GOOD journalist, you won't succumb to the pressure to overhype a story.
Here's an article about the recent Charlie Sheen scandal: Hyped? You decide.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thecutline/20110301/ts_yblog_thecutline/9216
The above quote is all too true. Ratings, ratings, ratings. They sometimes seem like the most important thing on some news organizations minds.
The pressure to hype certain stories is very common in today's journalistic world. News organizations today follow a thrillist model, which mixes advertising and news content. Go to the grocery store, and in most magazines, and even some newspapers the front page is covered with stories of scandal, sex and betrayal. With all these choices, especially the choice between infotainment and hard news, what do you think the celebrity obsessed and click happy younger generations are going to choose?
As journalists, we need to learn to strike a balance between the two and make news comprehensive for all viewers and readers. As mentioned before, I feel like CNN does a good job at balancing the two, whereas Fox News seems to be more determined to be sensational. Their content, while sometimes very good, is blown out of proportion sometimes and that in many cases makes their ratings very good.
The swine flu scare was, in my opinion, the most hyped up story of the decade. Some say the hype was in order to get ratings:
http://www.why100.info/article/20110306210658AAtIQZi.html
As discussed in the presentation, if you are a GOOD journalist, you won't succumb to the pressure to overhype a story.
Here's an article about the recent Charlie Sheen scandal: Hyped? You decide.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thecutline/20110301/ts_yblog_thecutline/9216
Engagement and Relevance in Journalism
In today's world, it is sometimes hard to strike a balance between infotainment and information. Some news organizations (cough cough Fox News cough) are very good at sensationalizing everything. This obviously works for them, since they are rated very highly among the American public. I prefer more serious journalism, and I think that CNN does a relatively good job of balancing entertainment and sensationalism with news.
As mentioned in the presentation, the public seems to want both. We have to give them that, or they won't watch us or read us. I loved the quote "When you're bored, you stop learning and communication fails." This is very true. Making a story interesting and engaging for your audience is an art. I have struggled with this with some of my broadcast pieces. There are some stories that are simply boring. In the newsroom, if they are incredibly dull stories, we are encouraged to condense them into something quick and painless, for our viewers' sake.
Relevance is also very important in journalism; if you're story is outdated or irrelevant, you lose credibility. That's why many networks and affiliates preach being the first on the scene. If you're the first or only station with coverage, you gain credibility with your viewers.
Infotainment can be just what it is meant to be, entertaining. The stories really don't matter. They are interesting and they feed the public's desire for celebrity gossip. But in the grand scheme of things, they aren't newsworthy. Now, if a story is big enough, it does merit attention from real news organizations.
The availability of mass infotainment and mass news has created a rift in the political knowledge contained by one person to another:
http://www.princeton.edu/~mprior/Prior2005.News%20v%20Entertainment.AJPS.pdf
Some argue that real news is "boring" and in the world of mass communications that we live, since choices of media are so replete, it is not surprising that many younger viewers/readers prefer entertainment and celebrity news.
Some media consumers are annoyed by those who call themselves "journalists" who mix sensationalism with real newsworthy items.
http://www.uvent.info/political-news-vs-infotainment
In short, there was a time when most everything was just news. The advent of the magazine and gossip columns changed all that. Now we live in a world where the two mass media worlds of infotainment and news have mixed.
As mentioned in the presentation, the public seems to want both. We have to give them that, or they won't watch us or read us. I loved the quote "When you're bored, you stop learning and communication fails." This is very true. Making a story interesting and engaging for your audience is an art. I have struggled with this with some of my broadcast pieces. There are some stories that are simply boring. In the newsroom, if they are incredibly dull stories, we are encouraged to condense them into something quick and painless, for our viewers' sake.
Relevance is also very important in journalism; if you're story is outdated or irrelevant, you lose credibility. That's why many networks and affiliates preach being the first on the scene. If you're the first or only station with coverage, you gain credibility with your viewers.
Infotainment can be just what it is meant to be, entertaining. The stories really don't matter. They are interesting and they feed the public's desire for celebrity gossip. But in the grand scheme of things, they aren't newsworthy. Now, if a story is big enough, it does merit attention from real news organizations.
The availability of mass infotainment and mass news has created a rift in the political knowledge contained by one person to another:
http://www.princeton.edu/~mprior/Prior2005.News%20v%20Entertainment.AJPS.pdf
Some argue that real news is "boring" and in the world of mass communications that we live, since choices of media are so replete, it is not surprising that many younger viewers/readers prefer entertainment and celebrity news.
Some media consumers are annoyed by those who call themselves "journalists" who mix sensationalism with real newsworthy items.
http://www.uvent.info/political-news-vs-infotainment
In short, there was a time when most everything was just news. The advent of the magazine and gossip columns changed all that. Now we live in a world where the two mass media worlds of infotainment and news have mixed.
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