Friday, January 18, 2013
Reading Response 1/18/13
In response to the first reading about why we need to hate the press, I would agree to what the author is saying for a few reasons. First the press has always been there and the press will always be there. Our country was found on freedom and as the only constitutionally protected industry the press has an obligation to push the boundaries in reporting what is really happening in our country and abroad. Secondly, the press industry is a business that not only has huge expenses but needs to make money as well to keep up with the changing world. As we have witnessed, there has been a huge shift in how the news gets reported. The industry was initially founded on the use of daily news papers to get the news out, now we are seeing the increase in online news media and lessening of hard print readership. New companies need to sell their content or have their content viewed enough that it attracts advertisers so they can make money. This is why we see news stories that everyone loves to hate. Yes everyone enjoys reading the stories about the successful charity or the bravery of mankind but what catches our eye is the stories with big bold scary headlines such as "AMERICA ABOUT TO FALL OFF THE CLIFF" or "AMERICA'S CYCLING HERO A FAKE AND A CHEAT". These types of headlines are what sell papers and what sell adverts.
This brings us to the second article about the iron core of news media. For this article I would tend to agree and disagree with the author. Yes more people are buying copies of People Magazine than the NY Times and more people watch the Oprah Winfrey Show than watch the CBS Evening News but I think the core is still there and it is just as strong. I believe that the outer layers have just gotten more numerous. The TV media market is as big as it has ever been and shows and adverts with huge human interest are still a big cash crop where anyone can jump into the market and sell a show that will have a high enough attendance to have networks film them and show them on TV.
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2 comments:
I just want to pretense this comment and let it be known that I, DO NOT, prefer watching Oprah over anything. Anways, there absolutely has been a shift in how the news is being reported. We cannot always rely on swift and accurate reports for reasons we can blame on both the media and the government. But, I do think the government has an obligation to release to the media news that we, as citizens of this country, should know, unless it may compromise national security.
Another sad fact from the second article is that shows like CBS Evening News and Oprah are combining stories. News shows are becoming more about "feature" stories than straight news. There are so few hard news programs left that people who just want to be informed have few options. On the other hand, that may open the market for a revival in news journalism over time. Guess we'll have to see.
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