| When I Googled "Where do we get our news" I realized how much power the giant search engine had in influencing the results when the website I had selected didn't open. But with so much choice it didn't seem to matter.
 Michael M. Jenner speaks to Democrats in Springfield
The definitive voice on the state of the news media in 2015 seems to be the Pew Research Center. Professor Michael M. Jenner, Houston Harte Chair in Journalism at the University of Missouri at a talk before the Springfield Democratic Alliance recently used 2013 Pew data to show that news conveyed online/digitally surpassed radio, TV and newspapers. I thought, now wait a minute, technology is so rapidly changing that more up-to-date revelations must be out there. "Where do we get our news" from an April 29, 2015, Pew website revealed that "at the start of 2015, 39 of the top 50 digital news websites have more traffic to their sites and associated applications coming from mobile devices than from desktop computers" and that while the core cable news audience continues to shrink, profits haven't--that is according to the Pew Research Center's analysis of comScore data.This led me to ask, "What is comScore data? Going to its website revealed that Gian Fulgoni reported that "Millennials are heavy digital and social users and Facebook is the Mobile king." I could have searched "Gian Fulgoni" but suddenly I understood that time became more valuable than knowledge.
When cable news told me that they weren't releasing the name of the latest mass murderer, I went online and found it. TV news sound bites are hardly nourishing as well.
The point seems to be, however, recognizing that knowledge is power, surfing the Internet is the definitive method for finding out information. Newspapers seem to be the most vulnerable. Once in print, the static news becomes stale in a nanosecond.
Jenner, a long-time newspaper man, spoke of a fiscal cliff. He blamed the drop in newspaper's advertising support on the dotcom bust, 9-11, the mortgage meltdown, car market bust, Craig's List and the end of department store advertising. How do they make up that revenue morass? I can't believe that I paid $2.50 for a copy of USA Today just to do the crossword on my last plane trip. But solving the crossword puzzle in the morning with coffee still seems to be a ritual for many retirees, who also say they need to physically hold a paper in their hands. That practice seems to justify Jenner's stats that in the 18-40 age group, 61 percent get their news from Facebook/digitally versus 37 percent from TV while Baby Boomers switch the stats to 39/60.
Quoting the American Press Institute---OMG, I just Googled them and found that they are touting a new report on Millennials' news habits that shows the vast majority of the Millennial generation, those they say are 18-34, regularly use paid content for entertainment or news and their willingness to pay for news is correlated with his or her broader beliefs about the value of news. Interesting. My kids are millennials, yet I doubt if they would be willing to pay for it when it is out there for free. It just takes energy and, of course, time. Anyway, Jenner quoted them when he said that Democrats get their news from local TV while Republicans rely on 24-hour news, a misnomer if he was referring to the constant "talking points" from alleged experts that appear on CNN, MSNBC and FOX. And we know which one of those Republicans watch exclusively. Distortion of the news irks me. As an Independent, I don't discriminate amongst these three major cable channels, but when anyone of them promotes something totally outrageous, I'm clicking the remote off.
This leads to Jenner's remark about news literacy. He called it a "growing concern." He has his students research "what was fake on the Internet last week." (Actually, I'd say that this exercise could be used for any form of media.) Jenner seems to have idealized PolitiFact citing that it was awarded a Pulitzer Prize (that's a whole other topic). However, even PolitiFact can be subject to fact-checking.
So, with all the conflicting information out there what source do you believe? For those non-critical sheep out there stop being lazy. Figure it out.
And I have to insert here the message conveyed by Democratic candidate for President, Bernie Sanders. I didn't hear or read anywhere a discussion on his concluding message to the middle class in America. He recognizes that the inequality between the rich and the poor can only be addressed if those affected and those concerned speak up. Bernie must realize how brainwashed people are based on their proven ability not to think critically. And, yes, I was enthralled by Thomas Frank's 2004 book, What's the Matter with Kansas? It's as true today as then. Go Back |
