Monday, March 29, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
A blog I follow: Comm. 630
I read the Freakonomics blog on NYTimes.com.
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/
The importance of blogging-Comm. 630
Blogs have changed the media landscape by turning every reader, viewer or listener into a potential publisher or broadcaster. This two-way conversation never existed until the advent of "social" media. In the 1970s, the news media was a voice from above telling viewers, readers and listeners "that's the way it is." Think about Walter Cronkite or Woodward and Bernstein at the "Washington Post," they broadcast or wrote the stories and the news consumers had little ability to join the conversation except through snail mail to the media outlet, around the water cooler or over the back fence. Now, with the advent of an online water cooler via blogs and other "social" media, news consumers have the ability to comment on stories and directly communicate with reporters. The "blogosphere" is widely credited with questioning the story that eventually cost CBS News Anchor Dan Rather his career (http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2005/1/28/172943.shtml). Rather showed documents in his story that allegedly revealed that President George W. Bush evaded the draft. Those documents were later revealed to be false. It was a blogger who first made the claim that the documents were forged. Prior to the internet, it would have taken the work of another media outlet or a CBS ombudsman to uncover the false documents.
More voices, more choices. Just as cable television news provided more news outlets for consumers in the 1980s, blogs provide nearly infinite outlets for news and coverage of issues that consumers care to read about. While traditional media is limited by the "news hole" in broadcast or print, the online media is unlimited. However, this comes with a caution. The traditional news media is held to a standard of fairness and a process that includes reporters, producers, editors, photographers and news directors who attempt to ensure fairness and accuracy in all news stories that hit the air or print. A blog has no requirement to be fair or even truthful. As the Johnson article says, "..while traditional media are expected to maintain standards of fairness and balance, such expectations are not extended into the blogosphere (Johnson, et al., 2008)." The article goes on to say that blog readers will gravitate to blogs that validate their beliefs. It gave the example of conservative readers who gravitated to conservative blogs because they view the mainstream media as liberal.
Fragmentation. Just as cable and satellite television have fragmented viewers, the blogosphere can increase that fragmentation. Prior to cable, viewers had few television choices beyond the big three networks, PBS and a few independent channels. Now, with hundreds of channels focused on everything from travel to cooking to sports, the television experience for two people living in the same house may have very little overlap. The same could be true for blog readers. Those that gravitate to conservative blogs may have a much different perception of the same news event as those that read left-leaning or traditional news outlets.
The future. As newspapers continue to cut staff the hyper-local-blog may be the outlet that saves local news media. I can see a day when a blog focusing on east Springfield becomes the preferred news outlet for certain readers. However, how to monetize that model to make it a person's employment to produce print stories, photograph events and even videotape sporting events is elusive. For traditional media, most outlets have realized that they have to join the conversation and can no longer engage in a one-way monologue with viewers, readers and listeners. According to the Johnson article, this dialogue is especially important for politically active people who, traditionally, have been the most consistent news consumers. Keeping those people engaged is important for the survival of traditional media outlets.
Conclusion. Blogs have democratized the ability to produce news and "flattened" the media landscape for producers and consumers. However, media consumers should approach their "news" consumption from blogs with caution knowing that bloggers do not hold themselves to the same journalistic standards as traditional media.
More voices, more choices. Just as cable television news provided more news outlets for consumers in the 1980s, blogs provide nearly infinite outlets for news and coverage of issues that consumers care to read about. While traditional media is limited by the "news hole" in broadcast or print, the online media is unlimited. However, this comes with a caution. The traditional news media is held to a standard of fairness and a process that includes reporters, producers, editors, photographers and news directors who attempt to ensure fairness and accuracy in all news stories that hit the air or print. A blog has no requirement to be fair or even truthful. As the Johnson article says, "..while traditional media are expected to maintain standards of fairness and balance, such expectations are not extended into the blogosphere (Johnson, et al., 2008)." The article goes on to say that blog readers will gravitate to blogs that validate their beliefs. It gave the example of conservative readers who gravitated to conservative blogs because they view the mainstream media as liberal.
Fragmentation. Just as cable and satellite television have fragmented viewers, the blogosphere can increase that fragmentation. Prior to cable, viewers had few television choices beyond the big three networks, PBS and a few independent channels. Now, with hundreds of channels focused on everything from travel to cooking to sports, the television experience for two people living in the same house may have very little overlap. The same could be true for blog readers. Those that gravitate to conservative blogs may have a much different perception of the same news event as those that read left-leaning or traditional news outlets.
The future. As newspapers continue to cut staff the hyper-local-blog may be the outlet that saves local news media. I can see a day when a blog focusing on east Springfield becomes the preferred news outlet for certain readers. However, how to monetize that model to make it a person's employment to produce print stories, photograph events and even videotape sporting events is elusive. For traditional media, most outlets have realized that they have to join the conversation and can no longer engage in a one-way monologue with viewers, readers and listeners. According to the Johnson article, this dialogue is especially important for politically active people who, traditionally, have been the most consistent news consumers. Keeping those people engaged is important for the survival of traditional media outlets.
Conclusion. Blogs have democratized the ability to produce news and "flattened" the media landscape for producers and consumers. However, media consumers should approach their "news" consumption from blogs with caution knowing that bloggers do not hold themselves to the same journalistic standards as traditional media.
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