Nixon may have been just in his paranoia, but when you talk about Richard Nixon you have to have some historical perspective of who he was. Lots of people call Bush and Obama awful presidents, but Nixon is categorically considered one of the worst by many, and downright evil by some. He committed heinous acts in his time as president, and tried more often than not to be above the law and supersede the constitution to get what he wanted.
In light of that, it's hard for me to turn a blind eye to his paranoia about journalism, and makes me believe most of the people who were trying to tear him down with the use of their own freedom of speech were probably on to something.
When I see the figures increasing as viewership decreases in cable news, I worry. Being able to put more money in the tank doing what we're doing is nice, but if no one is watching it, we have a gigantic problem. It also worries me that money is being made while viewership is dropping - it makes me a viewer worry where that money is coming from, and me as a journalist see that it can foster the calls of being in someone's pocket that broadcast has to constantly fight.
If cable news has really peaked, as the State of The News Media article states, then it is time for a change to be made. Get away from the ratings grabbing, advertiser-ego stroking ideals that have dictated that last twenty years and bring the audience to the table through social media, figure out exactly what they want (though that seems to change with the seasons) and provide it.
As for the state of digital media, I think our reading is right in suggesting that mobile capacity is vital to the success of media in the digital age. I'd even take it a step further and say that it is the linchpin of that success.
Not only does mobile media show a grand opportunity to reach readers in new way, being able to work in the mobile media world is a great way of showing the news consumer that journalism can still be innovative and keep up with an ever changing world. If we continue to handle ourselves as a powerful mover in the mobile information age, consumers will be much more willing to stay with us to see how we handle the next big technological boom.
I don't think tabloid media corrupts our message as much as some would like to assume that it does, but that doesn't mean we can afford to depreciate our coverage by any means. The idea that the average viewer can filter out noise does not mean we have an easy pass to make a lot of loud noise that they can easily filter out. News media has to be on top of their game so that they are seen as valuable to the consumer, or else we're going even further down.
I really enjoyed your statement that having the opportunity to work in mobile media would be a great advantage. This would be fantastic as well as a tremendous opportunity to change the way the world is obtaining the news today. Also, after taking this class perhaps one of us if we do ever get to work in this type of career will be now aware of news bias and strive for fair and impartial reporting. This is something we can change as the new generation who will live in the digital world.
ReplyDeleteI don't think you are being naive or old-fashioned at all. I believe you are just acting with a conscious; you do not see any reason for Nixon to kill Anderson. That seems right to me. I was interested to learn you don't think tabloids are as corrupt as many believe. I wonder why is that? Because we regularly see politicians and celebrities say what is written about them is untrue. They could just being saying that, but then again so are tabloids.
ReplyDeleteMichael,
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I agree with your opinions of Nixon and the state of journalism and how paranoia played a factor in that instance. It's still somewhat of a factor today.
Cable really does need to learn its lesson about the divergence of viewership and revenue. This medium, along with all of the other reporting and delivering the news, like you said, have to have a real conversation with the public about what they want, where, when and how they want it delivered to them. They also need to figure out a way to re-monetize the industry. Relying on advertizing just isn't going to cut it for much longer.
Best,
PoLunatics