Are You Truly Informed??

The newspaper industry is slowly going through a transformation. Cyberjournalism is new form of news writing and is emerging in cities throughout the country. The average citizen is put in the driver’s seat as they become the reporters and write the stories they feel are important.

I reviewed an online journalism effort in San Diego and was quite surprised by what I found. The site “Voice of San Diego.org” is a non-profit online newspaper focused on issues affecting the San Diego region. Their unique mission statement is:

“to consistently deliver ground-breaking investigative journalism for the San Diego region. To increase civic participation by giving citizens the knowledge and in-depth analysis necessary to become advocates for good government and social progress.”

The site is simply dedicated to informing. No entertainment here. The online newspaper prides itself on the fact that its sole focus is to deliver local news and issues. They present the neighborhood news from an independent prospective.

As the mission statement implies, The newspaper has an overwhelming local feel to it. It is simply the news relevant to the citizens of San Diego. I live in Erie, PA so the articles and issues discussed are somewhat irrelevant to me but could be very important to others. This type of reporting is good in a sense that local citizens can become more actively involved in their community events. They will know, not just some, but ALL of the issues affecting their area and will be able to make educated and informed decision. This seems like the perfect idea in theory. But if one was to rely solely on the Voice of San Diego for their news they would be missing out on vital section of information; world news. Like any form of media, readers must not rely solely on one source for news.

Another unique aspect of the site that it is professionally staffed yet still a non-profit organization. It’s the only organization of its kind in the whole state of California. They operate from the financial support of individuals, foundations and business.

Because the online newspaper is non-profit, the idea of commercialism plays less of a role in the depiction of events. The paper can publish whatever they want, not just what will make them money. They don’t have as many constraints and can focus on bringing the reader stories that are most likely to impact their daily lives.

Sometimes in journalism the structure of the organizational structure of the paper can determine what stories they cover or the bias with which they write. The Voice of San Diego is run by a board of 6 directors and has a staff of 8 writers, editors and producers. Interestingly enough each member of the board has a unique background. No two have the same. Each member brings a different outlook to the paper. This allows for a balance between the stories that will be covered. If the board of directors were all tied to the same company the paper would most likely have a skewed focus.

In conclusion, the only way to be sure that you are getting fully informed is to rely on more than one source. No matter how unbiased and informative one paper or television news cast may seem, you’re still missing vital information in some way. One media source can’t do it all. A mix of all types and varieties is the only sure way to stay truly informed.

Survivor: Fans vs Favorites

I think the idea of the show is an interesting concept. Having the dedicated fans compete with their favorite competitors is definite way to boost ratings. Getting the viewers involved is a great way to increase the average viewer’s relationship with the program.

But I feel Alexis’s quote is incorrect. The fans only “think” they know their competitor’s strengths and weaknesses. During the actual filming there are hours and hours of footage that is shot and condensed into a one-hour show. No one knows what is really happening in the other 23 hours of the day. As Dr. Corso said in class, most of the players sleep for hours on end because there’s nothing else to do.

Overall, the fans only know they game in which they are shown. They have no way of actually knowing what goes on there. This proves that the “favorites” are actually the ones with the advantage.

This is where the line blurs between scripted programs and reality television. The recorded footage is skillfully edited to create a storyline and “characters”. Which makes me wonder "is this really reality? "

"Since when has news become entertainment ..."

In class we were exposed to an episode of the 1980’s science fiction series Max Headroom. Though futuristic and somewhat implausible, the show comments on many aspects of media literacy relevant today.

In the particular episode we watched entitled “war”, we were introduced to a society overwhelmed by media influence. One of network news channels, BreakThruTV, stages a terrorist attack in order to increase the number of viewers during the global ratings sweeps.

The concepts that first came to mind were the four traps that result from automaticity, Since we are bombarded by so many media messages everyday our minds program themselves to automatically filter out those deemed unimportant. As discussed in our class lecture, this state of mind has four traps that make discerning important messages difficult.

Since society has developed such a strong sense of trust with television news channels, we have “a false sense of feeling informed and in control” which eventually leads to “faulty beliefs. Since we have no way of actually knowing the truth, we whole-heartedly believe what we see. As illustrated in the episode, playing on these information traps is a dangerous way to get viewers to believe anything you want them to.

Another important issue resulting from this episode is media ethics. This just goes to show that networks will do anything for ratings. A question of ethics can be asked of most of the reality shows that appear on television today. The line between what is ethical and what will make money continues to be unclear. As Edison Carter asks, “Since when has news become entertainment?”