You may have noticed that my blog entries tend to be short. Time constraints prevent me from fully developing and/or expressing my ideas...but hey, if you're reading this blog you're smart, you'll figure it out. This is another one of my half-baked notions that I don't have time to let rise.
Global convergence is partially, possibly mostly responsible for many of the problems in getting intelligent and balanced media coverage of an issue. Too many media outlets are controlled by too few masters. The day of the headstrong editor controlling the beliefs of a publication and directing the staff has disappeared. Jonah J. Jameson has become a myth. The press (including tv, radio and web reports) are so busy feeding the monster that is public appetite, true journalism has all but disappeared. Infotainment is the dumbing down of journalism to the lowest common denominator (why else do people know more about moronic celebrities than about their governments), and is partially responsible (along with the "no child must fail" garbage that schools are shovelling) for the reduced intelligence level of the average citizen.
More later.
1 comment:
Absolutely. The concentration of information into a few hands has eroded competition and the need to be better, smarter and more credible than the other guy.
Also, since everything seems to hinge on profits these days, regardless of the field, journalists, editors and even publishers must kow-tow to advertisers in order to keep collecting revenue.
Add to that the 24-hour news stations, online updates to newspaper sites, the increasing degradation of language and topics on 'talk' radio and you have a situation where the media can no longer be trusted to present the facts.
Many of us realize this and do research into issues highlighted by media. If you know something about a subject, you quickly realize that media reports are biased, inaccurate and misleading. The 'experts' they quote are not accredited. They no longer act as a watchdog for citizens about government activities and other issues.
They seem to have joined government ranks.
Bob Woodward has been giving talks about this in the US for years, pointing out that the ardent reporters and investigative journalists of the past have all but disappeared.
People in my age group remember when the media was trustworthy and relentless in the search for truth.
It's sad to realize that those days are long gone.
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