For Chapter 17, the blog focused on the change of news reporting, and how the public and media interpreted and responded to it. Over time, informative news shows like 60 Minutes and 20/20 have become staples in the homes of viewers, seeking contreversial, informative, and overall, real news pieces. In the beginning, people were hesistant to watch these shows, but after they showed the realism of the stories, the ratings went higher and higher, and similar shows were continuously produced. I agree with why people weren’t willing to accept these shows in the beginning; sometimes shows that are supposed to show ‘the reality of life’ don’t always seem so real, like “To Catch A Predator”. Admittedly, when I first heard of that show, I refused to believe that it was real, and I still think there are some parts of it that may be staged. However, shows like Dateline and CBS’s Evening News are more believable to me, with the close footage, and threatening situations that some of the reporters get into, like when Robert Warren “Bob” Woodruff was almost killed in a roadside bombing in Iraq. Those are the stories that get people to watch, thus making the cooperations more money. I also think that blogging and giving up to date notices help this type of news; the media always first the “first dibs” or scoop on anything. Videos and blogs are becoming a big part of the media, so I think taking control of that, especially with the type of news that these shows are reporting, is a good way to keep the public interested, have a monopoly on all forms of media, which of course, makes more money.

Chapter 18 discusses how older types of news, namely 60 Minutes struggles to keep up with their audience’s new expectations of how news is supposed to be covered. As the years go on, and technology becomes more advanced, there is a need for a new type of reporting. People don’t always want to sit in fron the TV, just to receive news, especially with the popularity of the Internet. To keep viewers interested, 60 Minutes made a deal with Yahoo, so that their news footage is partly on TV, and partly on the Internet. This way, viewers can get a little of both, and get get extra footage that wasn’t shown on TV, on the Internet portion of the story. This type of media is called, “Info Snacking”. Its too early to tell if this method has worked, but personally, I would think that it would. I rarely watch television for the news; I’d rather watch it online, with the use of the newsite’s videos, and/or Youtube. Taking advantage of that media is the way to attract younger viewers like myself to be up to date with news, from that cooperation. The story also talks about the power of Google, Youtube, Myspace and Facebook and how those sites influence people; people don’t have to rely on news for their news, anymore. People can rely on each other, on Facebook, Myspace and other sites to get things they want to know. I know that the majority of the time, when I haven’t sought a specific site for news, I might learn something from a status message on Facebook, or someone posting a link. The news can’t keep up with that type of coverage that the younger generation is using, but they are steadily trying, due to the rise and control of the Internet.

In my opinion, the future of blogging will expand. It will grow amongst the people, like it has, with the random and sometimes funny blogs that the average citizen can post. But one difference is that is will be the news – altogether. I think eventually, major news corperations will turn to the Internet to get people to watch their broadcasts. Sure, for the older people, who may resist to that sort of media, they may keep somethings on the television, but it will definitely be less than now. Some people don’t bother to watch their favorite shows on television, at the actual time they come on, anymore because they know they can watch them online. Is it realistic to think that people will sit on the edge of their seats, eagerly awaiting the eleven o’ clock news? I think not. Not when they can read it the next day at work on the Internet. I think news corperations need to wise up, and partner with more popular sites, like Facebook and Msn, and even gossip sites like Perez Hilton, to make sure that this media is controlled by them. I have seen that a couple of news corperations have Facebook pages, but I don’t think its enough. They need to take the 60 Minute-Yahoo partrnership and learn from, and expand on it.