Chapter 17- “Network news: then and now”
The main argument of this chapter was the shift that television news has made in recent years. Ted Koppel I think said it best when he explained that now journalism is being judged by the same standards as entertainment and giving the public what it wants not what it needs has been a major shift in news. Prior to the 1980’s Reagan era there were standards for news. The FCC mandated that networks “operate in the public interest, convenience and necessity.” Meaning that what they presented on the news was in the interest of the public and would benefit the public in the end. The argument here is that news was not really expected to make money. Making a profit was not really the main point of the news. Then came 60 minutes, and 20/20 and that type of show and news suddenly became a way to make money. During the 1980’s and the time of de-regulation there was a corporate take over which solidified the shift from public interest being the number one point of news to profit being the number one priority of the networks. Now that the corporations own the networks the news is simply another business venue to make money from.
I do agree with the main argument of the chapter. I think that the news really has shifted from having the public interest at heart to being all about making money. The types of news programs and segments that are shown on the news are in my opinion chosen for entertainment purposes and not for the sake of the public. I think that certain news segments gets chosen a lot of the times simply because it’s going to draw a bigger audience not necessarily because it is going to provide the public with any sort of valuable information. There was an argument brought up by Ted Koppel in this chapter about how news now is about getting the people what they want, which in a way mirrors blogging. When it comes to blogging the reader can seek out exactly what they want and don’t have to really be bothered with other information. News is leading towards the same way, with giving their audience what they want to watch not what they might need. Blogging gives the reader the opportunity to only look at what they want specifically, although blogging is not really about making a profit as much as news is blogs are still giving people what they want to draw more traffic to their site which in turn creates more revenue for the blog. Television news does the same thing. They provide the audience with the types of segments that they think the audience wants so that they can have a higher rating and in turn have more advertising revenue.
Chapter 18- “Info snacking”
This chapter dealt with the shift of broadcast news to the internet. Now news is not only shifting the type of stories that are covered but also the medium in which these stories are covered. News is shifting to commentary and opinion based coverage. Because of the impact of the internet broadcast news has been forced to adapt and move towards the internet. Programs like 60 minutes understand that younger audiences get their news online more than they do from typical broadcast programs. The audience is ever changing; they have more control over what they want and where they go to get it. The manner in which they are consuming their news has changed platforms. The internet has become a way for the power of the end user to be reorganized. The chapter makes the argument that the audience is demanding news and entertainment when and where they want it and even sometimes creating it themselves. The chapter also suggested that the old media is struggling to keep up and needs to make a change to accommodate with the wants and needs of the newly evolved audience.
I do agree with the argument that this chapter is making to some extent. I do think that the internet is the wave of the future and that now audiences can consume media in different ways than before. But I don’t think that the internet should be the only method for audiences to consume news. The problem that I have with the internet and getting news from the internet is that there is not simply of checks and balances. How does one know that something that was reported on the internet was a fabrication? I think that traditional news has a better system in some ways of fact checking. Also the internet causes problems because audiences will not get a good variety of news. If you can choose which news stories to read then you habitually read some stories and not others. This chapter’s main argument of shifting news to the internet and placing more power and command onto the audience makes a direct connection to blogging. Blogs are all about how the reader and the citizens are in control of the content. They choose what type of content goes on the blogs and the same is occurring with broadcast television as it begins to shift from television to internet.
Question # 2
The chapters and the readings all make the point that audiences are making a shift onto the internet. Audiences now are growing with the internet and are using it more and more because it has become more readily accessible to them. Blogs are the perfect medium for audiences to get what they want. The chapters clearly state that audiences want their news and that they will search specifically for what they want which they can do on a blog. Also there has been a shift from reporter based news to commentary and opinion based news, which is supported by the internet and blogs. Network programs are using blogs as well to keep their audiences interested and provide them with the opinion based news that they are searching for. CNN for example has created a site called iCNN where audiences can essentially become reporters and read about stories that they find interesting and also post stories themselves. By involving their audiences in blogs networks are adapting to the shift of news from broadcast to the internet and using blogs to their advantage. Blogs will only become more and more popular as time goes on.
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