This week , our discussion in class proved that the argument that always goes in favor of past generations will never end. It was evident from our discussions that there are still comparisons between our generation's lack of reading newspapers to previous generations who seemed to enjoy reading the newspaper just a little more. You must have heard this argument... Because we aren't reading the newspaper anymore, kids these days aren't aware of what is going on in world, We are seeing an increase in lack of cultural competency from our generation. Some might even go as far as saying we have lower IQ's (claiming that this generation might not be as smart). The list could go on and on.
But hey, it's not our fault that we don't read newspapers, everything is on the internet! So 'our' counter argument is that instead of going through the newspaper, we get our news on the 'internet'. Having everything on the internet makes it so much easier and even eco-friendly (if newspapers go out of print eventually). But getting the news has gotten even easier us in this generation. We don't have to read news stories anymore. Someone reads the story and then all we have to do is read his/her blog about the news story!
My first reaction would be to right a thank you note to the bloggers out there who have somewhat made new stories easier to read. But, then could there be something wrong with this new phenomenon? Don't these blogs take something away from the objectivity that a good news story should have? What could be the effect in the long run of reading individuals opinions (which we get from these blogs) about what is affecting us and our society? It will be interesting to see in the next five years if there is a complete shift towards these 'blogs'. I wonder what this means for our news industry...?
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You know, it's funny because I too, as a mid twenty year old, find sadness in the idea of the newspaper disappearing. Not because I think I'll miss objective news - it's not. I guess I remember as a kid running up the driveway in the morning to get the paper. I sat next to my dad reading the kids corner of the Washington post. But in reality, I was much more aware when I started reading blogs and news on the internet. In a way, perhaps we are more able to be objective now. Most families received one, maybe 2, newspapers. This was the view we saw. Now we can read maybe 5 blogs about one topic seeing many more views - maybe this is the closest to objective.
Thanks for the post! I feel a nostalgia when I think about newspapers going under all over the US, these are homegrown, community driven centers of information that are no longer available. But, as you mention, the communities these newspapers represented are changing too. Now we have local blogs and websites for every city, town, neighborhood in America. I just bought a house and I regularly read the Prince of Petworth and other such blogs to get my finger on the pulse of the neighborhood.
I don't think it is a coincidence that just as huge multinational companies are controlling almost all of the content of our news and information sources that smaller, more home-grown and local sources are popping up for people to read and gain different views. We could learn about how crime is affecting neighborhoods and communities in new york in a large multinational newspaper, but we can also go to blogs and websites that live and breathe in these neighborhoods to see other perspectives of the community members that live there.