In a recent PEW study (http://tinyurl.com/3e56go3)
about the public consumption of news, we learn that while television is still the most used source of news, the other sources (yes, this even includes radio) are catching up. This is good news for us aspiring to be in the journalistic business in the near future. While this was very exciting, what interested me most about this article is that it said younger adults, so my generation, are especially unconcerned about the death of local newspapers, or where they get their news from. Not only is this frightening, but more and more relevant the older I get. Most of my peers don’t get any intake of news in a normal week besides the weather. When they do, it is usually something they heard in passing, and they never know if it is true or not. We are seeing a large case of "Well I heard that (insert random fact her)." No one is checking their facts! No verification! How scary can this be! Why would people think that the news business is failing when they look at the up-and-coming generation and see a bunch of people relying on word of mouth? I feel it is my duty to at least make sure the word of mouth is correct.
about the public consumption of news, we learn that while television is still the most used source of news, the other sources (yes, this even includes radio) are catching up. This is good news for us aspiring to be in the journalistic business in the near future. While this was very exciting, what interested me most about this article is that it said younger adults, so my generation, are especially unconcerned about the death of local newspapers, or where they get their news from. Not only is this frightening, but more and more relevant the older I get. Most of my peers don’t get any intake of news in a normal week besides the weather. When they do, it is usually something they heard in passing, and they never know if it is true or not. We are seeing a large case of "Well I heard that (insert random fact her)." No one is checking their facts! No verification! How scary can this be! Why would people think that the news business is failing when they look at the up-and-coming generation and see a bunch of people relying on word of mouth? I feel it is my duty to at least make sure the word of mouth is correct.
Those of my friends who do take in news, they do so online, and still don’t care if the local newspaper company goes under. "I'll get it online," they say. I doubt they realize that the news they are getting online comes first from the newspaper. It is a case of cognitive dissonance if I ever saw one. I know this may not frighten all of my blog stalkers (thanks to those who even read this far) but it frightens me. It just reminded me of why I so desperately want to get into this field. I feel it a personally duty to check the facts for those who don’t have the desire or time. I want my generation to be informed correctly.
No comments:
Post a Comment