"Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one."
—A.J. Liebling
—A.J. Liebling
In the past Americans have had to rely on broadcast and print media to get the news and therefore were inevitably exposed to biases of their sources. News anchors and news producers strategically select which guest to appear on their shows in order to support their own beliefs, and journalists twist their words to create a bias favorable to their political ideology when explaining a news story. Behind the actual news casters and writers of course are the owners, board members, and investors of the news companies. Often the companies that own large news organizations like NBC, ABC, and FOX have parent companies that have particular economic interests and political agendas. For example, Viacom (which used to be Westhousing Electric CO.) is the parent corporation of news network CBS; and General Electric Co. which was the 13th largest donor to the Bush campaign in 2000 owns NBC.
I’m sure we all remember Mr. Johnsons’ rather passionate slightly insane lecture about how corporate America, the rich white ‘Man’, and biased journalist were ruining news media. To sum up my point, direct ties in the world of corporate America are unbelievably extensive and these ties can cause seriously bias and compromise news coverage. The parents of most news corporations are profit-making corporations that conduct themselves like other corporations when it comes to corrupting American politics. Long story short, many Americans see the news of the world through the political lends of people they don’t know.
"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!"
—The Wizard
The Wizard of Oz
If you share this pessimistic, disheartened, disenchanted view of news media you may be wondering where you should get your news from. Who can you trust to help you form political opinions? Well what about your friends, specifically your Facebook friends.
I’m sure we all remember Mr. Johnsons’ rather passionate slightly insane lecture about how corporate America, the rich white ‘Man’, and biased journalist were ruining news media. To sum up my point, direct ties in the world of corporate America are unbelievably extensive and these ties can cause seriously bias and compromise news coverage. The parents of most news corporations are profit-making corporations that conduct themselves like other corporations when it comes to corrupting American politics. Long story short, many Americans see the news of the world through the political lends of people they don’t know.
"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!"
—The Wizard
The Wizard of Oz
If you share this pessimistic, disheartened, disenchanted view of news media you may be wondering where you should get your news from. Who can you trust to help you form political opinions? Well what about your friends, specifically your Facebook friends.
According to our guest lecturer, the majority of Americans still get their news from the television broadcast media like FOX and CNN, however the internet is rapidly growing as a source of news. As the internet continues to expand and become more important in peoples’ lives, so have social media websites. Blogs and Facebook have become a growing source of news for many Americans and in many ways are improving the quality of news. This personalization of journalism allows individuals to broadcast their own bias or political opinions.
Previously in class, we have discussed the problem of assessing the reliability and creditability of anonymous internet bloggers who double as journalist. However I believe that in the future of social media and blogging this is a problem that will solve itself. Intelligent, well organized, well written, blogs containing well supported political ideas will eventually spread by way of the Wall. Bloggers who have their content spread will eventually gain their own type of “cyber” credit on the internet.
For example, today I came across a blog written by Professor Walter Russell Mead. He wrote a fairly extensive, but relatively short considering the complexity of the issue, analysis of why the “Blue” (or socialist) system was failing in the inter-cities of America and then published it to his blog linked to the website The American Interest. The name of the of the piece is “Why Blue Can’t Save The Inner Cities Part I” and his blog is titled VIA MEADIA (I thought it was clever).
Previously in class, we have discussed the problem of assessing the reliability and creditability of anonymous internet bloggers who double as journalist. However I believe that in the future of social media and blogging this is a problem that will solve itself. Intelligent, well organized, well written, blogs containing well supported political ideas will eventually spread by way of the Wall. Bloggers who have their content spread will eventually gain their own type of “cyber” credit on the internet.
For example, today I came across a blog written by Professor Walter Russell Mead. He wrote a fairly extensive, but relatively short considering the complexity of the issue, analysis of why the “Blue” (or socialist) system was failing in the inter-cities of America and then published it to his blog linked to the website The American Interest. The name of the of the piece is “Why Blue Can’t Save The Inner Cities Part I” and his blog is titled VIA MEADIA (I thought it was clever).
Professor Mead is a professor at Bard and Yale and considered one of the leading students on American foreign Policy. Mead regularly writes for several journals, magazines and newspapers such as Foreign Affairs, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. He is currently on the staff of Foreign Affairs as a book reviewer and on the editorial board of The American Interest. To say the least, he is a very educated intellectual and I’d say his opinions are well supported. To be blunt he is a better person to listen to than Glenn Beck or god forbid Keith Olbermann. Sadly he doesn’t have his own talk show.
I found his blog incredibly well written and profound, and agreed with his political ideology. After reading several of the articles, I suggest his blog to four friends, two on my side of the political spectrum and two on the opposite, as well as posting it on Facebook.
Credible, provocative, and insightful bloggers will gain notoriety on the internet in a similar fashion. I believe the growth in popularity of the blogs of individual intellects who don’t have their hands in the cookie jar like the other news companies will help improve the quality of news and help people become more educated in their personal political ideology.
With its growing popularity Facebook will inevitably play a role in how people develop their personal political ideology. When someone posts a news story on Facebook, the commentary and insight on the politics of the event is provided by his or her friends, not professional commentators.
This has its pros and cons depending on how you look at it. Personally, the majority of my friends don’t have PHDs and are not well read in issues like the pros and cons of defined contribution versus defined benefits retirement plans. However, I do have a couple of friends I’d be interested in discussing the debt ceiling with or who could have an intelligent conversation about the cold war between Iran and Saudi Arabia. And I would be willing to predict as I get older and make new friends we will be more and more qualified to discuss politics and comment about news stories. When matters are less technical i would like to know the opinions of my friends and family over the talking heads on CNN.
So whether it is used for a direct source of commentary or as a medium to trade insightful blogs Facebook and other source media sites are playing an important role in how the public develops political opinions.
A side thought on this matter.
Many people do not like to post political things on Facebook for fear of hurting their social image or rocking the boat. No one loves seeing their friends get into heated political discussions that 9 times out of 10 end in some one calling some one else Hitler or a Nazi (This is real. 9 times out of 10 this is how political discussions end on the internet. It’s called Godwin’s law. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law) So instead of post news stories and political editorials to everyone from “that guy at the bar” to your mother, people might just move to Google+ and create a specific circle for talking about current events and politics with people they feel comfortable with or who share their same ideas.
I found his blog incredibly well written and profound, and agreed with his political ideology. After reading several of the articles, I suggest his blog to four friends, two on my side of the political spectrum and two on the opposite, as well as posting it on Facebook.
Credible, provocative, and insightful bloggers will gain notoriety on the internet in a similar fashion. I believe the growth in popularity of the blogs of individual intellects who don’t have their hands in the cookie jar like the other news companies will help improve the quality of news and help people become more educated in their personal political ideology.
With its growing popularity Facebook will inevitably play a role in how people develop their personal political ideology. When someone posts a news story on Facebook, the commentary and insight on the politics of the event is provided by his or her friends, not professional commentators.
This has its pros and cons depending on how you look at it. Personally, the majority of my friends don’t have PHDs and are not well read in issues like the pros and cons of defined contribution versus defined benefits retirement plans. However, I do have a couple of friends I’d be interested in discussing the debt ceiling with or who could have an intelligent conversation about the cold war between Iran and Saudi Arabia. And I would be willing to predict as I get older and make new friends we will be more and more qualified to discuss politics and comment about news stories. When matters are less technical i would like to know the opinions of my friends and family over the talking heads on CNN.
So whether it is used for a direct source of commentary or as a medium to trade insightful blogs Facebook and other source media sites are playing an important role in how the public develops political opinions.
A side thought on this matter.
Many people do not like to post political things on Facebook for fear of hurting their social image or rocking the boat. No one loves seeing their friends get into heated political discussions that 9 times out of 10 end in some one calling some one else Hitler or a Nazi (This is real. 9 times out of 10 this is how political discussions end on the internet. It’s called Godwin’s law. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law) So instead of post news stories and political editorials to everyone from “that guy at the bar” to your mother, people might just move to Google+ and create a specific circle for talking about current events and politics with people they feel comfortable with or who share their same ideas.
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