Week 6 Reading Responses

            Even though this was not the central focus of his work, what really struck me in the ‘Blogs’ reading by Dan Gillmor was his comment about how news organizations misrepresent/warp information for mass audiences. He attributes this back to the consolidation of news organizations and then later to corporate ownership. I think the fact that so many news outlets are owned and managed by corporate giants is a big problem in our society that often gets over looked. People typically don’t think about how this effects all of the information we are presented. In reality the news organizations warp how we see the world, and if the organizations are all managed by one headmaster then we are really only seeing the perspective of one man/group. This could be dangerous and keeping us from obtaining well-rounded information. Yet amidst this flawed system, blogging has surfaced and, I believe, is working to right the wrongs. People now have a way to openly discuss issues which are relevant to them, and if news organizations are going to try and deceive the public they are either going to have to be very discrete about it or they will get called out. This is one implication blogging has had on our society and the information we are fed on a daily basis. Blogs are keeping our media outlets truer to their word and holding them up to high standards.

            In regards to the ‘NPR’ article I think the increasing demand for podcasts reflects a general trend in society: The need for personalization. People now want their favorite shows to be on their schedule not the stations, which are responding by giving the listener exactly what they want. We as a group are moving away from the static and inadaptable to the fluid and dynamic lifestyle. I was pleasantly surprised to read that NPR is now incorporating non-traditional shows into their podcasts, such as the “Youthcast”. I think this is a very smart move for them and puts them one step ahead of the competition, who is simply podcasting their traditional shows. I would predict that over the next few years podcasting will becoming even more popular and soon we will be able to log onto itunes and download a much more diverse array of  casts.

Questions:

Who/What would you consider to be todays “Muckrackers” in our present society?

Would you say that blogging is diminishing the importance/power of more traditional journalism? Or are blogs simply making traditional journalism appear to be even more official and credible amongst a sea of amateurs?

Over the next few years, do you think companies will be able to track podcast downloaders? What types of non-invasing technology would allow them to do this?

Add a comment January 29, 2007