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Discussion Membership
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Too much reality... and Journalism
Jay Rosen, of PressThink, in Too Much Reality: Is There Such a Thing? lists 18 thoughts, in no particular order, wondering if it is possible to sort them out. Jay's list was shaken into a sensible order, shown at the bottom of the page, and then put into my phrasing of Jay's points. [The numbers in the brackets match the points in Jay's list.] Ordering them is one thing. Making useful conclusions from them is something else. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, here's the phrasing:
The Net explosion is changing the relationship between people and news.[5] It has caused bloggers to have a role in politics and a significant effect on the press.[4] Distributed knowledge has enabled both amateur and professional bloggers, blurring brand.[7] The effect, is to enable real-time checking of main stream media, which journalism is only just beginning to appreciate.[2] Scandals exposed by online real-time checking, exacerbated by the media's reluctance to concede the points has caused brand erosion.[1] This, in turn, has made readers and viewers wonder if there ever was a neutral observer and a disinterested account.[17] The result is a cynical mistrust of mainstream media[3] that can be played upon by commenting entertainers like Jon Stewart who is credible simply because he mirrors the critical observations of viewers.[9] Jon Stewart presages, if not a collapse, of traditional authority in journalism,[6] at least a weakening of it, requiring a change to improve, or it will face being replaced. The crumbling of traditional authority has diminished journalists' influence as arbitors between candidates differing statements. This, combined with the extra channels of communication provided by the Net, have encouraged "He said, she said, we said" and made it such an issue this year.[10] The opportunity for many voices has encouraged the entrance of new players of all kinds in presidential campaigning.[8] The Net makes some things easier. Argument is participatory[16], accentuating the political divide and its passions[12], its very expression drawing greater attention to the cultural war, even drawing in the mainstream press,[13] galvanizing partisans to action.[14] The net also makes easier propaganda and the intensity of its practice in 2004[15] can happen, but if we respond to it quickly next time, the same technology can ameliaorate it to a degree. Meanwhile, the medium allows an easy increase in noise such that red herrings like one political aide's comment can be elevated to seriousness, as in the "reality-based community" thesis and the Bush Administration[11] or a poll describing the ostensible the separate realities of Bush and Kerry supporters[18] with peculiar phrasing can, if believed, possibly draw a few votes.
Now, the next step, is to extract some understanding from this, to try to constructively simplify things and deal with it more effectively. More on that later.
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