Debate: Mainstream vs Social Media

[jo]

Last night, I came across a very vigorous debate among publishers/editors and other media personalities on whether Mainstream media should disappear altogether! This was sponsored by the Bloomberg Channel and I was not planning to watch it for a long time but was drawn by the arguments being expressed, mostly extemporaneously esp on the mainstream media side. Their main argument was that quality journalism is fading away with the emphasis on the 140-character twitter posts, the Facebook shortcut comments, and even the highly personalized blogs. Where are the incisive analysis and determination of how a public issue has or will impact on the general public, as even envisioned in some countries's constitutions as part of the checks and balances? The advocates for a world purely dominated by social media said that mainstream media is practically dead ( as evidenced by the death of many newspapers and other publications).

I don't think the issue of problems caused by the anonymity of the internet was discussed insofar as outright disregard for reputations, blatant rumor-mongering, highly biased opinions without backing them up, or blurring of issues are concerned was discussed ( unless it was covered in the early part of the debate which I might have missed). This to me is as important a concern -- with newspapers and other respectable media institutions in the past, at least we are usually assured that some research or confirmation or some incisive thinking went into an article or an opinion piece.

Where I see social media ( twitter and facebook photos) become very socially relevant is when there are reports of media suppression of facts in troubled areas in the world! They have helped form world opinion and maybe political or social debate and action.

One media person had suggested that maybe all the tweets and the facebook posts can all be gathered and funnelled into a filter for confirmation and further analysis. Can this work?

Just sharing my thoughts

Jo

[Jamie]

One thing that concerns me is that brains change to accomodate conditions. How many people do you know who now sit at read for hours? The ever shortening attention span and the demands on time of all sorts of media are teaching young brains to think in short bursts. In a quieter time it used to be common for people to have "party pieces" that they performed for the entertainment of others. For non singers or people who didn't play an instrument this would often mean reciting long passages of stories, poetry, dramatic, or comedy pieces. Do you know anyone other than professional entertainers/actors who regularly memorize long passages of material for recitation?

[birchie]

Interesting debate to be sure. I like twitter but hate it's limitations. On the other hand, I absolutely hate facebook. Facebook scares me. It gives too much emphasis to that stupid 'like' button. These days as long as a million morons hit a like button something can suddenly be the flavor of the week. It matters not that it could be 1000 people hitting the button a thousand times each so facebook gives a very skewed view of everything. It is also very invasive and it's only real purpose is to make a socially inept a**hole a billionaire! I'll stop that rant though I could go on...

I like well thought out and well written blogs and the feedback that they sometimes engender. I guess it's because of being in that old school bracket of people who like to read. It's true that young people today are getting so used to instant everything and with twitter & texting and yes, short attention spans are becoming the norm. Who knows how many people will even know how to spell in 20 years or even know how to have real conversations. I keep haranguing my boys because they keep texting each other instead of having actual conversations! I think this trend is definitely showing up in the quality of movies we get now too. I don't know where it will all end. I follow Chris Hadfield on twitter and he has become my favorite astronaut. I watched his bio on YouTube and was struck at the patience and persistence that it took for him to reach his goals. I think fewer and fewer of our young people will grow up with those qualities.

Great topic though, Jamie!
Sue

[jo]

Just to show that all is not lost --

My eleven-year old grandniece loves books. She has actually read the whole gamut of Harry Potter adventures. When I asked her if she has seen the movie series - she said "Oh, yes!". "So, why bother to read the books??". Her triumphant reply: "Because when you read, you can let your imagination work for you!"

Jo

[chessie]

I too find Facebook frightening, Sue. People seem to have no idea how heavily they are tracked, according to their "likes," comments and pictures. The information is then used for targeted advertising. 60 Minutes did a feature on facial recognition technology, and once Facebook "knows" what you look like, it doesn't matter how you might change your appearance - you will still be recognized. I closed my account because I had the feeling that 1984 had finally arrived, and Big Brother was alive and well on Facebook. Still, it's everywhere, and people think you're very strange if you don't have an account.

A couple of days ago, there was a story in the online version of my hometown newspaper which touched me deeply. It centered on a dear family friend who was KIA in Vietnam many years ago. I tried to write a comment expressing my gratitude for the story and others like it which this particular reporter had written. I found that I was not able to do so because comments had to be made through one's Facebook account!

The Mainstream Media as a whole is sorely lacking when it comes to presenting actual "news." Accuracy seems to not be an overwhelming concern, and when inaccurate items are presented, corrections or apologies are glaringly absent.

I generally go online and look for sources that I've learned from experience to be trustworthy. Still, even with the MSM's limitations, using social media as primary sources of information is truly a frightening concept. How in the world could that amount of information be filtered and checked for accuracy, and who would be doing the checking? Most people would read something one time and not bother to go back to check to see if the item was correct.

Interesting food for thought, Jo!

Carol

[mamaleh]

I'm no fan of social media, largely for the reasons given by you all above. I have read of studies showing conclusively that young people's attention spans are indeed getting shorter, with the finger pointed at 140-character "essays" and abbreviation overuse (OMG!). Jo, I hope your grandniece is far from alone in her preferences.

Ellen

[jo]

Ellen,


Re my grandniece -- I gave her the children's edition of Les Miserables before we saw the movie with her Mom and Grandma and I eventually gave her a BluRay copy of the video. Two weeks ago, I saw an unabridged edition of the book ( Signet) re-released in our largest bookstore ( it must have been because the movie was a hit here) -- I bought a copy and will give it to her maybe in a few years' time.

Re the world of social media -- while I can understand how young people want to be in touch always, it is often a case of overdoing it. Much is really idle chatter. Tweets and Txt are not my cup of tea ()

On the other hand, I think Hugh's Twitter account is put to very good use -

*Usually to promote his professional projects and social advocacies
*To give special shoutouts to some people he admires or needs his support
*Only very occasionally, gives us a very small glimpse of family life ( remember the photos of Dali )

Jo

[broadwaygal]

Hi, Jo and everyone! I've been on hiatus from the board for a time, but I have been lurking. When I saw that
you posted this subject Jo, I had to respond. As you know journalism is a topic very close to my heart.
My hubby was an editor for a weekly national business magazine for almost 30 years. He loved being a journalist. It defined him. He was a great editor and still is well known and respected in the industry,
even though he is no longer working as a journalist. A few years ago, he saw the writing on the wall, so to speak, and left that company to go into a very well known research and consulting company. (They are a direct
competitor of Hugh's father's company, Price Waterhouse).

I can't stand what has happened to mainstream media. Newspapers are dying on the vine. More and more are
disappearing everyday. I actually hate social media. I'm not on Facebook or Twitter. What I hate the most
is the lack of accuracy, total disregard for facts, and no ethics. Not to mention the lack of privacy!

Check out this article from the NY Times about high school newspapers:
www.nytimes.com/2013/05/28/nyregion/at-school-papers-the-ink-is-drying-up.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Btw, Jo, I tried to find that debate on the Bloomberg website but I couldn't find it. Do you have a link
for it? Thanks!

Cheryl

[jo]

Cheryl,

Hello again

It was on their TV channel ( we get it aired here) - I usually spend a few minutes during the day, trying to figure out if there is a way all those facts and stats can give me a clue as to what is happening to the financial markets worldwide -- still clueless up to now

But they do feature many interesting interviews ( Charlie Rose interviews are now on their channel) and sometimes debates like this. I had not meant to stay that long watching it but ended spending almost the entire time with the debate.

I guess the topic is relevant to everyone, whatever demos we are in. One thing though, I am not sure if many of the younger generation even read serious news analysis, op-ed pages, or even some good literature. If you look at bestseller lists - it is a shame that the titles cannnot be compared to yesteryears when great writers were on the must-read lists.

Technical journals for various professions continue to draw former aspiring journalists. Didn't Keith Huff ( A Steady Rain) once had as a day job that of editing a medical journal ( or something similar)?

Technology sometimes makes us go backward, I'm afraid. Or is that an expression of a generational gap from ol' me?


Jo

[rmtndew]

I read somewhere that within the next ten years, capitalizing the first letter in a sentence will no longer be taught in school because no one writes that way when they use social media. I think it's a disgrace that we've come so far as a society only to go backwards. I have a Facebook page and I use it mainly to keep up with friends who live far away and my sister who lives out of state with my two nephews. I get to see photos of them and keep up with what they're doing. But there are some who don't know how to use it properly. They post things that should be kept private and my least favorite, the vague but snarky statues that are purely to get people's attentions. I'm horrified that I'm part of a generation that thinks every time they go to the gym or a restaurant that have to share it with the world. I think social media has its place but I hope it doesn't take over mainstream media. I don't want any idiot with access to a keyboard to be in charge of informing me what's going on in the world.

- Alicia

[birchie]

Jun 8, 2013 23:09:15 GMT -5 rmtndew said:

I read somewhere that within the next ten years, capitalizing the first letter in a sentence will no longer be taught in school because no one writes that way when they use social media. I think it's a disgrace that we've come so far as a society only to go backwards. I have a Facebook page and I use it mainly to keep up with friends who live far away and my sister who lives out of state with my two nephews. I get to see photos of them and keep up with what they're doing. But there are some who don't know how to use it properly. They post things that should be kept private and my least favorite, the vague but snarky statues that are purely to get people's attentions. I'm horrified that I'm part of a generation that thinks every time they go to the gym or a restaurant that have to share it with the world. I think social media has its place but I hope it doesn't take over mainstream media. I don't want any idiot with access to a keyboard to be in charge of informing me what's going on in the world.

- Alicia

I would hate living in a world where grammar and punctuation don't matter. I agree that it would be disgraceful to not teach proper communication skills in school. Not to mention what would happen to books, screenplays even blogs & regular websites??

As I've mentioned, I hate facebook and have never trusted it. My DIL is from Mexico and her family is scattered all over the US, with some still in Mexico, so they use facebook for all family news etc. I do caution her about it as very personal things do get posted there. It's really unnecessary for them to use facebook when it would be just as easy to send out a group email every time there are new pix or family news to talk about and then only the family would have access to it, not the whole world. I also agree that society is depending too much on social media for everything. We can't tell the what's fact anymore and so many stories get blown out of proportion only to later be revealed as false. Is this progress? I think it's a very bleak, negative type of progress...hello dystopian future.
Sue