Effect that television and other forms of multimedia technology have had on the delivery of news:
News delivery has been made into a piece of theater. Our News delivery strategies on the television, Social media and other form of digital media, have encapsulated news into a “capsule” of Entertainment. Reading has become the norm for most of us and what remains is the headline and a stream of that drug called entertainment.
We are to be forgiven and not condemned, not pitied for such because, our news delivery has been spiced up a little bit, only to offer information in a more palatable way. The news casters on our television screens are frequently arraigned with modern clothing, make up, backlight, and always equipped with unique voices that will leave the consumer in awe.
This is done for the sake of this generation, even if we do not remember the news, we are presented with an option to remember the news castor. One example is that a large number of our feminine news viewers of this generation will remember the dressing of the news anchor but forget the punch lines of the news. I cannot agree less with Neil Postman's in his book Amusing Ourselves to Death that “a news show, to put it plainly, is a format for entertainment, not for education, reflection, or catharsis” (Postman, 1986. p. 87-88).
Where did we lose it? When did our news shows cease to be educative and remained as nuts of entertainment? Looking at the history of communication, technological advancement has always come with a tradeoff. In the development of television, viewers were meant to gain more than losing. Television was meant to bring news in a pictorial and more realistic form that would make a longer impact on the mind of the viewer.
No one ever thought that its advent will put us in a state of ennui, and the desire for more non-perceivable educational and entertaining sources. Obviously I do not regret what television and social media have done in the delivery of news, but rather the content of the news being delivered. We have been cultured by the media to read the punch lines and understand. Our tweets have been reduced to sentences containing major key points. It has led us to be a community of news synthesizers. One will argue that it has led us to become more foolish as Einstein prophesied as expressed in his fears that;
“ The day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.” (Quoteinvestigator.com, 2013).
But I disagree in great length; it is provable that the world populace is more knowledgeable that our predecessors who lived before the development of the modern technology. A young person of fifteen can articulate and consume large chunks of information compared to the old man who lived in the 30s.
In as much as they were good readers and had greater sense in the love of books, these men had no option. They fed on what was presented and as a result became what they were. In the same capacity, we are shaped with our media and as a result we think as we do. Though we seem lazy, drunk with information and lacking focus, the truth is we focus on what matters and not the story beneath. For example, information that does not relate to me on a first-person basis, may not seem relevant to spend my time on. Life is moving fast. We are more responsible for our lives than before. Life is more demanding and what this 4th generation creature needs is information for survival. That is why we are made to enjoy simple entertainment, to reduce worries and anxiety in our generation.
News is full of worrying trends, financial meltdowns, sickness and wars. If the media does not present it the way it does, we are going to die of high blood pressure or even heart attacks. Reading a whole chapter about the fall of Wall Street will make us not more informed but more worried. So we need the facts, outlines in a sentence, not a booklet full of negativity.
Mark Kelly says we are addicted to media and to our gadgets and that is why we fail in school, relationship is broken and people are losing their jobs (2012). In my opinion, Kelly didn’t consider the development of research in the world due to the development of cloud computing, he did not consider how many people developed relationships through texting and chatting on social media, and was blind to the fact that most business connections are run and monitored online.
Yes, many are losing jobs, maybe not because of their lack of experience or expertise but because of their rigidness to conform to the advancement in technology. For example, an electrical engineer will lose his job not because of the lack of experience but rather because of the fact that there is a big shift of technology that controls switchboards.
Yes, relationships have crumbled, because the users of the technology did not embrace the positive part of the technology but rather because they were driven by their own weaknesses. An additional example is that it would be so easy now to send a short message over an email to the one that you care about, expressing your utmost feelings, and thus strengthening your relationship. But even in this era many have chosen a path of isolation and incubation that cannot be blamed on the media but on personal preferences.
Conclusion
I appreciate the addiction we currently have for entertainment. It has made learning easy and fun, fostered relationships, increased productivity in the workplace, and made our generation more knowledgeable. If an addiction is for the good of human kind, it is worth it.
Even with this development, I agree with the fact that negativity has come with blessings. Some because of their over indulgence to what matters less have lost focus, and left to a vegetative state in their thinking. But majority have accepted the change and enjoyed its benefits and are the hub of the survival of the human race in this generation.
Television and media centers are now not only a source for educative news but also entertaining news. This I have no problem with, as long as the message is accurately passed. I would put it in simplicity that it is not what one likes to eat, but that what he eats that matters.
Nevertheless I would not blind me with the positivity of the media alone but also take measures that would not plunge us in the negative prophesies of Neil postman because many have already fallen. Any developments without control can be hazardous, the same way eating food without control can cause obesity that can later kill. But the reality is that food in essence of life and that it is not bad.
References
Kelley, M. (2012). An apology to the 4G Generation. [online] Retrieved from: http://bangordailynews.com/2012/05/13/opinion/an-apology-to-the-4g-generation/ [Accessed: 6 Nov 2013].
Quoteinvestigator.com (2013). I Fear the Day That Technology Will Surpass Our Human Interaction | Quote Investigator. [online] Retrieved from: http://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/03/19/tech-surpass/ [Accessed: 6 Nov 2013].
Postman, N. (1986). Amusing ourselves to death. New York: Penguin Books.
Quayle, M. (2009). The method of the medium is in motion. New York, NY: Fordham University.
