Unfortunately, today we are verging on a society without printed news. Citizens are looking to the internet for information though they are more likely to find "false information" than elsewhere. Due to the internet's easy accessibility, newspapers including The Boston Globe are losing readership and revenue. Since many believe that a democracy requires a well informed society; it is important that newspapers thrive on.
Assuming newspapers disappear, citizens must depend on alternative ways to be informed. These ways, such as TV news programs and the internet, do not fill the same intellectual quotient that newspapers fill today. TV often portrays news in an entertaining fashion through flashy graphics and subsequently limited information. TV news programs, such as CNN, are often looking to entertain rather than depict newsworthy stories in the way that print journalism reports information. Finally, information acquired via the internet has no guidelines or rules on the accuracy of content. It is not accountable to the general public nor is it meant to keep in mind the public's best interest.
Democracy and printed news demonstrate similar qualities, including:
- meant for the public's best interest
- in general, allows for trustworthy information
- creates the basis for knowledgeable decision-making
Society cannot rely on the media for meaningful information. Due to this, printed news is the fuel for a productive democracy.
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I thought the lead was pretty catchy. It made me want to see what/how our society is turning into one without printed news. It's good that you pointed out that the internet is more likely to give "false information" than anything else, because it doesn't have a regulation of what people can put on the internet. A democracy does need a well-informed society to thrive, and that can be better achieved by having newspapers around.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I really liked how you researched the news on television. I never really thought about how flashy they make their news. It is more about entertaining their audience rather then giving them accurate news. They are worried more about making money off their news program than giving people the news that they are missing from the dissapearance of newspapers. The internet is much of the same thing. They have ads and other things on their news pages flashing to get your attention while your trying to read a news story. It is all sort of distracting to people who just want to get their daily news.
As I said before, the internet does not regulate what kind of information people put on there, so people could be putting out false information in a news story and you would never know. Newspapers are a way more reliable sorce to get your news then any other place. That is why we need to keep newspapers around, so our democracy can keep thriving.
Beth Wood