The way in which people (at least those who are interested) are learning "the news" has evolved, for better or worse, with the advent of the internet. In the U.S today. According to Pew ResearchReading the news online is now the third most popular way of finding and or learning news, behind local and national TV stations. News awareness" is becoming an anytime, anywhere, any device activity for those who want to stay informed," Pew determined.
But this also implies that knowing the news is a secondary matter, and we all know that an informed public is necessary to a decent society and honest, representative government. In my view, the great irony of the more easy access to news information is that it has decreased the knowledge base of many people as they use the access to read or view triviality that is printed or filmed to amuse them rather than inform.
Here are some stats from the Pew survey.
-Sixty-one per cent of readers surveyed said they got their news online on a typical day, compared with 78% from local news channels and 71% from a national TV network such as NBC or cable channels such as CNN or Fox News.
-Fifty-four per cent said they listened to radio news programs at home or in the car.
-More than 90% use more than one method to get news, and 57% consult between two and five web sites as part of their news gathering, the survey found.
- Most online news consumers regularly draw on just a handful of different sites. They generally don't have one favorite web site but also don't search aimlessly
-Regular readership of newspapers, either local ones or national papers such as the New York Times, have dropped to 50%
Ouch! These are not findings that are compatible to being a serious news reader. Isn't it the responsibility of the citizen to take the time and make effort to be informed? The Pew study indicates that we see news gathering more as an entertainment (which explains why so much of it given to us today is idiotic and mind numbing), just another amusement and not a civic responsibility. Our improved technology is making it easier to shun that civic responsibility. I wonder if the implication of not knowing 'the news' (what is happening in and impacting lives in the community) will make us less able to respond intelligently to both a crisis and to the every day needs a citizen faces.
As real news sources decline in breadth and depth of coverage or die altogether and citizens begin to obtain their news from the less serious and less intelligent and challenging sites. Society declines bit by bit because of it not being informed about that which really matters. I see that happening today, but wonder how (beyond better educational systems) consumers can be more attracted to discovering serious and important news. Any ideas?
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