New Media v. Old Media

United States
September 26, 2009 10:00pm CST
It's odd that we've reached a point where something as new and innovative as the television is lumped into "old media," but with the birth of social networking and the pervasiveness of the Internet, it seems to be the case. Blogging, along with sites like Twitter and Facebook are quickly becoming the fastest ways to get news and information, but with such speed--and amateur journalism--comes problems with accuracy. Blogs like The Huffington Post have stolen the prize from more traditional media outlets when it comes to how quickly stories break, but the sheer volume of blogs and Twitter users sometimes makes it tough to get a reliable source and to verify information. New media, along with a poor economy that's causing newspapers to get thinner and to increase layoffs, is forcing journalism to re-evaluate its definition. How do you feel about this? What are your primary sources of media, and on which side of the debate do you fall? I personally lean heavily in the direction of new media, but I'm still glued to CNN and I still value the traditional newspaper. Weigh in! Do bloggers have too much power, or not enough? By the way, there are tons of great discussions about this at Mediaite.com, if you're as much of a media and news junkie as I am. :)
3 people like this
4 responses
@anna728 (1499)
• United States
28 Sep 09
Things are (/have been) changing an awful lot. It's definitely true that accuracy suffers as the prevalence as blogs and whatnot increases. Then again, there is something to be said for having different perspectives, as well as the speed and convenience of such things. That said, it's still good to have some "old media", established, trusted sources such as CNN or The New York Times when looking for reliable information. I also think that some people who only read certain blogs, or listen to certain pundits are doing themselves a disservice by only strengthening the biases they already had, whether founded or not. At least if you watch mainstream new stations (whether you think they have a bias or not) that is at leas much closer to neutral, than, say a political blog would be. It's probably best to have a good mix of both.
• United States
28 Sep 09
Hmm, why didn't that format? Let me try it this way: www.mediaite.com/mnudm
2 people like this
@anna728 (1499)
• United States
29 Sep 09
Hmm sounds interesting...
1 person likes this
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
30 Sep 09
Thanks, Laurie, I read the article and it was very interesting and made some very good points. Annie
• United States
28 Sep 09
i agree with everything that you have said. you are a very great writer! this should be a blog.Thats why when i read a blog about something on the news in a social networking sites i leave a open mind that some or most of this might not be true. wikipedia which i thought was so legit it turns out that any one can make a wikipedia page. and i feel that the real news has to spice it up if they want more people to watch and get interested. i don't think many teens these days watch the news.
• United States
29 Sep 09
You're very sweet; thank you! You bring up a really good point about the news spicing things up to keep people interested. That's what Walter Cronkite used to call "infotainment" and it's a big problem with all the networks but I think FOX and HLN are the worst offenders. I didn't watch much news when I was a teen; I became a junkie in college (ha!). So I think you're right that teenagers aren't that interested...I did read the newspaper and read some news online, but I didn't become totally obsessed with news and media until I was 18 or 19...the tsunami got me hooked on Anderson Cooper's reporting, and then Hurricane Katrina brought not only his individual career, but modern media as a whole, to a completely different level.
1 person likes this
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
30 Sep 09
I guess since I AM kind of old I should stick up for old media here, right...lol? Actually, I still DO like to read an old-fashioned newspaper and a few of my favorite news magazines, although most of them are also available online. When it comes to TV I rarely watch any news on regular network TV except for the Sunday morning shows now and then. It's no longer necessary for us to wait until 6:30 every night to get the evening news since we have the 24/7 cables news networks. I like CNN some of the time but I mainly watch MSNBC, especially in prime time during the week. Fox News is NOT news, as far as I'm concerned. I get "yelled at" here if I use any of the more liberal blogs as sources but there are a lot who link to WND and FreeRepublic among other right-wing sites. I think the problem with any of the blog sites is that much of what is posted hasn't been confirmed. There is a lot that true online but there are also a lot of lies and rumors and, unfortunately some people don't know how to tell the difference and some just believe what they want to believe and discount what they don't like. I think it IS important that we always have media organizations who are willing to spend the money and take the risk of sending real investigative reporters to cover the big stories nationally and internationally. Annie
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@lcainiao (201)
• China
29 Sep 09
It's a great topic. The old media and the new media both have its advantage and weakness. For me, I am working as a computer technical engineer. I usually stay on the computer 14 hours a day. The most information I got just through the new media, web, glog, BBS etc. However, I always read newspaper or watch TV at home. I am not fond of using computer out of office.
1 person likes this
• United States
29 Sep 09
I totally understand why if you spend 14 hours a day doing it for work! I do about ten hours at home, and as much as I love it, it seems like a lot...I also am on the computer constantly at my library job, so I'm pretty much glued.
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