http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/ap-report-video-is-the-prefered-medium-for-news-in-middle-east-and-north-africa/s2/a562565/
In todays society we have seen a huge change from the media. They have went from just delivering local newspapers to airing on television for people to watch. This goes in sync with the fact that over the recent years technology has advanced tremendously. But how far has the media changed in recent years? Has it changed to the point that we have more trust in the media or have we lost some of that trust with recent changes in the media? Do you prefer getting the news instantaneously or do you prefer to wait and have all the facts or pieces of information investigated to prove whether something is true or not?
In a recent article that I found it talks about a study conducted in MENA that shows that people in the Middle East and North Africa prefer to obtain their news through online sources instead of hard copies of newspapers, yet they also want the news sources to not report the news faster but make sure the quality, of hat they are reporting, is above standards. I found this to be very interesting because it not only shows how fast the media has changed with the advancement in technology but it also shows how much technology, media, and politics are influencing people in different parts of the world. "The study, called 'Spring Tide: The new era for video news in the Middle East and North Africa', found that 69 per cent of those who consume news online thought watching video content was the best way to access fair and impartial news." (Albeanu)
From what we have learned in class, many people in todays society have been using the internet more and more in order to get the news. Many of them come across news outlets and breaking stories through a friends Facebook page or even a twitter post. Most people only get their news information from online sources which most of the time is more bias than other news articles. As W. Lance Bennett stated, in our book, "American journalism may have become trapped within an unworkable set of professional standards, with the result that the more objective or fair reporters try to be, the more officials bias they introduce into the news." (Bennett 159) Even though I do believe that the media sometimes ttys so hard not to be bias and therefore end up being bias anyways I also believe there are other factor involved that can cause bias as well. I believe that factors in the organization cause bias as well. As Graber and Dunaway mentioned, "Every news organization has its own internal power structure that develops from the interaction of owners, journalists, news sources, audiences, advertisers, and government authorities." (Graber and Dunaway 108) My question to all of you is, do you believe that online media sources are less bias and more impartial and fair then other news media?
I have heard about the shift in how people are obtaining their news many times before (and now in this class), but it is usually about the US. I think it is fascinating to see how other countries are getting the news. People (myself included sometimes) think that countries (especially in the Middle East) are so different from us. The language, culture, and politics might be different, but people are generally the same everywhere! Looking at how people consume news is no different. Children are growing up with technology more and more, so it makes sense that how people retrieve their news would change with that.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question (sorry for rambling), I don't necessarily think they are less unbiased, but that they don't have to compete for a time slot. On TV, stations show news at the same time as each other, but online, people can browse at their leisure. I think not having that time constraint means they don't have to try so hard please everyone on every story. I think they are still biased; I think it is impossible not to be bias (we're all only human after all).