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October 29th 2009 | 1
Ponderings on news media…
News media has virtually exploded as a cultural institution in the past 20 years. Who, back in the ‘80s, ever heard of a “news junkie”? But now it seems that news-hungry people can be found all over the place.
Perhaps it is the expansion of global culture, such that we might speak more appropriately about the global consciousness than we might about local or even national sensibilities. The term “global village,” closely associated with communication theorist Marshall McLuhan (a former Winnipegger), inscribes this phenomenon, especially in terms of communication. Global village describes the breakdown of physical distance, both in terms of physical mobility, as with rapid-rail and airline transportation systems, and in terms of information, most notably in regards to the Internet or satellite communication systems.
The accessibility of information and place brings a consciousness of the far-flung regions of the globe. The physical distance, that once required days or even weeks to traverse, can now be bridged in hours; in the case of information, this connection occurs even more quickly, in mere minutes or seconds - depending on your Internet connection speed.
But what does this access to information mean?
In terms of the news, it often brings awareness of political, social and natural events from all over the world. There is a constant influx of reportage about, for example, the political happenings in the Middle East or a natural disaster in the Philippines, placed right alongside reports of Canadian federal policy and local crime.
Access to information and knowledge about national and global events is a positive thing, but does this inundation of news lead to a disconnect with the local?
At the same time, the very nature of journalism creates “news” and what is deemed to be “newsworthy” simply by its reportage. The news industry then has the power to create or diminish events based on what is included in news reports. As such, domestic understandings of other nations and areas of the world - and of global culture itself - is developed and transmitted by the news. Does international news create a certain perspective of what constitutes global culture?
These are all general musings about the news media industry and global culture, which are not intended to pick any bones. But I’m curious about how the fascination with news has grown with the advance of information technology and the emergence of the global village phenomenon.
Thoughts? Anyone in Myanmar care to respond?
Discussion
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Chris,
Very interesting. As a self described news junkie, I have two thoughts:
The first is that I definitely will miss the aesthetic of the old school. I am a very big fan of the physical newspaper. While I don’t subscribe to any anymore (the only Canadian I really enjoyed discontinued home delivery in Winnipeg earlier this year), I love the feel of a paper in my hands, the layout of the pages, and air of civility and sophistication I observe when I see someone in public reading a real newspaper. (Insert joke about our local papers here). We may be the last generation to enjoy papers this way, we should savour it.The second point that I think is both a strength and a weakness of the way news media happens now and moving forward, is that along with the exponential increase in the availability of global news, it’s now much easier to pick and choose your news. This results in an organization into very partisan groups, where if I can actively tailor the news media that I consume. While my general philosophy is that more freedom of choice is almost always better, I do acknowledge that we being robbed a bit of shared generational experiences. In a similar vein, EVERYONE in my high-school would watch two things on the weekend: Saturday Night Live and Hockey Night in Canada. These would then be discussed all week, they were shared experiences. With the millions of ways to entertain ourselves now, we’ve lost some of things that we all had in common.
I should have taken journalism. It’s much more interesting.
– Gareth du Plooy in Winnipeg | November 3rd 2009 at 7:09pm | Link
