The Internet, being the reason behind the demise of the newspaper, is also responsible for civic disengagement, especially in our generation. Our values now seem to be very individualistic and what we find important is what has personal meaning to us. I believe that this shift in values is what attracts us to the Internet instead of opening up a newspaper.
I know some of my classmates are in Prof. Newman's class and I found that his lecture on Wednesday really relates to the topic of the demise of the newspaper. For those of you who aren't, his point was that our civic culture could be turning into an "electronic democracy." To me this is not okay. I believe that newspapers keep us in check with all levels of society and demographics. This reasoning is also supported in Wendy Kaufman's story on NPR. When interviewed about newspapers, editor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer David McCumber stated "democracy needs it."
I also know the many advantages that online news has over print, including is it's immediacy and it's vast reach. Not to mention, it's free. Mass audiences want what is accessible. Somebody has to pay for the newspaper, and who's is going to when you can jump on a computer? The idea of immediate online news is somewhat skeptical though. Who's to say that just because someone posted a story in record speed that that person was accurate enough to get the entire story? Who's to say that person is a credible source? Immediacy can affect a reporter's ability to accurately collect all details of a story. There are also very blurred lines in the rules of reporting online. Lasica describes these rules as a "crapshoot," in this article.
No doubt online news is more advanced. This shouldn't make us overlook our newspapers. I am concerned that we are distracted when online to find news biased in our favor, we rely on incorrect news simply because it's late-breaking, and that we are susceptible to becoming loyal to news sources that only serve coporate interest. By all means, the Internet is more convenient but I believe that newspapers keep us in more engaged with our community and nation.
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Is the internet really at fault for civic disengagement in our youth’s culture? It is true that in recent years our generation’s citizens seem to be “dropping out” which is evident in the decline in voting, party membership, and an increase in civic cynicism. However, I believe that developments such as the internet have given rise to a more “popularized” form of civic engagement. In fact according to an article posted by national conference on citizenship, “internet technologies are providing new and evolving ways for citizens to connect with one another and to act”(http://www.ncoc.net/index.php?tray=content&tid=top0&cid=2kc40). Our society views important issues differently as it did before and has made a shift to issues that are seen as having closer personal meaning. Topics such as sexual orientation and pro life v. pro choice debates are not always publicized throughout newspapers. The internet is a form of medium where everyone has a voice and any issue can be brought to light.
ReplyDeleteAs we both can agree on, there are many advantages to the internet. It makes news easy and accessible to our society in the click of a button. You seem to question the credibility of immediate online news, due to its quick accessibility. However, newspaper journalists fall under these same types of deadlines. According to Stovall, reporters for the daily newspapers face at least one and sometimes several deadlines each day. So in reality newspapers also serve this threat of credibility of facts.
The media is instituting structural and technological trends which in turn are dramatically changing the media landscape. I believe that instead of being afraid of such innovations we should embrace them and use them to our advantages. The internet allows for new perspectives, topics and opinions that daily newspaper cannot provide for us. Therefore the internet is only the beginning to a new and advanced form of civic engagement.