It seems almost humorous to me when I stumbled upon an article that started with the bold statement of “If print newspapers disappear, it will be a fundamental threat to our democracy.” My immediate response was a roll of the eyes followed by a huge grin on my face. Do people really believe that the newspaper is a precondition of our democracy?
I believe that the newspaper is not a precondition to our democracy, however free speech is. This is why it is free speech that is protected by the constitution. In fact free speech is so important that it provides for powerful new mediums such as the internet to coexist with the newspaper. The internet offers its own democratic ways of portraying, analyzing, and debating topics that are relevant and important in today’s society. Although the internet can often seem messy and far from perfect… lets me real, so is democracy.
How is having a few major media outlets deciding “what is news” democratic, or even positive for our democracy? The newspaper isn’t about spreading free speech, it’s about limiting it to the views and opinions of what editors deem as news worthy. Martin Moore, a fellow blogger agrees that there are many more voices in America that deserve to be heard other then Ivy League editors and journalistic writers.http://http//mediastandardstrust.blogspot.com/2009/03/does-loss-of-local-newspapers-favour.html
People are often viewed as less civically engaged if they digest their news online, specifically our youth culture. In fact young people, in particular, are more inclined to get their news from the internet. According to Pew, only 27% of those born after 1976 read newspapers, as opposed to 55% of those born prior to 1946.http://people-press.org/reports/pdf/300.pdf
This is far from the truth. There have been other developments that have given rise to a more “popularized” political optimism. The internet is surrounded by a diverse and booming amount of knowledgeable information. In fact the internet has only strengthened our civic engagement by opening us up to a variety of new topics and ideas.
I believe that the newspaper is not a precondition to our democracy, however free speech is. This is why it is free speech that is protected by the constitution. In fact free speech is so important that it provides for powerful new mediums such as the internet to coexist with the newspaper. The internet offers its own democratic ways of portraying, analyzing, and debating topics that are relevant and important in today’s society. Although the internet can often seem messy and far from perfect… lets me real, so is democracy.
How is having a few major media outlets deciding “what is news” democratic, or even positive for our democracy? The newspaper isn’t about spreading free speech, it’s about limiting it to the views and opinions of what editors deem as news worthy. Martin Moore, a fellow blogger agrees that there are many more voices in America that deserve to be heard other then Ivy League editors and journalistic writers.http://http//mediastandardstrust.blogspot.com/2009/03/does-loss-of-local-newspapers-favour.html
People are often viewed as less civically engaged if they digest their news online, specifically our youth culture. In fact young people, in particular, are more inclined to get their news from the internet. According to Pew, only 27% of those born after 1976 read newspapers, as opposed to 55% of those born prior to 1946.http://people-press.org/reports/pdf/300.pdf
This is far from the truth. There have been other developments that have given rise to a more “popularized” political optimism. The internet is surrounded by a diverse and booming amount of knowledgeable information. In fact the internet has only strengthened our civic engagement by opening us up to a variety of new topics and ideas.
-Allison Byrne
Since we are in a technology age people changed the ways they want to get their news. Younger people go to the internet over the newspaper, while seniors are still more likely to get their news from a paper. This has been more and more common throughout the years.
ReplyDeleteI agree the internet will help the younger generations become more involved in the civic culture. The internet provides an outlet for others to get a chance to voice their opinion on a democratic matter. It still allows for free speech. Just because the papers are disappearing doesn’t mean that democracy and free speech is also disappearing, if anything the Internet encourages free speech.
We still need reporters to find those stories and get them out to us. Reporters get inform us of what is going on. They can put their stories in both the paper and online. It’s just two different ways to get a story. As Silverblatt said, "The media serves as an adversary of the government. At best, the U.S. media serves as a societal watchdog, making the government accountable to the people. The investigative efforts of reporters have contributed to the democratic process, leading to the deposing of leaders, policy changes, and government." (Media Literacy Pp. 331) The internet is part of our media today. It is just another way we can keep an eye on what our government is doing and how we can be a part of it.
The comment above was posted by Jessica Davis.
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