The "Media" is a collection of businesses. News has always been a business. It is the history and present reality of media that to make "news" and distribute it widely, you must have means. Initially, sharing news with large audiences required you to have money for paper, presses and ink. If you wanted to print large quantities, you likely needed a helper who had to be paid. If your were covering many types of stories, you had to pay for your stories or write them yourself. Time is money. You had to have someone, or several someones, to deliver your papers or hawk them on the street. In lieu of the evolution of media forums I will simply say this necessity for money repeated itself with every type of media that evolved.
This is not a judgement of the media, it is simply an acknowledgement that it is not a moral higher power or a trusted leader of the people. It is a source of information gathered for audiences to consume. The audience drives or decides what information is shared. They decide, by reading or watching. Thus the salability of what is presented is ultimately decided by consumption.
This is also not a judgement of journalists. On the contrary, it is an acknowledgement of one of the major challenges journalists face. Many, if not most, individuals who pursue a career in journalism are passionate about sharing facts with readers. They literally explore the world for people who can't or won't explore for themselves. They have conversations many people are afraid to attempt. They go places exotic or dangerous to gather knowledge. They pursue truths about things that are invisible to some. They hunt for truths about people and events that are important in some way. There is a caveat concerning journalists. It is important to remember that each journalist has experiences, memories and ideologies that influence every story they write. No matter how neutral they may try to be, there will often be inherent bias.
There has been much bashing of the media in the past two years. True, people have always criticized the news; but, social media has made it blossom into a "movement." That combined with our society's recent penchant for embracing echo chambers has made for an ugly scenario. The various news outlets, organizations and ideologues with a tendency to slant have taken to constantly abusing the other "side's" veracity. And of course the consumers continue it ad nauseam. The only good thing that has come out of this news bashing is what I feel is an honest attempt by several more moderate news outlets to provide balanced reporting. Even some media sources considered firmly conservative or firmly liberal are making an effort to present stories that are less provocative or at least providing an opposing viewpoint on occasion.
The irony? The average news consumer is unaware they bear responsibility in how news is presented. The more consumers search for or demand news sources that reflects only their ideology, the more they drive those sources to present one specific perspective. And with the rise of algorithms in search engines and "feeds", they will drive their devices to create an echo chamber of narrow viewpoints. Doing this leaves the consumer less informed. The more consumers demand news sources adhere to their particular moral standards, the less balanced the reporting becomes. No matter how unbiased a reporter might be, the editors and managers decide what gets presented and how it is delivered. This consumer pressure upon various media outlets creates news that rarely reflects reality. It might not be fake, but it will be so biased as to be incomplete. Consumers create "fake" news because they demand news that reinforces their individual biases and shields them from their own ignorance.
Life is bias. It is the fault of individuals and our current society that we have doomed words and concepts to narrow parameters. Bias can be used synonymously with prejudice, bigotry or unfairness. But it also can mean partiality or preference. Every human being has preferences. We prefer certain foods, we are partial to certain locales, we prefer the company of certain people and we are partial to things that make us feel good. The existence of bias is neither good nor bad. The trait of good or bad resides with individual actions. It is up to individuals to be aware of both their own likely biases and those of others. From that self-awareness arise the tools to consume news responsibly and hold the "Media" to an acceptable standard. Likewise, it is in the hands of the consumer to consciously pursue "alternative" perspectives to facilitate a complete truth, rather than living in a bubble. Bubbles can last for a long time under the right conditions, but they all pop or dissolve eventually.
No comments:
Post a Comment