Pre Traditional And Non Traditional Media

In an era of global technology, instant news, infomercials, electronic town meetings, and “Made for TV Documentaries,” the borderlines between news and analysis, news and entertainment, news and fiction are constantly shifting.

In his essay “But Enough about You” Brian Williams addresses a very interesting issue about the user- generated media and the Mainstream media in today's society. He believes that the ideal American culture has changed because people are only concerned about themselves. Nowadays people are more interested to watch news if the implied message involves them or if it's good enough to tell someone else. Williams explains how all the new devices, the web, video and the digital cable fill a perceived people need. Therefore, many people are not interesting in reading newspaper or watching news in which it leads the Media to lose viewers. He emphasizes that the audiences that follows the news report are dropped, but the media still work hard to gathering

The disadvantages of electronic media are that information is immediately available and can spiral quickly out of control. Good news, and bad news, is instantly available and can spread quickly and influence peoples initial thoughts and

He claims that while The Daily Show is a humorous broadcasting show, that it is “‘unburdened by objectivity”’ but still advises large groups of America about “foreign and national news events” (Zinsler 365-6). Zinsler then goes to Matthew Baum’s study that claims the daily viewers of “fake” news broadcasting are more aware than those that do not watch the programs (370). Baum’s views, had, in fact, had been proved by a “2004 National Annenberg Election Study” that stated The Daily Show viewers were able to correctly answer more questions that those of national television viewers (Zinsler 370). Zinsler’s claims of logos, and those studies from Baum and Anneberg, go to prove, that whether one believes it is beneficial or disadvantageous to watch “fake” news programs, studies have proven that those who get their information from the media, such as The Daily Show, have been able to interpret the information

Compared to thirty years ago, when there was very few news outlets, and they only had shows on the television for a limited time(ie. During the Vietnam war). Another benefit of today is all the different News sources we have. There are sources like CNN, Fox, BBC, The New York Times, and many many more. While some of these news companies have differing political views and different audiences, if I want to learn about an incident, but want to know as much as I can about, I would be inclined to go to multiple sources and read up on it. Previously there were very few news outlets, and they were only on cable. Technology makes everything so accessible in today’s day in age. Being connected to the extent we are has both its benefits and drawbacks.

According to the book Celebrity Politics, approximately 10 percent of Americans get national political news from nightly entertainment shows such as the Tonight Show. For Americans under 30, the number is nearly five times as many (Orman and West 100). Citizens are looking to be entertained rather than simply educated by the nightly news. As David Schultz aptly put it, “ The new media cover politics, but only politics as it entertains, in part, because the audience the new media attract is a less politically interested audience than traditional news audiences” (20). The fact is that this American audience is less interested in hard news and more interested in

The popularity of television developed in the 1950’s, but the power of television as a medium secured its place in the 1960’s. This is demonstrated statistically in a Roper research poll aimed to investigate American television habits and related attitudes (Small 12). Adult participants were asked how they received most of their news about world current events and were then given options including television, newspapers, magazines or radio. In 1959, 57% identified newspapers over television; by 1969, television had taken the lead as the preferred source as stated by 64% of individuals (13). Participants were also asked which source they would be more inclined to believe if they experienced conflicting reports of the same news story. In the 1959 poll, the results showed television slightly behind newspapers, but the 1969 responses showed an increase of 44% choosing television as a more trusted source over 21% identifying newspapers. Again, the enchantment with television was revealed when more than half of the respondents identified TV as the option most likely to keep if forced to choose between the four previously mentioned mediums (13). The changes exhibited over a decade reveal the public’s budding dependence on television broadcast news.

Websites cover information in real time. When I want to get informed about a certain event, I simply look it up then and there whereas, I would have to wait for the next day to read the newspaper. Websites also report information in depth and I can get news from multiple perspectives. On the other hand, TV news reporting is mostly broad highlights and clips compressed into a short schedule. In conclusion, I believe news websites have more pros than cons when compared to other media.

Despite the fact that television is still the dominant source, there have been shifts involving the consumption of news programming. There has been a significant fall in the reliance of the networks and their national newscasts for America's news. Today more people are relying on the reports given by local news programs than on that of the networks. Several surveys have recorded this shift as early as 1993, denoting that much of America cites local news on television as their major source of information.

According to research obtained by Cornell University scientists, 92% of Americans watch TV, 87% read newspapers, and 81% specifically watch local or national televised news stations…

In today’s society, remaining connected and knowledgeable of current events and the newest trends is vital to staying ahead in business, education, and social standing. This information is supplied to everyone through the internet, newspapers, television, and radio. One can tune into stations such as CNN, NBC, Fox News, Al-Jazeera, and many others (“SQs of Media Outlets”). In order to meet the needs of viewers, readers, and listeners, the ideal media system would contain accurate, quick information, with a purely impartial view on the facts as they are known. However, this modern media system has not maintained an objective view, pushing opinionated and slanted reporting onto the population in order to create profit and gain customers. The exploitation of information media for personal gain has created a toxic and inaccurate present, constant in today’s society.

Most of the time the news content is available in real time and can be accessed anytime and almost anywhere in the world. The majority of the online news providers do not require a fee. As a result, the number of readers willing to pay for the news has gone down, causing a direct impact on the sales of the printed newspapers.

Whether it is news channels on the television or whether it is Twitter and Facebook news, the public will always have a way to find out current reports. Since society has become so dependent on technology, a greater amount of individuals get their actual news online and especially through social media. As many of the public know, you cannot trust what people online are saying. Since individuals are so accustomed to getting the news online, many of them tend to believe what they just happen to scroll across on Twitter and Facebook or any other sort of social media. Finding actual facts and truths on the news have become so difficult now, due to all of the millions of different sites and places where we can get our news from. The news online tend to be biased and untrue due to how openly and freely individuals can create their own site and “reports” on current events such as a real news channels would. Social media has just made it more complicated to find the actual accuracy of current events but with enough research, dedication, and using the SMELL test, finding the right information would not be as

So in such case media should act as a bridge to remove differences and maintain peace in a society. But it has been observed that media not always act as a bridge for reconciliation, sometimes it promotes violence. Media is also accused of inciting violence by giving half-truth and by sensationalizing the conflicts, and not defining its root-cause. Therefore the media should try to maximize it efforts in maintaining a peaceful society. The media should also avoid hate-speech in its content.

Information and entertainment today are usually spread through the development of technology. Due to this, various medias enable us to give and receive information. Media can be divided into traditional media and new media (Christian, 2014). While it is easy to pinpoint the differences of the two medias, there are also some similarities that tie both medias together.