As a journalism student, this question makes me cringe heavily. WHO is the media? Are you talking about fake news sites, are you talking about social media? It is all very.... dumb. Does the media include the tv shows you binge and the music you listen to at a high volume? The question is vague, yet everyone knows where the question is really going.
People like to blame the news. People often think that it's too biased, that journalists aren't reputable, that somehow reporting fake news is the norm. I'm here to tell you that it is a journalists job to be as factual, unbiased and ethical as possible. Fake news is not a new thing. There are sites devoted to reporting wacky things. Tabloids by the checkout aisle at the grocery store are a big testament to this. Guess what? that's not new. What is new? People are more likely to look at an article that they personally disagree with because in someway it makes them feel like what they like is negative, so they call it fake. It's not fake just because you disagree with it. That isn't a thing. Just because my team loses a volleyball match does not mean that the game wasn't real. The Knight Foundation recently posted on their blog that young adults are worried about the division of our country due to media. Yes, news is important, yes, sometimes there is a slant based on the company, everyone knows that there is a Fox to every CNN. For my fellow young people who are nervous about News Media, I suggest that you become a better consumer of media, stop thinking that every opposing news site is automatically unrepeatable, by understanding the other side to the story, you will know the story better. Don't place yourself in an echo chamber. Know how to spot fake news, but know more about how to be informed by news.
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Big tech is something that has been recently weighing very heavily on a lot of American's hearts. Why? because policy makers are struggling to be able to regulate the appropriate use of Big Tech. It's hard to write policies around technology because technology is ever changing, if the last 20-40 years have taught us anything, it's that.
Unfortunately, there are people and companies that are taking advantage of the low regulation of the internet, forcing policymakers to try and regulate this. In a blog post by Sam Gill, titled "Big tech could break democracy, knowledge is our best defense," Gill delves deeper into why low regulation of the internet is forcing policymakers to be creative with regulation. Obviously, nobody wants to be regulated on what they can see on the internet and what they're allowed to do. However, Gill brings up the point that Mark Zuckerberg has been questioned by congress about allowing false news stories to circulate facebook, and American citizens being influenced in their decisions by these fake posts. it is a battle to decide what will and won't be allowed of internet users. As far as internet based employees that work "Gig Jobs", California lawmakers have made a stand for these employees to be treated with the same rights as in-office employees have. I do not believe that democracy is being threatened by the internet, I also don't believe the internet should be heavily regulated, this would disrupt the privacy of others. However, I do believe that the internet should have some regulations. People should not be able to post illegal things and people should have to adhere to treating others with basic human rights. I know that everyone is sick and tired of hearing the words "Coronavirus", "Novel Coronavirus", "The Rona", "Covid-19" and "Covid". Trust me, I am too. I'm tired of hearing about it and I'm tired of seeing untrue facts spewed everywhere. Mostly, at the center of it all- I'm tired of hearing the media being dragged because "all those journalist just like to incite fear". I am here to tell you very plainly, that is not the case. That is not the responsibility of reporters and that at the very center in unethical and wrong.
I beg of you, stop blaming the media for the false facts you see. Journalists are just trying to inform the public, they aren't trying to incite fear and despite our current president's views on journalists, for the most part, I think journalists are just trying to be as ethical as they can, and because of this, you know what the coronavirus is- because they're doing their jobs and informing you. I recently read two articles speaking about fake news and ringing true to the fact that fake news does exist- and it does not come from journalists. Buzzfeed news reporter Jane Lytvynenko ( see article attached) wrote about several fake news posts she had come across in regards to the Coronavirus. For one, the text messages inciting fear about cities shutting down, These are not journalists and yet they are texting people from forwarded "government officials" about city-wide shutdowns and encouraging people to panic buy. Out of all of the hoaxes she lists, and she listed a lot, one in particular really jumped out to me. People promoting fake cures for the coronavirus. These fake cures are killing people and if not they're making them sick ( advice from one place she cited indicated that drinking tons of water with antacids would kill the virus), or wasting peoples time. ( The gargling with salt-water idea). ALEB ECARMA ( click link for article) wrote about the two pandemics we are fighting as a nation: the coronavirus and fake news. Ecarma calls out the Trump Administration- and rightfully so. He goes on to explain how Trump has made more than two dozen false statements since the coronavirus hit the news circuit and how this in itself is leading Americans to search for truth everywhere. Jerry Falwell Jr. even placed blame on the media outbreak saying that this was the lefts way of getting back at Trump for the impeachment trials. The impeachment feels like a lifetime ago. This is not about being democratic or republican anymore, it is not about all of the divides in our country, it is about trying to fix the issues that EVERYONE is facing to the best of that ability. Everyone needs to learn how to be a consumer of news. Everyone needs to fact-check on their own and read the dates of the articles before dragging them up and placing them online. Mass-panic doesn't solve anything and it is only making matters worse. |
AuthorHi there, just your not so average 20-something-year- old Journalism major living life on the sunny side and documenting it! Archives
April 2020
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