Media Exploration: Consolidation & Convergence

Not too many years ago, multimedia was viewed and considered to be in the form of newspaper, radio broadcast and television. Commonly today, information that once was gathered from different mediums can be witnessed from one device as small as a person’s palm. Technological advancements enable the consolidation of information to form convergence. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, convergence is “the merging of distinct technologies, industries, or devices into a unified whole” (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2010). Convergence appears to be the “best,” diverse form of information gathering, but this could be a possible reason why printed news is on the verge of extinction. The question that surfaces from this conclusion is: Do human beings control technology; or does technology control human beings?

The aspect of printed newspapers not existing will not interfere with the process of gathering information. A person who is smart with their money may question the thought of buying a newspaper for seventy-five cents. All the while, this person could get the same information off of a website, where the only fee to worry about is the internet’s monthly payments. This payment could be considered very small because of the access to an infinite supply of multimedia.

For the news sources that are experiencing the downfalls of cutting-edge technology, they will only continue to deteriorate. This result is exemplary towards the many views of technology controlling people. Another conflicting aspect that also arises is the decision of which news broadcasting site to focus on. Depending on whether it is state, national, or international information, for each news system they all inevitably have the same information. The consolidation of the news appears to entice the viewing audience as the product of convergence is slowly killing its creator, the media. In the near future, the argument of technology controlling people may appear in conversation at the dinner table and it may become as controversial as political discussion.

Analysis of Journalism

Before a journalist creates a story, they have to keep several components in mind such as, accuracy, language, observation, attribution, verification, completeness and fairness. If these elements are not included in an article, then there are evident dark holes for readers to judge the writer’s work and future work. When breaking news occurs, writers sort through the information as quick as they can to construct a summary of the occurrence. Online news writers often write what they first hear and later correct an error; this error can be made from an inaccurate statistic, an ongoing casualty count, attempting to describe the protagonist and or antagonist, etc.. The use of very complicated language can overwhelm the reading audience and distract from the main point of purpose. Observation is a key in reporting the news, but often articles are written with information gathered from an observer of an observer who witnessed the news transpire. Legal actions can be taken if the journalist does not attribute where they’ve received their facts from. Even if the journalist has attributed their information, they may still be summoned to court if the information appears to be false, in the form of a libel. To avoid writing a libel, a writer should verify the information through different sources. The news reported must be in a complete form, some stories may have a sequel but primarily “answer the questions their readers, viewers, and listeners will ask” (Mencher, 2008, p. 48). Fairness attracts all readers as bias may act as a repellant. CNN World’s article “Aid makes it to Haiti, but not onto streets,” is my test guinea pig for this brief analysis http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/22/haiti.earthquake/index.html?hpt=T2
Accuracy is noted in this article from the vast observers that CNN possesses in Haiti at this time. The statements that are presented are attributed to whom ever they receive the facts from. An example of attribution within this article is in the following statement: “Large quantities of medications, baby formula and other relief supplies are sitting on the tarmac and in warehouses at the Port-au-Prince airport, but no one is moving it out, according to CNN chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta (Brice, Arthur. Candiotti, Susan. Dougherty, Jill. Marrapodi, Eric. Desjardins, Lisa. Labott, Elise. 01/22/2010).
This article verifies the information it claims by interviewing ten different people, from Haiti’s Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive to Air Force Colonel Ben McMullen. A person may find CNN to be extravagant but this exemplary news corporation is the largest in the world; there is no room for error. This story is continuing, the completeness does not appear because it is still developing. The writers of this article show compassion and concern for the victims of this horrific, natural disaster; they achieve fairness by being humanitarians. Without these components, accuracy, language, observation, attribution, verification, completeness and fairness, a story can be portrayed poorly.

REFERENCES
Brice, Arthur. Candiotti, Susan. Dougherty, Jill. Desjardins, Lisa. Labott, Elise. Marrapodi, Eric. (2010 January 22). Aid makes it to Haiti, but not onto streets. CNN World. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/22/haiti.earthquake/index.html?hpt=T2
Mencher, M. (2008). Components of the Story. News Reporting and Writing. 11. 37-49.

Who is the Libelous?

“Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it and, above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light.”- Joseph Pulitzer

Since Joseph Pulitzer’s time the media has increased in a more pure form; this has aroused from elements in society such as, technological upgrades, public weary and enforced laws. This Western culture, the United States strives for news about everything. For the viewers and readers of the news, the information presented is piled to the sky, from the “War on Terror” to who celebrities are sleeping with. Journalists are in a competition for the exclusive story of their lifetimes. Surprisingly, journalists can be impatient and quickly print information that appears to be phenomenal. All the while, this phenomenal story of the lifetime is screened by an audience. The reaction of the audience may be positive or negative, but undoubtedly somebody is screening for libelous material. In May of 2007, little three years old Madeleine McCann went missing in Portugal.

London newspapers, the Daily Star, and the Daily Express attempted to connect the dots of the missing girl; their skepticism was proven libelous and the McCann parents received 1.2 million dollars and vast apologies in 2008. The story doesn’t end here; one of the lead Portuguese investigators, named Goncalo Amaral was kicked off the case from leaking out information to the media. He then decided to write a book entitled “The Truth of the Lie”. Amaral’s book implies that Madeleine might have died and her parents may have tried to cover it up. Currently, Amaral is accused of creating libels and an injunction has been placed upon him (Goodman, Al. 1/11/2010).

It appears as though Goncalo Amaral thought this was the phenomenal story of his life but it could ruin him. In the perspective of the McCann family, they’ve lost a child and they’ve suffered incredibly from the media, Amaral, and the people trying to create a scene involving the parents as suspects.

REFERENCES

Goodman, Al. (2010, January 11). McCann’s parents to attend libel case against police officer. CNN World. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/01/11/portugal.britain.madeleine.mccann/index.html?iref=allsearch

Joseph Pulitzer Quotes. Retrieved from http://thinkexist.com/quotes/joseph_pulitzer/

CMJ 236 Objectives

At the end of this semester I would like to know how to write for the mass media by adopting a new style of writing. This style will consist of neutrality with the subject but will be overloaded with facts such as, who, what, when, where, and most importantly: why. This style would not only increase my writing stamina but the attraction that will be presented to readers who may later develop into consumers of my writing. Journalism infatuates my mind; it tells a story of what is happening to society with a never ending plot. Protagonists and antagonists arise through the various sections of a basic newspaper. Deborah Tannen, writer of The Argument Culture claims that the media produces controversial information and this trade couldn't survive if it produced information that everybody agrees with(Tannen 1998). This seems true but it appears as though some well known journalists use distortion to get a reaction and more readers. Over exaggerations I consider to be distortion. This may create more reaction, but the object that the spotlight is on can be destroyed from a person's over use of imagery and vocabulary. In sort, I would like to create news that is pure.
-Samuel M. Mayhew