A great TED Talk by Clay Shirky on the controversial SOPA/PIPA legislation popped up on the intertubes today. He outlines how people interact with and share media and how the legislation that will be up for a vote soon could turn all consumers into assumed copyright violators and thieves. Very interesting watch.
Archive for the 'Media' Category
The media loves to stir up controversy. Sensationalism and outrageous ideas help with the ratings and ad revenues, but that doesn’t do much to educate the public.
Jay Smooth asks whether it’s too much to ask of the media to not feed the trolls?
As part of the moderated discussion, Gillmor shared his 5 Principles of Media Consumption:
1. Be skeptical.
Don’t take anything you read at face value. The information source can clue you into the bias that may be present. Gillmor dismisses the notion of objectivity; everyone and every media outlet has a worldview of some sort.
2. Don’t be equally skeptical of everything.
Use your best judgment when evaluating media and finding sources to trust. Sweeping generalizations and extremes may raise flags when you’re watching and reading. Over time you’ll find reliable news sources that you can go back to again and again.
3. Question yourself and your worldview.
When you care deeply about an issue it’s hard to remove yourself from that subjective space to consider new information that may conflict with your beliefs. Be willing to challenge your own biases and cast a wider net on the type of media you consume. It’s easy to find news sources that parrot your own beliefs,
4. Seek out opinions and perspectives different from your own.
(3 and 4 could be merged, but then we’d only have 4 principles, which doesn’t feel right.) Do your homework and learn about things you’re not likely to counter in your own life. You’ll be more informed and perhaps a bit more aware of the privileges and disadvantages of the groups you identify with.
5. Understand how media can be used to persuade and manipulate.
Factor in a 24-hour news cycle and profit margins into your consideration of media. What does the media company want you to believe and how does it benefit if you do? Don’t just look at what angles are pursued, but consider why?
Overall, these are excellent basic tips for expanding your worldview, as well as evaluating the weight and accuracy of the media you consume, but how do you convince people that they want or need to move beyond the echo chamber and filter bubble effect? How do you convince people to be skeptical of the news sources that tell them what they want to hear?
We all thoroughly believe our worldview is the correct worldview.
Remember the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor last summer, when Republicans expressed so much concern over her wise Latina remarks? Because the perspective of a privileged white male is so sacrosanct that there must be something wrong with that notion that a group of judges another race, culture or gender might draw different conclusions. To many of the male elected-officials in that hearing, there is only one way to look at the world.
The average media consumer is no different.
For more, you can download Mediactive for free or buy a copy.
Recent Comments